UConn Stays Perfect on the Season with a Dominant Win over Seton Hall
- Natalie Zona
- Jan 3
- 3 min read
The UConn Huskies (15-0) continued their undefeated season with an 84-48 win over the Seton Hall Pirates (10-5). UConn remains first in the Big East Conference as well as the number one overall team in the country.
The 15-0 start for the Huskies is their best since the 2017-2018 season.
KK Arnold, Connecticut’s starting point guard, returned to the lineup today after missing a game with a nasal fracture. Caroline Ducharme also returned from injury after a few games off.
When asked about Arnold’s absence, Sarah Strong commented, “It’s really great having KK, she’s so great out there. Her energy defensively really gets us going, her pressure on the ball just sets a tone for our game. Happy to have her back.”
The first quarter saw a competitive start to the game on both sides. The first points of the game from Azzi Fudd did not come until a minute and a half into the game. The Huskies scored six points before Seton Hall saw any shots go down. UConn put a lot of pressure on the Pirates in the first quarter, forcing them to turn the ball over five times in the first five minutes of the game.
After early subs put Blanca Quinonez, Kayleigh Heckel, and Allie Ziebell into the game, Seton Hall started to go on a run to tie the ball game at 11. Efforts from Strong, Fudd, and Ziebell gave UConn a run of their own to end the quarter with a 19-11 lead. Fudd led all scorers with nine first quarter points
In the second quarter, the Huskies picked up their defense and Seton Hall only scored 7 points along with multiple shot clock violations. KK, a leader on the defensive side said, “I feel really good about [our defense], like Coach said, [it] creates for our offensive opportunities and creates momentum for us going down the line.”
Connecticut had two runs of 12 and 7 points with Quinonez picking up her first points off the bench and Fudd becoming the first player to reach double digits. The one-two punch of Fudd and Strong came alive in the second quarter as it has all season. Strong hit two threes in a row to reach double digits and force Seton Hall to take a timeout.
UConn took a 38-18 lead into halftime. Seton Hall’s leading scorers were Mariana Valenzuela with 8 points and Ja’Kahla Craft with 6. The Huskies had all the momentum at this point.
Coming out of the half, Azzi Fudd once again scored the first points with a three. The scoring only went up from there from Connecticut. They would outscore the Pirates 29 to 8 in the third quarter. Sarah Strong got up to 18 points with a three pointer and an and-one bucket.
Jana El Alfy entered the game in the third quarter and put up four points in the paint. UConn had a 41-point lead going into the third quarter.
In the fourth, all the starters came out for the Huskies. This provided the chance for Allie Ziebell to score 6 points in the fourth and finish the game with 12 points on 2-3 shooting from beyond the arc. Ziebell, on her performance, said, “I think when you shoot them enough in practice, they’ll start to fall, so just staying consistent with that.”
Seton Hall outscored UConn 22-17 in the fourth, but the deficit that they fell into in the third quarter kept them down by 36 points in the end. Two Pirates ended with double figures, those being Savannah Catalon (11) and Jordana Codio (12).
UConn continues their dominance in the Big East Conference with this win. They are averaging 48 points in win margins in their conference this season so far. They also have wins over four nationally ranked opponents (Louisville, Iowa, USC, and Michigan).
The Huskies play another Big East opponent in St. John’s in Hartford on January 7th at 7:30 PM. The Pirates also face off against a conference team in Providence on January 8th at 7 PM.
