The Huskies weren’t at their best in the final tune-up before a stretch of top-25 matchups.
UConn women’s basketball rode a strong second half to beat the Holy Cross Crusaders 88-52 at Gampel Pavilion on Tuesday night. The Huskies led by just six at the midway point but out-scored the visitors by 30 over the final 20 minutes.
Sarah Strong carried the torch with a new career-high of 22 points on 9-12 shooting to go with seven rebounds. Kaitlyn Chen also set a season-high with 14 points while adding seven assists with no turnovers. Paige Bueckers had an off-night, finishing with 11 points on 4-9 shooting, though she also contributed with seven boards, five assists and three steals.
As a team, UConn made 14 3-pointers on 45 percent shooting — both of which were season-bests.
The Huskies couldn’t buy a bucket in the early going. After Chen opened the game with a 3-pointer on the first possession, they missed 10 of their next 11 shots and fell behind 10-6. They responded with a 5-0 run and closed the quarter with a one-point lead.
The offense quickly woke up in the second period. UConn hit back-to-back 3-pointers from Bueckers and Cheli while making five of its first six shots. The Huskies needed less than three minutes to match their point total from the opening quarter and quickly opened up a double-digit lead.
That success didn’t translate down the other end of the floor, though. UConn gave up 17 points in the second quarter on 7-10 shooting despite forcing seven turnovers. The Huskies only went into the locker room up 33-27.
“The effort’s been really, really bad,” Geno Auriemma told SNY at the half. “I’m shocked we’re winning. I think the wrong team’s ahead at halftime.”
After trading baskets out of the break, UConn finally started to look like its usual self. The Huskies ripped off a 12-2 burst to take a 16 point lead, its largest of the day. Strong did most of the heavy lifting with 10 points in the quarter while making every shot she took.
UConn never looked back and came away with a 36-point win.
Next, the Huskies begin their toughest stretch of the season when they face four ranked teams over their next five games. They kick it off with No. 22 Louisville at the Barclays Center in the Women’s Champions Classic on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on Fox.