UConn women’s basketball shuts down DePaul, 84-60

UConn women’s basketball bounced back from its first conference loss in nine years on Wednesday with a dominant victory over the DePaul Blue Demons, 84-60. With the win, the Huskies extend their streak without back-to-back losses to 1,044 games, dating back to 1993.

UConn was without Caroline Ducharme (head) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (groin) once again while DePaul’s Sonya Morris (17.9 points, 3.4 assists per game) also did not play.

Without Nelson-Ododa, the Huskies’ bigs owned the day. Dorka Juhász scored a season-high 22 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists while Aaliyah Edwards finished with 19 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Christyn Williams (20 points) and Evina Westbrook (10 points) both reached double-figures, though Nika Mühl chipped in nine points, five assists, and five rebounds.

DePaul freshman Aneesah Morrow, who had 30 points and 14 rebounds the last time the two teams met, had 20 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. The Blue Demons came into the game with the best scoring offense in the nation at 90.2 points per game but were held to their lowest output of the season. UConn finished with more points in the paint (62) than DePaul had total points (60).

After three clock malfunctions to open the game, the teams traded runs in the opening five minutes. UConn started with a 4-0 spurt, DePaul responded with five straight points and the Huskies came back with a 6-0 run to take a 12-5 lead, which prompted Blue Demons head coach Doug Bruno to take a timeout.

DePaul fought back to tie the game at 14 but UConn used another run — this time 11-0 — to pull away for good. The Huskies killed the Blue Demons down low, scoring seemingly at will on back-cuts. 22 of UConn’s 25 first-quarter points came in the paint.

The Huskies pushed their lead to double-digits but DePaul responded with a pair of 5-0 runs to stay within reach. However, UConn used its defense to build a cushion. The Blue Demons went over five minutes without a point and turned the ball over five times in that span while the Huskies scored 10 straight points. The hosts went into halftime with a 42-29 lead.

The gap could’ve been even wider had UConn not struggled on layups, making just 15-of-25 in the opening two quarters.

It didn’t matter. The Huskies started the second half by scoring eight of the first 10 points and took total control of the game. Following a sequence where Juhász scored in the paint and blocked a shot on the other end which led to an and-one the other way for Edwards, DePaul checked out.

The visitor’s energy and hustle visibly dropped and UConn exerted its will on both ends of the court. The Blue Demons never even hinted at a comeback attempt as the Huskies finished strong with a 24-point victory.

Next, UConn will head to Milwaukee to play the Marquette Golden Eagles on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. EST on FOX.