For head coach Dan Hurley and the UConn men’s basketball team, the CHI Health Center Arena has been a house of horrors. In four games over four separate seasons, Hurley’s Huskies own an 0-4 record with three stinging single-digit defeats.
Sarah Strong and Paige Bueckers turned the 17,500-seat arena into their funhouse Saturday night. Each former No. 1 recruit took their turn; they each controlled a different half for the No. 6 UConn women’s basketball team.
Both Big East Player of the Week recipients combined for 48 points as UConn defeated the Creighton Bluejays 72-61 in downtown Omaha. It marked the first time that the Huskies had played in the venue.
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Strong became the lone positive in what was otherwise a rough first half for Connecticut’s usually-efficient offense. In 18 minutes, the North Carolina native flirted with a double-double with 16 points and seven rebounds while recording four steals. Strong, who finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, bullied the Bluejays defensively en route to her fifth career double-double. On top of her eight defensive boards, the seven-time Big East Freshman of the Week collected five steals and rejected four shots.
Bueckers was one of the many Huskies who struggled on offense with three points in the first half. The 15-minute intermission and a 7-0 Creighton run to begin the second half sparked the two-time Big East Player of the Year. Bueckers needed just three shot attempts to cross double figures, giving UConn a cushion they maintained for the entire game.
The two-time WBCA Coaches’ All-American scored 19 points on 8-16 shooting without checking out once in the second half. It helped Bueckers pick up her 11th 20-piece this season with 22 points. Even though the box score says she was not as much of a threat on defense, the 6-foot-0 guard’s off-ball pressure made her even more dangerous.
Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen provided tertiary support on offense for the second straight conference game. Although she shot 4-12 from the floor without a three-pointer, Chen scored nine points and dealt out three assists. The graduate guard was also one of three Huskies with exactly two steals. KK Arnold, Azzi Fudd and Ashlynn Shade, who combined for 12 points, each forced two turnovers and further complemented Connecticut’s defense.
The Huskies missed several layups and had multiple possessions all evening where they only took one shot. Yet UConn fended off the Bluejays with an impressive defensive effort. While Creighton shot 42% from the floor, the Huskies forced 18 turnovers with 12 steals and scored 17 points off those giveaways.
It did not stop Morgan Maly and Molly Mogensen from guiding the offense. Each veteran scored 14 points, buried two triples, flirted with a double-double and blocked a shot. Maly grabbed nine rebounds to go with three assists while Mogensen had seven and four, respectively.
Senior guard Lauren Jensen had as many rebounds while scoring 11 points at a 5-12 clip. Central Missouri transfer Brooke Littrell, meanwhile, outscored Connecticut’s bench by herself. Littrell shot an efficient 5-7 for 12 points in just 18 minutes.
Both teams barely scored that many points in the first quarter while jostling for the lead. A flurry of missed shots that bounced off the rim played a role in that regard. Yet the Huskies owned a narrow 15-13 advantage because of Strong, who had eight points and four rebounds. When the 6-foot-2 forward crossed double figures nearly three minutes into the second, UConn started breaking away from the Bluejays.
Creighton pulled within a point on a Mallory Brake jumper on the previous possession; they only scored two points across the rest of the first half. The Huskies dominated the transition game with seven of their eight steals in the quarter coming in that span.
While they still missed some simple shots, Connecticut’s offense returned to normalcy. Chen and Strong went coast-to-coast on consecutive possessions halfway through the frame to put the Huskies up double figures for the first time. The Princeton native subsequently landed a layup over 40 seconds later as the Bluejays called timeout.
That temporary break helped Creighton stop the run with a Jensen jumper. Even with it, however, the two-time Big East Player of the Week capped off her first half with its final four points. Strong additionally made another defensive stand; she picked up her first block of the game and intercepted a Bluejay pass before the buzzer.
Creighton, down 14 points at halftime, erupted out of the gates with a 7-0 run. Limited to a single three-pointer across the first 20 minutes, however, Bueckers started taking over. The Minnesota native landed three jumpers in a 90-second window to cross double figures and grow UConn’s advantage back up to double digits.
The Bluejays started making more shots from downtown, but Bueckers’ initial punch made way for an offensive onslaught. The 2024 McDonald’s All-American Game co-MVP got that momentum swing started, however, with an end-to-end block following a turnover. From that rejection onward, the Huskies shot 5-7 from the floor and went up 18.
Seven of Connecticut’s last 10 points in that span came off a Creighton giveaway as the defense tightened their grip. Yet the Bluejays stuck around with a 4-7 mark from downtown in the frame. Bueckers, who shot 5-8 for 12 points in the third quarter, tacked on another seven and solidified another 20-point performance.
The 2021 National Player of the Year kept the Huskies ahead comfortably for good. Maly got Creighton within 11 points on a three-point jumper; Bueckers ultimately answered with a layup three possessions later. The Bluejays got within 10 when Littrell picked up a three-point play, but less than a minute remained. Despite allowing more than 60 points for the first time against the Bluejays, UConn departed Omaha with their 10th win in the all-time series.
The Huskies remain in the Central Time Zone when they take on the DePaul Blue Demons on Wednesday evening. Tip-off from Wintrust Arena in Chicago is at 7 p.m. EST on SNY.
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