No. 1 UConn Women’s Hoops raise 12th title banner; smothers Florida State in Storrs
A banner: the culmination of months of victories, defeats and, more importantly, a UConn championship season.
Regardless of the opponent, fans pack Gampel Pavilion, wanting in on the experience of witnessing a banner unveiling.
The No. 1 UConn women’s basketball team had its 12th such ceremony before Sunday night’s home opener. Paige Bueckers and Kaitlyn Chen provided videos played on the jumbotron. Aubrey Griffin made a surprise appearance. Not one of those elements shook the Huskies, who looked on in admiration while the crowd roared.
That was the case until gametime.
Missed bunnies, uncharacteristic turnovers, and multiple three-pointers allowed. Even with a lead, the Huskies were not playing championship-level basketball.
Once the emotions and jitters wore off, however, UConn played to its standard.
The Huskies ended the first half on a 22-4 run. What was a six-point game with 6:19 until halftime became a 24-point Connecticut advantage. That run helped the Huskies break away and bury the Florida State Seminoles 99-67.
UConn spent the entirety of that stretch operating a four-guard lineup. That rotation’s defense defined the contest. During that run, the Huskies forced eight turnovers and cashed in on seven of them. Florida State did not make any of its four field goal attempts, all of which came from the perimeter. Across the entire game, Connecticut rejected six shots, secured 15 steals and scored 42 points off 23 turnovers.
Big East Preseason Player of the Year Sarah Strong provided the initial spark. Strong converted all four of her free throws and grabbed eight rebounds in the first quarter. The National Freshman of the Year added a dime and a rejection before the run began. Her final numbers were almost a carbon copy of Tuesday’s: 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.
Strong’s start blazed the trail for preseason All-American Azzi Fudd. The Final Four Most Outstanding Player scored 13 of the team’s 22 points during that run and secured a 20-piece at halftime. Fudd added another three in the third quarter, helping her finish with a game-high 23 points and five assists.
Former USC Trojan Kayleigh Heckel had herself another standout showing off the bench. Heckel scored 12 points on 6-12 shooting with three assists in 21 minutes. Yet the New York native’s most significant impact this time around came on defense. In addition to grabbing two boards, Heckel pickpocketed the Seminoles a career-high six times.
“The team that she played on [in high school], they were pressure defense, pickup [defense]. … That is her skill set. It is not like we are introducing anything new to her,” 12-time national champion head coach Geno Auriemma explained postgame. “When we have her and KK [Arnold] out there together with Azzi [Fudd], I think that gives us a really good defensive presence out there.”
Serah Williams struggled offensively early in her first game in Storrs, missing layups and fumbling possessions. But the former Wisconsin Badger bounced back. Williams made her last three shots and ended with nine points to go with three blocks. Wisconsin natives Allie Ziebell and KK Arnold each picked up seven points and had two steals.
Florida State had as many buckets from downtown (12) as they made inside the arc. Sole Williams delivered in her first start as a Seminole. Taking over for Amaya Bonner, the Texas A&M transfer shot an efficient 5-8 from the field for a team-best 14 points. Senior Jasmine Shavers and graduate student Allie Kubek each had 11 with three triples. Pania Davis dropped nine points and grabbed six rebounds, while Emma Risch picked up eight.
When the offense could not get going early, the Huskies relied on Strong and their defense to stay ahead of the Seminoles. Connecticut rejected more shots than Florida State had made field goals in the opening 2.5 minutes. Kubek and Shavers buried three-pointers on consecutive Seminoles possessions. Another minute transpired before Arnold knotted the game at eight at the charity stripe.
But immediately after a failed pass, the 5-foot-9 junior deflected the ensuing inbounds play. Fudd hauled in the free ball, then quickly scored right near the basket. From that moment until the period’s conclusion, all but two Huskies’ free throws came off an opposing giveaway.
Risch drew Ashlynn Shade’s second foul and made two of her three free throws with 6:19 remaining in the second quarter. FSU pulled within six on that play; UConn forced twice as many turnovers as points allowed to end the first half.
The Seminoles ended their field goal drought less than a minute into the third quarter. But another foul on the Big East Sixth Woman of the Year set up a 15-0 Huskies run. Unlike the previous stretch, Florida State turned over the ball less and attempted more shots.
Heckel prevented the Seminoles from turning their rediscovered rhythm into any momentum after UConn’s starters hit the bench. Her pull-up jumper off an FSU turnover capped an 8-0 run that concluded the frame.
The Seminoles responded with a frame-opening 12-0 run that only stopped when Ayanna Patterson scored her first points since her rookie season. Caroline Ducharme added a triple on the ensuing possession, and Florida State never got any closer. Shade and Ice Brady both scored as the Huskies improved to 11-0 all-time against the Seminoles.
Sunday evening was the first time in 960 days (over 2.5 years) that Patterson appeared in an official game. Her long-anticipated return excites Auriemma, especially as she acclimates herself back into the frontcourt.
“I admire her because of how hard she works and how much time she puts in,” college basketball’s winningest coach said about the 6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore. “She is starting to find more of a role for herself. … Who knows where this is going to go?”
UConn remains right where they are as the Loyola Chicago Ramblers roll into Storrs. Tip-off on Wednesday, November 12, is at 7:30 p.m. on TruTV.
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