Strong took a day off for rest against the Bulldogs. It was her first missed game in her UConn career.
Coach Geno Auriemma gave star sophomore Sarah Strong the day off to rest on Saturday. She had never sat out a game in her college career.
Freshman standout Blanca Quinonez missed her fourth game in a row with a shoulder injury for No. 1 UConn.
Together, they average almost 30 points a game.
No Strong. No Quinonez.
No problem.
Veteran Azzi Fudd scored 17 points and added four assists and three steals to lead UConn (25-0, 14-0 Big East) past conference foe Butler 80-48 at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford on Saturday.
Serah Williams (11 points), Ashlynn Shade (11), Allie Ziebell (11) and KK Arnold (10) also scored in double figures.
It was the 41st consecutive win for UConn, and it came on the day of the Play4Kay Pink Game. The Huskies wore their home white jerseys with pink accents instead of dark blue in support of breast cancer awareness.
Against Butler, the Huskies did what they always do, even without Strong and Quinonez and while wearing an unfamiliar jersey. That’s outshooting the opponent, tenacious defense and finding the open player.
UConn shot 49.3% from the field and held the Bulldogs to 36.5%. They forced 23 turnovers – 14 of them on steals – and turned those giveaways into 37 points. The Huskies dished out 20 assists.
For Butler, Caroline Dotsey led the scoring with 13 points. Saniya Jackson had 12 rebounds.
Auriemma knows he’ll need to tap into the depth on his team if the Huskies are to repeat as national champions this spring. Shade played the entire fourth quarter, surrounded by reserves, who got the chance to figure out how to create points without Fudd or Strong on the floor.
Auriemma used nine players, with each of them scoring at least four points.
How the game unfolded
UConn took a 24-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, and in typical fashion, went on a run in the second period -- a 12-0 stretch that helped the Huskies go into the locker room up 44-19.
A 25-point deficit was as close as Butler would get. UConn started the third quarter on a 13-2 run to go up by 36 and seal the win against the Bulldogs.
After the game, Fudd told Fox Sports in an interview that the key to playing without Strong and Quinonez was “just being aggressive. … We did our best pressuring the ball, got some steals.”
The players were aware they had an expanded role without Strong, who leads the Huskies in points, rebounds, steals and blocks.
“We knew going into the game no Sarah, so everyone's got to step up a little bit,” Fudd said, crediting Jana El-Alfy for taking the role as chief rebounder with 11 and Ziebell for her four steals.
“No one can replace what Sarah brings,” she continued, “but if everyone can play -- just do a little bit more. Play together. Talk more.”
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