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UConn 81 Creighton 49
Ho hum, another UConn win over an overmatched Big East Opponent. Ok...maybe it wasn't that boring, but sometimes the team played like they were bored.
That might be an overstatement but after a dominating first quarter where UConn lead 27-13 it seemed that the Huskies coasted to the easy 32 point win.
Nika Muhl was the story of the game with 15 first quarter points and three 3 point makes. It was so good to see her comfortable with her shot. If this becomes more of a regular thing, well, UConn will take this to another level.
Geno said at half time that Paige was on strike. Yeah, she didn't shoot that much but she had 5 points and 6 assists at the half. That will do.
I won't go into a ton of detail about the game. I'll post highlights and hopefully there will be a full game replay on YouTube. But there were some nice performances.
Nika ended up with 19 points, 3 assists and 5 steals. She has earned that starting position and won't let it go.
Bueckers ended up with 13 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. She sure can fill up a boxscore.
Another solid game for Olivia Nelson-Ododa. She had 11 points and 11 rebounds for another double double.
Christyn Williams is like a different player. No passivity for her. Everything is aggressive. Defense and offense. In this game she had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. 2-4 on threes is a real positive sign.
Ah....Evina Westbrook. She just seems out of sorts for so much of the game. She does better when she up-fakes and takes that little jumper in the lane. She did contribute 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, but no offense to Evina but next season, when Azzi Fudd is playing that position, those open shots that Paige sets up will be swishes for Fudd and more assists for Bueckers.
Off the bench, Edwards and Griffin did their thing.
Edwards only had 9 points but her efficiency sticks out. She was 4-5 from the field and 1-1 from the FT line. She added 6 rebounds and 1 steal. I'm sure Geno didn't like the 4 turnovers. She twisted an ankle (how many UConn players have done that?) but seemed ok.
Griffin was amazing on defense in her limited minutes. Her 3 blocks were so athletic.
I have to give Kudos to Senior Terri Carda, who scored 24 points on 11-19 shooting. She was terrific in this game and never backed down.
They got their 20th game in to go 19-1. That is a real positive. Just see what happened at Michigan State to understand who lucky UConn is.
Fourth road game in a row with one more against Butler on Saturday at 4:30. I'm sure they can't wait to play at Gample.
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Videos
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Interviews
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This story choked me up. Every time I saw Azzi's mom talked I teared up.
Here is the article
And here is the video
It's just hard to imagine someone as talented as Azzi Fudd being added to this roster in 2021. I'm sure we will see some amazing performances. It's rare to have players as talented as Bueckers and Fudd on the same team. Add in the special relationship those two have and the sky is the limit.
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By David in Naples
UConn’s 81-49 win against Creighton almost mirrors the 80-47 win in December. The defense was very good again and bested some of last games stats.
1. UConn blocked 9 shots, 1 better than previously.
2. Creighton went 6-25 from three point range, only 24%.
3. The Huskies out rebounded the Blue Jays 41-27, not quite as good as last time.
4. Last game, Creighton had 7 points in the opening period. This time, 8 in the 2nd.
5. UConn only had 11 turnovers vs 17 for their opponents.
Other thoughts...
1. We got the scoring Muhl...19 points
2. Their bench went 2-13, the Huskies subs went 6-11.
3. Four different Huskies went a total of 8-8 from the charity stripe.
4. Olivia with a quiet double-double, 13 and 11. Also 4 assists and 0 turnovers.
Go Huskies..!
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No. 2 NC State 83 Pittsburgh 53 - The Wolfpack Second-ranked NC State women's basketball team cruised past the visiting Pitt Panthers on Senior Day inside Reynolds Coliseum. A total of eight different Wolfpack players contributed to a season-best 16-of-26 (.615) shooting performance from behind the arc. Raina Perez and Jakia Brown-Turner tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 points apiece, as the Pack's five starters all hit double figures. Elissa Cunane added 13 points and eight rebounds to the Pack's balanced attack. After the teams settled into the first few minutes of action, NC State went on a 15-0 run to open up a double-figure lead that it would hold on to for the last 34:17 of the outing. The Pack also scored 20 unanswered points in the middle of a dominant third quarter to extend its lead further. The Pack forced the Panthers into 23 turnovers and capitalized on those by scoring 31 points from those mishandles.
No. 3 Texas A&M 73 Alabama 67 - Jordan Nixon and Kayla Wells each scored 16 points and No. 3 Texas A&M won its ninth straight game, beating Alabama 73-67 on Thursday night. Nixon and Wells combined to contribute 10 points during a 19-3 run for the Aggies to close the second quarter which essentially put the game out of reach for the Crimson Tide. After Texas A&M led for most of the first quarter, Alabama used a 10-0 run to take a 26-23 lead in the second quarter. The Aggies then used that big run to end the half taking a 42-29 lead into halftime. Alabama showed fight in the fourth quarter, after trailing by as many as 21 in the second half. The Tide opened the fourth on a 16-4 run and cut the deficit to 70-65 with Jordan Lewis' 3-pointer with 1:25 left. The deficit was too large for the Crimson Tide to overcome as the Aggies held on for the win. Texas A&M senior N'dea Jones had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Lewis led Alabama in scoring, finishing with 21 points, five assists, and four steals. Jasmine Walker had a double-double for Alabama with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
No. 5 South Carolina 68 Ole Miss 43 - Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley told her players in the locker room Thursday soon after the 68-43 rout that the stage was set for them to win a second straight Southeastern Conference regular-season title at No. 3 Texas A&M this weekend. The locked-in defensive approach that helped South Carolina hold Mississippi to its worst shooting performance of the season. The Gamecocks will face the one-loss Aggies in College Station, Texas, on Sunday with the winner hoisting the SEC trophy. Cooke got the Gamecocks going quickly with 12 points in the first quarter. South Carolina steadily pulled away from the Rebels, who lost their third in a row, all to ranked opponents. The Rebels shot a combined 4 of 34 in the second and third quarters, shot a season-worst 26.2% and were outrebounded 43-28. Cooke came out on fire, scoring 10 of South Carolina’s first 12 points. While she cooled down in the second quarter (she started 0 for 6), South Carolina’s defense did not as Mississippi struggled to find open shots. The Rebels finished the half missing their last 12 attempts and the Gamecocks held a 33-20 lead at halftime. Shakira Austin scored a game-high 22 points for Mississippi. LeLe Grissett added 12 points and Victaria Saxton 10 for the Gamecocks.
No. 8 Maryland 88 Purdue 59 - Angel Reese scored 17 points and Diamond Miller added 16 as No. 8 Maryland moved one game closer to a third consecutive Big Ten regular-season title with an 88-59 road rout of Purdue on Thursday. Reese also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds as Maryland dominated the boards 50-26. Mimi Collins and Ashley Owusu also had 13 points apiece. Faith Masonius had 10 points and eight rebounds. Coupled with a 37-point home win over the Boilermakers on Jan. 10, Maryland swept the season series to improve to 14-2 against Purdue. Kayana Traylor had 15 points for the Boilermakers, who have lost eight straight. Brooke Moore scored 13 points. Fatou Diagne had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Maryland needed about one quarter to start pulling away as Reese hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 16-9 lead after the first quarter. Purdue reduced the deficit to five after baskets on two second-quarter possessions, then never got close again.
No. 12 Michigan at Iowa - In a crazy circumstance, the 3:30 PM game was postponed. There were some Covid-19 protocol issues that had to be address. The game was finally set for tipoff at 8:30 PM a full 5 hour delay. Not final at this posting.
No. 16 Arkansas at Auburn - Not final at this posting
No. 17 Georgia 58 No. 19 Kentucky 62 - Rhyne Howard scored 27 points as the 19th-ranked Kentucky women's basketball team topped No. 17 Georgia 62-58 on Thursday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Kentucky got 15 points from Chasity Patterson. The Cats would close the half by scoring the last six to take a 34-24 lead into the break. Howard led all scorers with 12 points in the first half. Georgia started the second half by scoring the first four points, cutting the UK lead to 34-28. Georgia would eventually get within three, 39-36, but Kentucky responded again. Patterson hit a three and then a jumper to extend the lead to 44-36. After Georgia scored the first five points of the third period, Howard hit a three, then a jumper, to make it 56-49 UK with 4:31 left. Georgia got a Jordan Isaacs layup with 55 seconds remaining, cutting the UK lead to 59-55. But with nine seconds remaining, Wyatt hit a pair of free throws to make it 61-55. Georgia got three free throws from Isaacs with five seconds left to cut the UK lead to 61-58. With one second left, Patterson hit one of two at the line to make it 62-58, which would be the final score.
No. 20 Tennessee 78 Missouri 73 - Rennia Davis scored all 26 of her points in the second half, with 20 in the fourth quarter, to help No. 20 Tennessee beat Missouri 78-73 on Thursday night. Davis made a pair of 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that opened the fourth quarter and gave the Lady Vols the lead for good. Davis scored all but three of Tennessee’s fourth-quarter points. Her 26 points matched a season high.Rae Burrell scored 18 of her 23 points in the first half for the Lady Vols. Burrell was 9 of 13 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. She left the game late in the third quarter with an apparent right ankle injury but returned early in the fourth. Haley Troup and Aijha Blackwell had 16 points each for the Tigers. Tennessee outrebounded Missouri 46-25 overall and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, one less than Missouri had on its defensive glass. The Tigers had made 10 of 21 from 3-point range when they took their largest lead at 49-43 in the middle of the third quarter. They made just two of their last nine to finish 12 of 30 from the arc. The victory advances Tennessee’s hopes of finishing the season among the top four teams in the SEC standings and earning a double bye in the conference tournament. The Lady Vols host Auburn to close out the regular season on Sunday.
No. 21 Gonzaga vs Pepperdine - 10:30 EST
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