WBB dominates Georgetown in opener of final homestand
HARTFORD-With her final Connecticut hours looming, Husky women’s basketball leading scorer Christyn Williams to go out on familiar terms.
The senior opened UConn’s last homestand of the season with a 19-point showing, sinking 7-of-11 from the field as the Huskies (19-5, 13-1 Big East) rolled to a 90-49 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas on Sunday afternoon at XL Center. Connecticut’s 31st straight win over the Hoyas (7-17, 2-14 Big East) kicked off a four-game trek through Hartford and Storrs that will take them into the postseason.
Unlike some of their prior victories, UConn never allowed Sunday’s game to be close, taking a permanent double-digit lead after an Aaliyah Edwards layup commenced a run of 17 unanswered points (built by five different scorers) toward the end of the first half. The final 41-point margin was their highest of the afternoon.
Like Williams, several of UConn’s seniors starred at the start of their final home showcases: Evina Westbrook score nine and helped on four others while stealing four from the Hoyas while Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Dorka Juhasz united to sink all five of their combined attempts from the field while pulling down five rebounds each. In addition to her scoring prowess, Williams was the only one to beat out Westbrook with five assists.
But the Huskies also enjoyed another look at their exciting future through strong showings from their underclassmen: Nika Muhl and Caroline Ducharme each forced six Georgetown turnovers, while the sophomore Muhl fell one short of her career-best in scoring with 11 points. Ducharme’s fellow freshman Azzi Fudd struggled to keep her strong shooting performances from the last two games rolling (shooting 5-of-13 from the field) but still managed to reach a dozen points while tying Juhasz and Nelson-Ododa for the team lead in rebounds. Another first-year, Amari DeBerry, set a career-best in scoring for the second straight game, scoring seven in the closing stages after scoring five against Xavier last Friday night.
Mary Clougherty led the visitor’s side by coming off the bench to score 15 points. It wasn’t enough to relieve the Hoyas of a seven-game losing streak where all but one of the defeats have come by 10 points or more. Georgetown turned the ball over 30 times on Sunday, leading to 39 of Connecticut’s 90 points in response. UConn broke the 90-point plateau for the third time this season, their first such output since Jan. 12’s win over Butler.
The closing home stand continues on Wednesday night when Marquette visits XL Center (7 p.m. ET, SNY). It will serve as the final of a two-game set in which UConn owns the advantage after a 72-58 win on Feb. 13 that was only close thanks to standout final frame from the visiting Huskies. The Golden Eagles (18-8, 11-6 Big East) continue to linger on the NCAA Tournament bubble after ending a three-game losing streak against Georgetown on Friday night on the road.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
