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Another long streak of the Connecticut women’s basketball program has come to an end.
Since the previous iteration of the Big East Conference, the eighth-ranked Huskies were undefeated to an intraleague opponent until Villanova escaped in a 72-69 away win on Wednesday.
UConn (15-5, 9-1) had not lost a regular season conference game or conference tournament game since the 2012-13 season, 169 games including postseason. His last conference loss was to Notre Dame in March 2013.
The Huskies carried that run in the American Athletic Conference for the next seven seasons and continued by joining the current Big East for the 2020-21 season.
Villanova (16-6, 10-3) was leading by 15 points in the first quarter and wasn’t behind at all, but UConn drew 6 points with 56 seconds into the fourth quarter after a 14-4 run. Azzi Fudd’s field goal made a 2-point game nine seconds before Villanova took their eighth straight win.
“You’re very aware that UConn can score fast and take the stops, and we felt that in the fourth quarter,” Wildcats said. Coach Denise Dillon said.
“We kept the beloved life to the fullest and found a way to make a big profit,” he added.
Earlier this season, Georgia Tech ended the Huskies’ 239-game undefeated streak against unranked opponents. On Wednesday, as lost to the Yellowjackets in Atlanta in December, UConn played without Paige Bueckers, who won the Naismith Player of the Year award as a freshman last season.
Bueckers suffered a tibial plateau fracture in his left knee during his win over Notre Dame on December 5 and hasn’t played since.
Veteran forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who won the conference’s co-defender of the year award in 2021, also didn’t play for UConn, which only uses six players. Villanova had a significant rebound advantage 37-21 overall and 12-4 on offense.
Lior Garzon led Villanova’s four double-digit scorers with 19 points. Maddy Siegrist and Brianna Herlihy hit a double-double helping Villanova beat the Huskies for the first time since 2004. A team that finished 29.7 percent from the three-point range took 10 shots for 22 points on Wednesday.
UConn freshman Fudd has just made his second start, leading with 29 points in 11 out of 20 of all scorers. He started the fourth quarter with one of four threes.
“You have to be happy with your effort to come back and maybe we’re out of time,” said Chris Dailey, assistant head coach of the Huskies. told the local ESPN radio station after the game. But I think it would be a sin for Villanova to lose the game simply because they are superior to us.”
UConn’s defeat added to a record-breaking week in college basketball. On the men’s side, #1 Auburn’s 19-game winning streak came to an end against Arkansas, and Santa Clara beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2004, at home to the #22 St. He beat Mary.
The season escalates intrigue as we move towards conference and national tournaments, where UConn will try to end a drought – no title since 2015-16 – and perhaps kick off a new streak.
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