UConn women’s basketball rolls over Creighton, 80-47

Behind a dominant performance from Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn women’s basketball dispatched the Creighton Bluejays, 80-47. The Huskies improved to 3-0 on the year and 2-0 in Big East play.

The junior center finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-9 shooting but did not play in the fourth quarter. Only Rebecca Lobo, Nykesha Sales, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier have made more baskets without a miss in a game in program history.

Christyn Williams collected 15 points despite a rough shooting night where she went 5-13 from the field. However, she also grabbed eight rebounds, which tied for a team high. Paige Bueckers scored 11 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists.

Geno Auriemma utilized a shorter rotation that featured only Aaliyah Edwards and Aubrey Griffin off the bench until late in the fourth quarter. Griffin looked more like her freshman self with eight rebounds rebounds, four points and two blocks. Edwards had a tough night with just four points and two rebounds.

Before the game, UConn’s radio voice Bob Joyce reported that Nika Muhl will be out through Christmas due to a left foot injury. That same ailment kept her out of practice leading up to the season opener, but she did play in the Huskies’ first two games.

Creighton won the opening tip, but things went downhill quickly for the Bluejays. UConn opened the game with an 8-0 run and didn’t let up. Creighton responded with a quick 7-2 spurt but the Huskies locked down and held the visitors without a basket for almost nine minutes while scoring 23-straight points themselves.

But once that run ended, UConn’s offense went ice cold and scored just three points over the final seven minutes of the half. Going into the locker room, Auriemma told SNY that he had “the worst shooting team in America.”

However, the Huskies still maintained their lead thanks to shutdown defense. Creighton scored just five points in the second quarter itself and went into the half with 12 points total.

The second half was much more conducive to offense as the two teams combined for 48 points in the third quarter — the same amount they totaled in the first 20 minutes. The Bluejays couldn’t make any dent in UConn’s lead, though, as the Huskies built their lead over 30 points late in the third and over 40 points soon after in the fourth quarter.

Piath Gabriel and Autumn Chassion both played in the final minutes. After getting benched in the second half against Seton Hall, Mir McLean didn’t make an appearance until the final two minutes of the game.

One of the officials was removed during the game out of an abundance of caution after UConn learned that she had possibly been exposed while officiating a game earlier in the week.

Next up, UConn has a short turnover as it gets ready to face the Xavier Musketeers on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. The ball will go up at 1 p.m. with SNY on the broadcast.