When the Providence Friars last entered the XL Center 11 days into 2024, they committed 13 first-quarter turnovers in an 85-41 defeat. Less than 64 hours before 2025 arrives, the No. 7 UConn women’s basketball team re-enacted one of their greatest hits from the past 363 days.
The Huskies forced 31 turnovers, collected 17 steals and allowed just 13 field goals. In the first quarter alone, Connecticut scored more points off turnovers (13) than Providence had on offense (six). Beyond the box score, the Huskies’ press defense consistently prevented the Friars from crossing midcourt.
It helped UConn close their calendar year with a 67-41 victory over Providence in Hartford.
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Despite the Huskies’ aggressive defense, head coach Geno Auriemma noted postgame the importance of always tinkering with it. From his perspective, the offense worsens as different players apply intense pressure in small batches.
Such was the case on Sunday afternoon. After scoring 28 points in the first quarter, Connecticut did not have another frame where they had 20+ points. Over those final 30 minutes, the Huskies shot 15-44, committed 10 turnovers and only outscored the Friars by four.
Redshirt senior Paige Bueckers was not as much of a factor in the scoring department as she was throughout the opening period. Bueckers started her afternoon shooting a perfect 5-5 from the floor for 14 points with two rebounds and three assists. The two-time Big East Player of the Year ultimately went 8-12 but made all six of her free throws for a game-high 23 points.
Christmas break provided a chance for the players to rest, but it also provided an opportunity for reflection and adjustment. Auriemma opted for a new starting five featuring Jana El Alfy in the frontcourt instead of Ice Brady.
Everything came up in twos for El Alfy; she scored two points, committed two fouls and grabbed two rebounds. It might not have necessarily been the outing the Egyptian native desired for her first career start. In the 40th-year head coach’s eyes, however, things should only go upward.
“She overthinks things … when you are busy thinking, it is hard to play,” Auriemma said postgame. “Right now, her head is getting in the way of her game. Putting her in the starting lineup may help in that regard.”
His experiments with the lineup also gave redshirt junior Azzi Fudd her first start since December 7. In 24 minutes, Fudd scored eight points and was one of two Huskies with multiple three-pointers. Four-time Big East Freshman of the Week Sarah Strong, meanwhile, dropped 14 points on 6-11 shooting despite some early foul trouble.
Sophomores KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade each grabbed a defensive rebound and recorded four steals off the bench. While both guards provide some offensive strengths, what they do on the other side of the ball deserves major recognition.
“Their defensive intensity tonight and the past couple games really have been tremendous and have shifted the game,” Bueckers explained about both sophomores. “For them to continue to impact winning that way, it does measures for a team.”
Providence, who shot a season-worst 32.5% from the floor, hung around at the XL Center because of their rebounding. Graduate guard Grace Efosa and senior forward Olivia Olsen had 18 of the Friars’ 37 boards. Efosa, Providence’s leading scorer, dropped a team-best 11 points behind seven free throws. Olsen finished two points shy of a double-double while grabbing 11 rebounds.
Neither of them scored in the first quarter, but senior forward Emily Archibald did. After scoring six combined points over her past two games, Archibald dropped nine on 3-4 shooting in 24 minutes off the bench.
Senior guard Marta Morales, the only other Friar with at least five points, countered El Alfy’s game-opening layup 87 seconds into the game. The Huskies followed that bucket with three field goals on their next four possessions, which forced a Friars timeout.
Bueckers made two of those shots and landed two more as part of a 15-0 UConn run. The Minnesota native did not cross double figures, though, until after Archibald ended Providence’s scoring drought in the paint.
The Friars did not make another field goal in the period. Each of the Huskies’ last nine points and final five shot attempts in the frame came off a Providence turnover. Brynn Farrell’s steal right before the buzzer, though, sparked the Friars’ 7-0 run to start the second quarter.
Yet that stretch, which included multiple missed layups and two more turnovers, merely bent Connecticut. Strong’s three-point play on the ensuing possession helped the Huskies end the first half on a 17-6 run. Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen capped off the quarter with a last-second drive to the basket.
The Huskies scored 45 points in the opening 20 minutes; they did not cross the 50-point mark until very late in the third quarter. Bueckers’ floater off a turnover was UConn’s only bucket on their first 10 shot attempts. Efosa, who only scored two points in the first half, spearheaded the Friars’ third-quarter comeback attempt.
Yet Providence’s ball discipline woes—they committed nine more turnovers in the period—helped the Huskies find their offensive footing. Connecticut ended the third quarter with a 9-0 run in a matter of 116 seconds. All four of the Huskies’ field goals in that stretch came off giveaways from the Friars.
The two-time Big East Player of the Week scored the first and final points of that run. Once the Minnesota native in Bueckers exited 28 seconds after Strong’s last two-pointer, the Huskies turned to their bench. Qadence Samuels shined in that situation with two points and four rebounds in eight minutes. Audrey Shields’ last-minute layup ultimately gave the Friars as many points as they scored in their last trip to Hartford 11 months ago.
UConn opens up 2025 with four road contests in a five-game stretch. It begins in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on New Year’s Day against the Marquette Golden Eagles. Tip-off from the Al McGuire Center Wednesday is at 2 p.m. EST on SNY.
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