WBB: Nelson-Ododa double-double helps Huskies overcome latest medical loss
OMAHA - Medical woes have denied fans of Connecticut Huskies’ women’s basketball of some familiar faces. Even head coach Geno Auriemma hasn’t been immune, as the longtime hardwood overseer missed the latest Big East contest against Creighton on Wednesday night with a non-COVID illness.
Hopefully for UConn, a comeback victory serves as some form of medicine. Associate head coach Chris Dailey would go on to supervise a 76-56 victory over the Bluejays at D.J. Sokol Arena. Olivia Nelson-Ododa once again picked up the slack, earning her third double-double over her last five contests.
Despite the scoreboard’s suggestion at a one-sided contest, No. 10 Connecticut (14-4, 9-0 Big East) needed a gritty effort to claw their way back from a sterling start for one of the Big East’s runner-ups. Creighton (15-6, 10-3 Big East) previously played a shorthanded Huskies squad to an eight-point decision in Storrs on Jan. 9 and showed it was no fluke with a strong first quarter showing.
While the Huskies were held scoreless over the first three minutes of action, the Bluejays jumped out to an early lead thanks to Lauren Jensen’s opening triples. The lead reached as high as a dozen in the first quarter before Evina Westbrook hit a triple in the final minute to create a 20-11 deficit after ten. Careless errors defined the early stages, as UConn turned the ball over seven times.
Though the Huskies cleaned up their act in the second quarter, losing only a single turnover, Creighton continued to nurse a double-figure lead. The course of the contest changed over the final three minutes, which saw a run of 10 unanswered points, six of those tallies coming from the hands of Nelson-Ododa. She wasn’t the only senior who came up big for Connecticut, who enjoyed 15 of Christyn Williams’ 17 points in the second half.
It was a Williams layup off a Nika Muhl-induced fastbreak that tied the game and helped stretch the UConn run to 18-0, an uncontested margin that allowed them to permanently take the lead. Three-pointers from Carly Bachelor and Morgan Maly helped Creighton keep somewhat of a pace and trail by only nine after the third quarter (which saw Caroline Ducharme sink nine points) but the Huskies officially ran away with the affair with a 27-16 advantage in the fourth. Azzi Fudd, who missed Creighton’s January visit, led the way with 10 points, uniting with Williams’ final nine to secure the win.
Five UConn women reached double figures, as Ducharme added 13 behind the shared leaders Nelson-Ododa and Williams. The two Husky reserves, Fudd and Evina Westbrook, also put up 10 each. Another senior standout, Westbrook has now reached double figures in four of her last
five games. With the win, Dailey improves to 13-0 in relief of Auriemma since taking over as associate boss in 1988, last doing so during the first two games of last season’s NCAA Tournament run.
Molly Mogenson led the hosting Bluejays with 15 points as the Bluejays seek their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2018.
UConn returns to the national stage on Sunday in Hartford, as they’ll welcome No. 7 Tennessee to XL Center (12 p.m. ET, Fox). The Volunteers (19-2, 8-1 SEC) are recovering from last Thursday’s loss to unranked Auburn, which preceded an overtime victory over Arkansas on Monday night. Connecticut leads the all-time clash mark between the two college basketball titans by a 15-9 margin and took the last meeting in Hartford by a 60-45 final in January 2020.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
