Carl Adamec: Reinforcements rescue UConn women in in win over DePaul

Jan. 27—The cavalry hasn't arrived quite yet for the UConn women's basketball team.

But some reinforcements were just what the Huskies needed to take command of the Big East regular-season race.

Caroline Ducharme delivered the game-winning hoop with 1.6 seconds left to lift No. 10 UConn over DePaul 80-78 in Big East play at Wintrust Arena in Chicago Wednesday night. But the freshman would not have been in the position she was in if not for the return to action of senior Christyn Williams and freshman Azzi Fudd.

Williams, who had missed the last three games due to COVID-19 protocols, had 17 points in 32 minutes. Fudd, a surprise entrant after missing two months with a right foot injury, scored 15 points in her 22 minutes.

"Azzi's first workout the other day she made like 25 straight shots, and I'll bet you only one of them touched the rim," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "When you add somebody like that to the lineup, that makes a lot of people feel a lot more confident, especially me. And Christyn gives us something that we didn't have. We were able to withstand it when Caroline got in some foul trouble.

"If those two didn't play, there was no way that we could have won this game with Caroline sitting on the bench with four fouls. Now we have a better opportunity to withstand some things, and we're better with those two for sure."

The victory gives UConn (12-4, 7-0 Big East) a two-game lead in the loss column over DePaul and Creighton in the conference race. The Huskies visit the Bluejays next Wednesday and entertain the Blue Demons at Gampel Pavilion on Feb. 11.

The conference championship — regular season and tournament — is UConn's route to a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament and the likelihood, with a regional being held in Bridgeport, it would not have to leave the state to advance to a 14th straight Final Four.

That's why this win is the biggest so far.

"Four of us belong in the NCAA tournament right now. There are a lot of good teams in this league," DePaul coach Doug Bruno said at his press conference.

Auriemma said Tuesday he was hopeful that Williams would play "some minutes" Wednesday night and that Fudd "was still not ready to go." Not only did they play, they were so good that they were on the floor when the game was decided with Fudd getting the nod over Evina Westbrook.

A back-and-forth affair that the Huskies led by 11 in the second quarter, trailed by nine at halftime, led again by seven with 8:09 to go, and fell behind by four with 3:03 to go, came down to their final possession.

Five points by Ducharme and four by Williams put UConn up 78-75 with 1:12 left. Two turnovers led to three free throws by DePaul rookie Aneesah Morrow (30 points, 14 rebounds) with the last two tying it with 8.6 seconds to go. Auriemma called time out to advance the ball to the front court and come up with a play to get it to Ducharme.

"She's the best on the team at getting to the basket, and she's the best at finishing," Auriemma said. "With the score tied, I just wanted the ball in her hands, someone who is a good free throw shooter, someone who can get to the basket and someone who isn't afraid if we can get the ball in her hands and let her make a play."

Ducharme took a handoff from teammate Nika Muhl and drove around the Blue Demons' Darrione Rogers into the lane to get off the deciding shot. A desperation halfcourt bid to win by Morrow fell short.

It was the latest example of the Milton, Massachusetts coming through in the clutch.

"I wasn't surprised," Fudd told SNY's Maria Marino. "I knew she was going to do something great with the ball. I mean, that's just Caroline for you. She's amazing."

There was irony in the timing. In 2008, Ketia Swanier made a decisive layup with, yes, 1.6 seconds left to give UConn a one-point, come-from-behind win at DePaul.

The Blue Demons, who could have moved into first place with a win Wednesday night, are 0-20 against the Huskies since 1983.

"It was just too easy down the stretch," Bruno said. "If you're going to win a close game against a good team you have to be able to defend at crunch time and we didn't.

"Once you get your opportunity, you have to be ready. Some people are and some people aren't. If they don't have the injuries they've had, maybe (Ducharme) doesn't really start maturing until next year. She's a really, really special player. She does so many things so well."

With a stretch of seven games in 15 days starting at Providence on Sunday, the return of Williams and Fudd could not have come at a much better time. Meanwhile, there was someone on the UConn bench Wednesday night who was jumping around and moving pretty well even with a brace on her left knee. Her timetable for a potential return is in weeks and not months now.

Oh, how nice it would be for the Huskies to have Paige Bueckers leading the charge.

Carl Adamec is a Journal Inquirer staff writer. He has covered the UConn women's basketball team for 33 years.

For coverage of all sports in the JI's 18-town coverage area, plus updates on the UConn women's basketball team and head coach Geno Auriemma, follow Carl Adamec on Twitter: @CarlAdamec, Facebook: Carl Adamec, and Instagram: @CarlAdamec.