Sarah Strong-less No. 1 UConn Women's Hoops best Butler by 32 in Hartford
Picture this: a program goes into a pivotal game in the heart of league play without its leader in every statistical category. Yes, that includes field goal percentage (minimum 100 shots taken).
To most schools, that would be Armageddon, the dreaded apocalypse.
But for the No. 1 UConn women’s basketball team? It opened an opportunity that could serve them well as the postseason nears.
Sans Sarah Strong, who sat out due to rest, the Huskies battered the Butler Bulldogs 80-48 inside a chilly PeoplesBank Arena Saturday.
“Once we got the hang of it [playing without their two leading scorers], I thought in the second half we were much better,” head coach Geno Auriemma said afterward while evaluating the whole contest. “The ball moved more; we were able to get in the lane more with the dribble.”
Connecticut met what could be considered a rare moment, one they had not experienced since a two-game Paige Bueckers-less stretch in January 2025.
It, specifically the offense, again revolved around Azzi Fudd. Back in the building where she began her stellar February, Fudd led all players with 17 points on 6-14 shooting. The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award top 10 candidate further contributed with four assists and three steals.
Strong’s absence additionally created a fantastic runway for senior forward Serah Williams to control the post. Williams nearly accomplished that in 21 minutes, picking up 11 points on 4-6 shooting with four assists and three blocks. The “dominant mindset” Auriemma saw from the Brooklyn native down low is one he considered necessary with March looming.
Reigning Big East Player of the Week Allie Ziebell again started in place of someone missing their first career game. Building off that previous instance in Providence, Ziebell scored 11 points at a 4-6 clip with one three-pointer.
Defensively, however, is where the sophomore guard truly shone. Ziebell recorded four rebounds, a block and a career-high four steals, numbers that impressed the 12-time national champion.
“When players like that [prolific scorers and shooters] are given a lot of minutes, you start to see other things that they do. She is just a really good basketball player,” Auriemma commented. “Having her continue to get that kind of confidence [gained from surprising opponents when on the court] every game is going to pay huge dividends toward the end of the season.”
Fellow Wisconsin native KK Arnold continued her own strong stretch with her fifth double-digit outing in her last 10 contests. Three days removed from a 12-point performance in Chicago, Arnold amassed 10 points and racked up four steals. Ashlynn Shade rounded out the Huskies’ starters with 11 points and five assists.
UConn’s four-person bench got some splendid run in approximately 55 combined minutes. Jana El Alfy only picked up four points but snagged a career-high-tying 11 rebounds (five on the offensive glass). Ayanna Patterson also had four points, while Kelis Fisher and Kayleigh Heckel each recorded six.
“It is hard to pick up when someone like Sarah Strong is out, but I thought all of us just tried to do a little bit more,” Fudd expressed about the all-around team effort.
Butler scored one more point, had three more rejections and shot better than they did in their first meeting with the Huskies. Yet it was the 23 turnovers, 37 points Connecticut scored off them and 16 offensive rebounds allowed that sunk Austin Parkinson’s program.
Junior forward Caroline Dotsey’s 10-point second half helped her finish with a team-best 13. Leading scorer Saniya Jackson grabbed a career high 12 rebounds to complement her nine points. Mallory Miller also had nine while Lily Zeinstra and Nevaeh Jackson each dropped five.
Dotsey’s three-pointer following consecutive turnovers gave the Bulldogs their only lead of the afternoon. Williams turned a block into a go-ahead jumper a minute later, and the Huskies went on a 6-0 run after McKenna Johnson’s floater. The former Wisconsin Badger countered Zeinstra’s lone triple with a traditional three-point play.
El Alfy and Heckel each landed layups off back-to-back Butler turnovers. Despite five straight points from the graduate guard, N. Jackson’s elbow trey made it an 11-point game after one quarter.
Fudd’s hot hand got significantly warmer as the second period commenced. UConn’s latest Final Four Most Outstanding Player redeemed a missed three with a make that put her into double figures. Late whistles bailed out a Fudd miss twice during that stretch; she ultimately went 3-4 at the charity stripe. The Virginia native’s next basket, created on a former USC Trojan offensive board, forced the Bulldogs’ first timeout.
The Huskies brought their run up to 12, with all but one free throw coming off giveaways the defense forced. Williams and Ziebell stole passes that turned into layups and Arnold canned a top-of-the-key three. Second-chance baskets from Shade and Connecticut’s first Egyptian player gave the team a 25-point halftime advantage.
An 8-0 run after the intermission brought the lead up to 30. Butler’s lone returning starter ended that run, setting up a stretch where the Huskies scored just six points in 4.5 minutes. Dotsey joined the action with a three and two uncontested layups late in the period. Heckel fired a shot that hit the rim at the buzzer, but UConn still led 68-35.
The Bulldogs outscored the Huskies 13-12 in the final frame. Despite that outcome, every bench player played at least seven minutes and El Alfy snagged seven rebounds. Patterson’s second layup put Connecticut right at 80 points as they won their 14th league game by their smallest margin.
Auriemma mentioned postgame that Strong sat Saturday because of some tightness that lingered from her time with USA Basketball. College basketball’s winningest coach acknowledged that she could have played, but the Huskies’ staff did not want the discomfort to worsen. No additional update was provided on Blanca Quiñonez, who missed a fourth straight game with a shoulder injury.
UConn next heads eastward toward campus to welcome the Creighton Bluejays. Tip-off from Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday is at 7 p.m. on Peacock.
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