No. 5 UConn women’s basketball takes down No. 3 Texas, 83-76

UConn women’s hoops passed its first big test of the season, taking down the No. 3 Texas Longhorns, 83-76. After the two teams went back and forth for the first quarter and a half, the Huskies took the lead for good and held off a late push by the Longhorns to secure the victory. Texas star Rori Harmon did not play due to a toe injury.

Azzi Fudd went off for a career-high 32 points — 17 of which came in the fourth quarter alone — and hit a crucial 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining to stop an 8-0 Texas run. Aubrey Griffin brought a spark off the bench with 14 points and four rebounds while committing just one foul with no turnovers. Lou Lopez Sénéchal added 12 points while Nika Mühl dished out nine assists and six points.

In the paint, Aaliyah Edwards had 11 points and eight rebounds while Dorka Juhász had six points, nine rebounds, and four assists.

UConn dominated in transition, out-scoring the visitors 14-2. Both teams shot just 50 percent from the free-throw line.

The first quarter featured turnovers and mistakes from both sides. Texas jumped out to a 4-0 advantage but UConn came back to take the lead courtesy of a three from Lopez Sénéchal followed by a steal and score on the ensuing inbounds from Mühl to Fudd. The Huskies opened up their advantage to as many as five points in the opening period but kept the Longhorns in the game by committing unforced turnovers and unnecessary fouls.

Griffin came off the bench and quickly hit a 3-pointer from the corner on her first touch of the game and was the first Husky in double-figures. The two teams traded baskets for most of the period until UConn ripped off a quick 8-0 run to go back ahead and went into the locker room up five.

Out of the break, UConn built up the gap by hanging onto the ball — it had just two turnovers in the third quarter — and capitalizing on its possessions. The Huskies hit three 3-pointers in the period after making just two in the first half while holding the Longhorns to five baskets the other way.

In the fourth quarter, Fudd took over. She scored UConn’s first nine points and hit a dagger 3-pointer in the final minutes to mark to end an 8-0 run from Texas that had cut the lead down to single digits. The Huskies led by 11 points with 10 seconds left before the Longhorns scored two baskets in garbage time to reach the final score.

Caroline Ducharme made her season debut after missing the opener, playing five minutes.

UConn improves to 2-0 on the season. The Huskies will have the rest of the week off before returning to their tough non-conference slate on Sunday against No. 10 NC State.