STORRS, CONN. – The Villanova Wildcats traveled to Storrs, Connecticut, on Thursday night where they lost to the No. 1 ranked Connecticut Huskies by a score of 99-50. With the loss, Villanova falls to 14-4 overall and 7-2 in BIG EAST play, while Connecticut improves to 18-0 on the year and 9-0 in league action.
Connecticut led 13-5 with 3:48 remaining in the first quarter, when the Huskies finished the period on a 13-3 run to lead 26-8 after the first. UConn star Sarah Strong led the way in the spurt scoring six of the 13 points.
Villanova struggled on the offensive end of the floor in the game's first 10 minutes connecting on just 3-of-15 from the field and 1-of-6 from three-point range. The Huskies also forced Villanova into nine first quarter turnovers,
Two free throws by Kayleigh Heckel gave Connecticut its biggest lead of the first half at 38-13 with 6:01 left in the second quarter. Villanova then responded with 10 unanswered points to cut the lead to 38-23. The 10 Wildcat points included three-point field goals by Ryanne Allen and Kennedy Henry and jump shots by Jasmine Bascoe and Brynn McCurry.
Connecticut answered the Villanova run by scoring seven straight points to push the lead back to 45-23 with 1:16 on the clock. Villanova closed out the first half scoring with a lay-up and two free throws by Bascoe to send the game to halftime with the Huskies leading 45-27.
The Huskies put the game away over the first three minutes of the third quarter when Connecticut scored 12 of the first 15 points of the second half open to take a commanding 57-30 lead. Connecticut went 12-of-21 from the field in the third quarter and led 76-44 after three quarters of play.
The Huskies would lead by as many as 49 in the fourth quarter and cruise to the victory.
Henry led the Wildcats in the loss with 12 points, while Brynn McCurry added 11 points.
Strong paced the Huskies with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Azzi Fudd had 14 points.
For the game, Villanova was 18-of-65 from the field (27.7%), 8-of-32 from three-point range (25.0%) and 6-of-7 from the foul line (85.7%), while Connecticut shot 54.9 percent from the floor (39-of-71), 30.0 percent from downtown (6-of-20) and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe (15-of-21). The Huskies owned a 46-34 advantage on the backboards and forced 26 Villanova turnovers.
Villanova returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 18, when the Butler Bulldogs visit the Finneran Pavilion. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
