Behind big nights from Paige Bueckers, post players, UConn women’s basketball wins Big East opener vs. Seton Hall, 74-49

After nearly two weeks since its last game, there was a lot of anticipation entering Friday’s UConn women’s basketball conference opener against Seton Hall, also the Huskies‘ first game back following their loss to top-ranked South Carolina in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship last Monday.

Friday wasn’t pretty, but behind sophomore Paige Bueckers’ third 20-point game of the season and a big night from the posts, the No. 2 Huskies took care of business in South Orange, defeating the Pirates, 74-49.

Bueckers led the Huskies (4-1, 1-0 Big East) with 23 points on 11-for-18 shooting (10-14 on 2s), along with nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and zero turnovers, a “terrific” performance according to coach Geno Auriemma. Senior guard Christyn Williams was next up with 17.

UConn looked out of rhythm offensively much of the night, but there were certainly some signs of improvement: For the first time this season, UConn’s frontcourt dominated, and Aaliyah Edwards looked much more like the player who emerged as a force in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. She finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, both season highs.

After a disappointing run in the Bahamas, Edwards said she tried to mentally reset so she could get back to being the player she knows she can be. That was the player that took the floor Friday: The sophomore forward’s aggressiveness shined, particularly on the glass: She had three offensive rebounds in the first half alone after collecting just one in the Huskies’ first four games of the season, success she channeled to fuel the rest of her game.

“It’s the first conference game, so I think just going into it with a mindset of it’s a new start,” Edwards said. “This is really when we need to start working and start perfecting our craft, individually for me just buckling down and just being impactful offensively and defensively. Just having conversation with Coach [Auriemma] and focusing on that, having that new mindset really helped me this game today.”

“She worked harder than she has in any game this season, and the results speak for themselves,” Auriemma added.

Graduate student Dorka Juhász added five points and 10 rebounds, while senior Olivia Nelson-Ododa notched a season-high 10 points.

“Dorka lived her life today,” Auriemma said. “‘I rebound, try to get a bucket inside and I make a 3 once in a while.’ So today Dorka was exactly what we need her to be. That needs to be accentuated a little bit going forward.”

After being out-rebounded the previous two games, the Huskies bested the Pirates on the boards, 48-30, and in the paint, 50-12.

“You have very few requirements if you’re a big guy playing basketball: Don’t give up layups, and offensive rebound and set good screens,” Auriemma said. “And then if you can make shots, phew, that’s awesome.”

Lauren Park-Lane (20 points) was the top scorer for Seton Hall (3-3, 0-1).

UConn looked sluggish out of the gate, with six first-quarter turnovers and mediocre shooting, while the Pirates came out firing with some early 3s. The Huskies trailed the Pirates 17-16 at the end of the first, with Bueckers’ nine points keeping the Huskies close and Edwards’ putback briefly giving them the lead at the 1:13 mark.

UConn turned things around to start the second, using a 12-2 run to retake the lead and force a Seton Hall timeout. The quarter featured a balanced effort, with six Huskies scoring, and was made possible by the team’s strong defense. The Pirates shot 2 for 14, committed five turnovers and scored just six points, allowing UConn to go into the break up, 39-23.

The Huskies faltered on both ends in the third, only narrowly outscoring the Pirates 14-13, but Williams’ drive to the hoop before the buzzer pushed their lead to 53-36.

Seton Hall later cut the deficit to 12 with just over six minutes to play, firing up the Pirates’ soldout home crowd, before UConn went on a 12-2 run to get enough breathing room and ultimately secure the win.

It started with redshirt senior Evina Westbrook’s steal and score, which extended the Huskies’ advantage back up to 14, and Bueckers stepped up once again with four baskets the rest of the way to ward off the Pirates’ comeback attempt.

“Basketball’s a game of runs,” Bueckers said. “They went on theirs, but obviously it was huge for us to stop those runs, whether it be with a bucket or a stop. And you can definitely hear the crowd when they’re getting amped up and into it. At some point, you’ve got to make them be quiet.”

UConn found success in transition, their 19 fast-break points and 26 points off turnovers help making the difference, while their half-court offense stalled. Moreover, the Huskies shot an abysmal 3-for-16 from 3, their worst 3-point shooting clip of the season.

“I never felt the flow offensively. I just didn’t feel it,” Auriemma said. “We struggle in our offensive sets because we just don’t make enough outside shots. So everybody is playing us to put it on the floor and get to the lane.

“Right now, our transition game is better than our half-court game, and that’ll help you win a lot of games, but that won’t help you in the biggest games.”

Notes

Auriemma said that junior Aubrey Griffin, who was initially supposed to make her season debut this weekend, aggravated a back injury on Thursday. He did not share a potential timetable for her return.

Seton Hall’s Andra Espinoza-Hunter, who started her career at UConn, did not play Friday. She was suspended due to a violation of team rules.

Alexa Philippou can be reached at aphilippou@courant.com.