Seton Hall's big win on Wednesday was not to be repeated on Saturday against UConn.
Seton Hall’s women’s basketball team had to be feeling good about itself in the first quarter of its game Saturday against No. 1 UConn in Hartford, Conn.
After all, the Pirates had played as tight of a first quarter against the Huskies as just about any team in the nation and found itself tied at 11 with 1:42 left in the stanza.
Then, the Huskies showed just how mighty there are. The defending national champs ran off eight points in a row to take a 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, the beginning of a 73-37 stretch over the next nearly 32 minutes that left UConn with an 84-48 victory.
As always, the Huskies (15-0, 6-0 Big East) were led by Sarah Strong (18 points, eight rebounds, four assists) and Azzi Fudd (16 points). Allie Ziebell (12) and Jana El Alfy (10) also scored in double figures.
The Huskies’ 67-26 lead at the end of three quarters was enough that UConn coach Geno Auriemma could leave Strong and Fudd on the bench for the fourth quarter.
Guards Jordana Codio (12 points) and Savannah Catalon (11) led the Pirates (10-5, 4-2) in scoring. Seton Hall was coming off of an 81-36 victory against Georgetown on Wednesday.
It was the Huskies’ defense, again, that led to the win on Saturday.
UConn forced 32 turnovers – 20 of them coming off steals – and scored 35 points off the giveaways. They added 19 fast-bread points and 25 assists off 31 made shots. They averaged 24.3 assists per game heading into the meeting with Seton Hall.
UConn shot 46.3% (31-67) and 43.3% from long distance (13-of-30) against Seton Hall.
Odds and ends
Seton Hall and UConn have met 72 times, with the Huskies moving to 62-10. Under Auriemma’s leadership, UConn is 58-2 against Seton Hall.
The Pirates were hoping for their first win in the series since Jan. 5, 1994.
UConn now has won 53 consecutive Big East games.
The Huskies' men
Head coach Dan Hurley's Huskies (13-1, 3-0 Big East) will meet conference foe Marquette (5-9, 0-3) on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn.
UConn won its first-game post-break, defeating Xavier 90-67 on New Year's Eve in Cincinnati. Alex Karaban scored 19 points and added seven rebounds and four assists. Solo Ball had 17 points as did freshman Braylon Mullins, a freshman who drained a career-high five shot from 3-point range.