Other Sports

No. 1 UConn women clinch Big East title share, rout Xavier

Posted February 20, 2021 6:00 am

The Associated Press

Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers (5) passes to a teammate against Xavier guards Carrie Gross (25) and Mackayla Scarlett, center, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Cincinnati. UConn won 83-32. (AP Photo/Gary Landers) The Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) - Connecticut celebrated its return to No. 1 earlier this week. Now, the Huskies can celebrate another Big East championship.

A combination of UConn's 83-32 win over Xavier and a loss by DePaul on Saturday allowed the Huskies to clinch a share of the title in their first season back in the conference after seven in the America Athletic Conference. The Big East regular-season title was UConn's 19th.

'œThat's always the first order of business, no matter what league you're in,'ť coach Geno Auriemma said. 'œYou want to win the regular-season championship. This hasn't been a normal season. Not everybody is playing the same number of games. I don't know how they can give out a championship trophy this year.'ť

Christyn Williams scored 22 points as the Huskies breezed to their eighth straight win.

'œGoing into the end of February and early March, we're obviously playing a little bit differently than earlier,'ť Auriemma said. 'œDefensively, we're better. Offensively, we're in a better flow. Maintaining that isn't always the easiest thing to do.'ť

Williams has scored at least 16 points in each of her last three games after going scoreless against Seton Hall on February 10.

'œI'm just in a good space mentally,'ť the junior guard said. 'œI just had a bump in the road. There was a lot going on. I had a little bit of an ankle problem, too. The ankle is better. I'm just trying to keep the momentum going forward.'ť

High-scoring Paige Bueckers and Olivia Nelson-Odoba each added 11 points for the Huskies (18-1, 15-0 Big East).

UConn led 42-13 at halftime and Bueckers didn't score after the break. She had seven assists.

Aaliyah Edwards logged her first career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Huskies, whose only loss was to then-No. 19 Arkansas 90-87 on Jan. 28.

The win was Connecticut's second over Xavier (4-7, 1-6) this season - this was the Huskies' first-ever visit to Xavier.

Connecticut, which returned to the top ranking earlier this week, cruised past the Musketeers 106-59 on Dec. 19.

Carrie Gross scored 10 points to lead Xavier, which set a season low in scoring.

As Auriemma watched with his arms folded across his chest most of the time, the Huskies never trailed. The game was tied at 2 for little over a minute in the first quarter before UConn ran off 12 straight points.

Connecticut's active man-to-man defense forced Xavier into a season-high 18 turnovers, and the Huskies enjoyed huge advantages of 29-2 in points off turnovers and 28-9 in fast-break points.

COBWEBS

Xavier was playing its first home game since Jan. 3. Five games had been postponed.

ROAD WARRIORS

The game was the third of five straight on the road for Connecticut. The last time the Huskies played five straight road games was in February 1980.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Xavier: Senior forward A'riana Gray was attended to by trainers and led off the floor after suffering a head injury in a collision with a teammate with 7:26 left in the third quarter. She returned with 1:04 left in the quarter.

UP NEXT

Connecticut: The Huskies' road trip is scheduled to continue on Thursday at Creighton.

Xavier: The Musketeers are scheduled to play at Butler on Monday.

___

More AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma, center, directs his team against Xavier during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Cincinnati. UConn won 83-32. (AP Photo/Gary Landers) The Associated Press

Connecticut guard Christyn Williams, right, takes control of a loose ball in front of Xavier guard Shaulana Wagner (24) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Gary Landers) The Associated Press

Xavier head coach Melanie Moore gives instructions during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Connecticut, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Gary Landers) The Associated Press

Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers (5) drives against Xavier forward A'Riana Gray (21) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Gary Landers) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.