The University of Connecticut Huskies defeated the Villanova Wildcats 90-51 on Monday night to capture their thirteenth consecutive Big East Women’s Basketball Championship at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The Huskies were never behind in the game from the time sophomore forward Sarah Strong scored her first three point shot just one minute into the first quarter. The team then went on a 12-3 scoring run to end the first quarter with a lead of 23-11.
Although the Wildcats were successful in stealing the ball a total of nine times and pulling down their share of rebounds, they were unsuccessful at converting these efforts into points, scoring only 27% of their field goals and less than 20% of three point shots.
In contrast, the Huskies had four players score in double digits, including freshman forward Blanca Quinones, who came off of the bench to score 13 points in under 18 minutes. Graduate student and guard Azzi Fudd led the Huskies with 19 points and three steals, Sarah Strong contributed 18 points and two steals and junior guard K.K. Arnold scored 10 points while contributing 7 assists and 3 steals.
Sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe led the Wildcats in scoring, contributing 14 points.
In commenting on the Huskies’ win after the game, UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma said the team continued to be motivated throughout the 34-0 undefeated season. He joked that the team would continue to be motivated during the upcoming NCAA Tournament and wanted to prove to him that they could win the NCAA Tournament without superstar Paige Bueckers, who graduated last year after five years at UConn and was drafted by the WNBA Dallas Wings.
The Number One ranked Huskies will learn where and against whom they will play in the tournament during the selection show on Sunday, March 15th at 8:00 p.m. The show will be aired on ESPN.
