No. 1 UConn women’s basketball vs. Creighton: time, how to watch, broadcasters, preview
The No. 1 UConn women’s basketball team kicks off its last stretch of regular-season games Thursday night on the road at Creighton.It’ll be the Huskies’ first of three games in five days, with a road trip to Butler on Saturday closing out their regular-season travel.
Creighton (7-9, 6-6 Big East) is sixth in the Big East standings but is in the midst of an impressive stretch, beating Seton Hall and No. 19 DePaul over the last few weeks.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:
Site: 5 p.m.
Time: D.J. Sokol Arena
Series: UConn leads, 2-0
Last meeting: No. 3 UConn 80, Creighton 47 in Storrs, Dec. 17, 2020
TV: SNY (Meghan Culmo and Allen Bestwick)
Livestream: You can watch the game on the Fox Sports App or https://www.foxsports.com/. Some fans say they are only able to access games via fox.com/sports or the Fox Sports Now app, though, so try that if needed. The games might not appear on those sites until right around tipoff.
Radio: UConn IMG Sports Network on 97.9 ESPN
Creighton probable starters, sixth man
Temi Carda, G, 5-9, Sr.; Carly Bachelor, G/F, 6-0, So.; Mykel Parham, F, 6-2, So.; Emma Ronsiek, F, 6-1, Fr.; Chloe Dworak, G, 5-6, Jr.; Morgan Maly, G/F, 6-1, Fr.
UConn probable starters, sixth man
Christyn Williams, G, 5-11, Jr.; Olivia Nelson-Ododa, F, 6-5, Jr.; Evina Westbrook, G, 6-0, R-Jr.; Paige Bueckers, G, 5-11, Fr.; Nika Muhl, G, 5-10, Fr.; Aaliyah Edwards, F, 6-3, Fr.
The matchup
UConn’s offense: Heading in the right direction. Williams has led the team in scoring the last three games, putting up 19, 21 and 22 points and giving the team another go-to scoring option besides Bueckers. Nelson-Ododa had a season-best 24 points on 9-for-9 shooting earlier this season against the Bluejays. Otherwise, Westbrook, Edwards and Griffin can get hot and be complementary scorers.
UConn’s defense: Has improved a lot over the last month. They’re working much better as a unit, and Williams has become a much better individual defender too, something she and Geno Auriemma say has helped her on the other end of the floor. The Huskies have held their last two conference opponents to 32 and sub-30 percent shooting.
Creighton’s offense: Creighton takes a lot of 3s — 41.7 percent of its points, in fact, come from beyond the arc. Carda, the top scorer, is a 37.1 percent three-point shooter and averages 13.2 points per game, while Ronsiek chips in 11.6 points on average. Against UConn in December, Creighton was held to 30.2 percent shooting, 12 first-half points and 7-for-29 shooting on threes. Ronsiek was their top scorer (11). Rachael Saunders, one of their starters from that game, is out for the season with a meniscus injury, while Tatum Rembao has been out dealing with a high ankle sprain since Feb. 15.
Creighton’s defense: The Huskies didn’t have much trouble against Creighton’s defense in December, shooting 55.6 percent and outscoring them in the paint 42-20. Overall, Creighton allows 64.3 points per game on 42.4 percent shooting. They’re one of the better defensive rebounding teams in the conference, collecting 72.5 percent of misses on that end of the floor.
UConn keys: Rush Creighton’s 3s as UConn managed in December, string together another overall strong defensive outing; defensive rebound and push the ball in transition
Players to watch: Griffin. She only played 10 minutes last time out against Xavier — that’s the least she’s played besides the two games where she was limited due to injury issues. How does she continue to carve out a spot in the rotation moving forward, and can she more consistently play to her strengths when she’s out on the floor?
About Creighton’s coach: Jim Flanery is in his 19th season at Creighton, where he led the Bluejays to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018. Though DePaul and Marquette have mostly reigned supreme in the Big East, Creighton has consistently been one of the league’s better teams, making it to the Big East Tournament final in 2016 and taking home the Big East regular-season title in 2017.
Creighton’s mascot: Billy Bluejay
Famous alumni: Controlling owner of the L.A. Dodgers Mark Walter, former NBA player and coach Paul Silas, Urban One founder Cathy Hughes, the first African-American woman to chair a publicly traded corporation
Alexa Philippou can be reached at aphilippou@courant.com
