WBB: Huskies Loss Snaps 170 Game Conference Win Streak
HARTFORD-The injury bug that has wormed its way into the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball program claimed yet another historic victim on Wednesday night.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa’s departure, combined with the continued absences of Caroline Ducharme and Paige Bueckers, proved to be too much for the Huskies to handle against the Villanova Wildcats. Behind a massive advantage in the Nelson-Ododa-free rebounding picture and a strong shooting night from the field, Villanova overcame a desperate Connecticut comeback effort and late swoons from the foul line to earn a 72-69 win at XL Center. Thus ended UConn’s conference winning streak, one that began in January 2013, at 169 games (including 139 wins in the AAC).
Nelson-Ododa was dressed and listed in Connecticut’s original starting lineup but was unexpectedly replaced by Evina Westbrook minutes before tip-off for undisclosed reasons. Missing the senior’s services for the first time this season, UConn (15-5, 9-1 Big East) was drastically outrebounded by a 37-21 margin, affording the Wildcats third, and even fourth, opportunities in their end of the floor.
Reigning Big East Player of the Week Maddy Siegrist paced victorious Villanova (16-6, 10-3 Big East) with a dozen rebounds (to go with 17 points) while Brianna Herlihy likewise earned a double-double effort. UConn’s interior woes were further exacerbated by Aaliyah Edwards’ foul trouble. She picked up three before the first half let out before picking up her penultimate in the fourth. With Edwards in foul trouble (later getting charged with the disqualifying fifth in the final frame), UConn’s six-woman rotation was pushed to the brink, as Azzi Fudd and Christyn Williams each played the full 40 minutes with only Dorka Juhasz coming off the bench.
The pair made the most of their time, uniting for 53 points on 20-of-35 shooting from the field. With 29 of that tally, the freshman Fudd once again set a new infantile career-high, besting the 25 she had in Sunday’s over Tennessee.
Villanova wasted no time in generating its upset bid, jumping out to a 12-2 lead in the early stages of the first quarter. Death from deep range was the theme and helped the Wildcats survive an uncanny fourth quarter: as a team, the Wildcats built a lead that got as high as 19 thanks to a 9-of-20 effort from three points range. Lior Garzon led Villanova with 19, all but four of her points coming from beyond the arc.
After the final frame opened with Williams and Fudd countering Garzon’s final triple of the night, both teams went nearly five full minutes without scoring. Siegrist eventually broke the drought with a jumper that preserved a 15-point Villanova lead with just under three minutes to go.
A furious UConn rally, however, ensued through the power of Fudd and Williams’ united scoring efforts and Villanova’s free throw futility. Over the final three minutes, Villanova failed to hit some clinching freebies, going 4-of-10 while the Huskies duo continued to eat away at the deficit. Despite Williams’ miss on a triple that could’ve sliced the Wildcat lead to one with 13 seconds to go, a Fudd layup after two more misses kept hope alive. UConn got off one last essential foul with two seconds remaining and had a chance to win when Herlihy sank only one of the ensuing charity pair. But the Villanova defense didn’t allow any desperate tying attempts to go off before the buzzer, igniting the visitors’ celebration.
Villanova is no stranger to ending historic Connecticut winning streaks, previously ending the Huskies’ then-Division I women’s record 70-game trek in 2003. The Pennsylvania portion of the yearly set was originally scheduled for Jan. 7 but was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Huskies’ program and has yet to be rescheduled.
As a result of the loss, the Huskies will look to start a new winning streak against DePaul in what’s become a battle for first in the Big East in Storrs (7 p.m. ET, SNY). Though UConn has games in hand, the Blue Demons (19-6, 11-3 Big East) are now situated in a tie for the conference’s top seed. Prior to Villanova’s success, they came close to ending UConn’s streak themselves back on Jan. 26 in Chicago, when the Huskies needed a banked Ducharme buzzer-beater to escape with an 80-78 victory.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
