WBB charges into Big East final with dominant win over Marquette
UNCASVILLE-The University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team celebrated Senior Day last weekend at Gampel Pavilion. Those honored were more than happy to extend the festivities by a week in a new locale.
Evina Westbrook, Dorka Juhasz, Christyn Williams, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa united to score 48 points on Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday afternoon, paving the way for the Huskies’ 71-51 victory over the Marquette Golden Eagles in the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament. With the win, top-seeded UConn (24-5) will partake in a conference tournament’s final game for the 30th consecutive season.
Though No. 5 Marquette (21-10) gave the Huskies fits in their original meeting in Milwaukee on Feb. 13, it didn’t take long to stifle the Golden Eagles’ upset bid this time around. The Huskies quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead, forcing Marquette into an early discussion through a timeout after Nika Muhl created the opening margin with a three-pointer just past the two-minute mark. Another scorching start from Williams likewise clipped the Golden Eagles early: after earning 13 in the first half of the Huskies’ quarterfinal win over Georgetown, Storrs’ leading scorer had 11 over the first 20 minutes, including eight in the first quarter. She was thus needed for only the final eight minutes of the second half, where the Huskies’ lead never dropped below 16.
Connecticut shot 67 percent (10-of-15) from the field in the first quarter, allowing them to open up a 22-6 lead. Though Paige Bueckers was far from her dominant self off the bench (two points and assists each in 18 minutes), several underclassmen still managed to get in on the fun. Sophomore Aaliyah Edwards continued her interior mastery with an 11-rebound performance, her best output since the opening round of last year’s NCAA Tournament against High Point. Edwards’ average rebounding output has gone up a full tally since Jan. 26, pulling down 6.1 a game in that span.
In addition to Edwards, fellow sophomore Muhl sank all three of her attempts from the field and pulled down four rebounds. At the top of the scoresheeet, Westbrook led the way with 14 points, a majority gained in the second half as UConn nursed its big lead. The senior reached double-figures in all three games against Marquette this season, averaging 15.3 in those contests.
The Golden Eagles were paced by 16 points from Karissa McLaughlin. While they earned an impressive 20-point win over No. 4 DePaul in Saturday’s quarterfinal round, Marquette now faces a tense week as they linger on the 2022 NCAA Tournament bubble, seeking their program-record fifth consecutive appearance.
Vengeance will define the Huskies’ latest bid at a Big East championship, as they’ll face second-seeded Villanova in the final on Monday (8 p.m. ET, FS1). The Wildcats (23-7, 15-4 Big East) are the only team that stopped Connecticut from earning another perfect mark in
conference play, as a 15-1 stretch included a 72-69 victory in Hartford on Feb. 13. Villanova exacted their own revenge against Seton Hall in the latter part of Sunday’s semifinals, topping the only team to beat them since Jan. 16 by a 64-55 final. The Pennsylvania portion of the UConn-Villanova series, previously scheduled for Jan.7, was canceled due to public health issues.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
