No. 1 UConn Women’s Hoops overcome slow start; down Creighton by 41
It was just eight days ago that the No. 1 UConn women’s basketball team struggled early against the Seton Hall Pirates. But something awoke inside UConn when the Pirates tied the game at 11. The Huskies responded with a 15-0 run and tacked on a 20-0 run en route to a 36-point win.
Connecticut faced an eerily similar situation against the Creighton Bluejays at the ever-intimidating CHI Health Center. Despite scoring five of the first seven points, the Huskies found themselves knotted at 10 after the Bluejays went on a 6-0 run. Six turnovers in the first six minutes, more than UConn had in each of the other three quarters, did them no favors.
But Sarah Strong countered immediately with a contested layup, then pickpocketed Elizabeth Gentry for Blanca Quiñonez’s first bucket. The Huskies rode that momentum avalanche down the slope all the way to halftime.
Connecticut utilized a 19-0 run and a 33-point second quarter to down Creighton 95-54 Sunday afternoon.
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Neleigh Gessert went behind the back for the layup after two Huskies’ free throws. The Bluejays made just two more field goals in the half after Gessert scored her lone two points. Ashlynn Shade came up with a steal three possessions later and subsequently knocked down her first three-pointer. USC transfer Kayleigh Heckel sank a floater right before the buzzer that put UConn up 21-14 after one quarter.
KK Arnold intercepted Kennedy Townsend’s pass and breezed past everyone for two points 12 seconds into the ensuing frame. The Huskies landed two more buckets before Jim Flanery called the first of three timeouts in a 63-second window. Creighton used their second to avoid a held ball call, then burned their third after Strong and Quiñonez again made back-to-back shots.
Over two minutes passed before the Bluejays ended their 9.5-minute scoring drought with a layup and two free throws. But Creighton’s brief 4-0 run did not faze Azzi Fudd, who halted Connecticut’s offensive stagnation with a three-pointer. Heckel sank consecutive triples while unguarded, and Shade hit one from the same spot. Behind those treys, the Huskies took a 54-21 lead into the locker rooms.
In all, the Bluejays committed 16 turnovers and shot just 3-15 without a three across the first half’s last 13.5 minutes. Creighton had multiple two-minute stretches in the second quarter alone without a field goal attempt. Half of the 44 points UConn scored after the game was tied came via Bluejay giveaways.
Ava Zediker’s missed free throw 10 seconds into the second half resulted in the North Carolina native’s fifth double-double of the year. Strong added seven more points after that but also committed three fouls. While the 6-foot-2 sophomore forward’s foul trouble mounted, the Huskies’ first South American player took over offensively. Quiñonez scored Connecticut’s final six points in the third quarter and stretched their lead to 39.
Zediker scored just as many points in that frame, but the final one became her show. The first-year Iowa native scored 14 of Creighton’s 19 points in that period and made all five of her shots. But the Huskies won the quarter by two behind Caroline Ducharme, who played 2.6 seconds in the first half.
UConn’s co-longest-tenured player dropped six points on three buckets, grabbed four rebounds and emphatically rejected two shots. Ayanna Patterson made her 2026 calendar debut as the Huskies held the Bluejays under 60 points for the 12th time in 13 meetings.
Strong was the lone double-digit scorer from both teams’ previous matchup in the Central Standard Time Zone who returned to downtown Omaha. Fittingly, the 6-foot-2 sophomore posted a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Even with her season-high four fouls, Strong still contributed immensely with six assists and five steals.
Quiñonez made her case for her sixth Big East Freshman of the Week award. Providing a spark as soon as she came off the bench, the Ecuadorian native recorded 15 points, four rebounds and three takeaways. Fudd was just as pivotal during Connecticut’s stellar stretch of the first half with 10 points on 4-7 shooting. The Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 selection only attempted one shot in the second, but finished with 14 points and five assists.
No one had more threes than Shade, who also went 4-8 from the floor. The Indiana native canned four of her six attempts from long range for all 12 of her points with a plus-minus of plus-46. Heckel and Serah Williams each had eight; the former dealt out six dimes, and the latter grabbed six boards.
Creighton shooting an uncharacteristic 3-25 (season-low 12%) from downtown dictated the defensive pressure that the Huskies applied. Beyond that, UConn held the Bluejays to a 31.1% overall clip from the floor and seven bench points while forcing 22 turnovers.
Townsend made Creighton’s first three-pointer, ultimately picking up 13 points on 5-14 shooting. Zediker banked in the other two and finished with a game-high 23 alongside three steals. Northern Iowa transfer Grace Boffelli flirted with her own double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Kendall McGee scored five points and hauled in six rebounds off the bench.
Only turnovers and fouls put a blemish on the Huskies’ 41-point victory. UConn committed 21 turnovers for the second time in four games and eight in just the first quarter. The Bluejays were in the bonus in each of the first three quarters as the Huskies had three players commit 3+ fouls.
Ball-handling issues more than foul trouble contributed to Connecticut’s discombobulated start in Omaha. The defending national champions weathered that storm by going 4-8 from the floor. Even then, they cannot afford either of those things to make an unwanted appearance in Storrs during the week ahead.
The Huskies return to play on campus for the first time in over a month on Thursday evening. Before they wrestle with the Villanova Wildcats, however, UConn will induct the 2014-15 and 2015-16 national championship-winning teams into the Huskies of Honor. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on FS1.
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