Geno not worried about UConn's nine-point quarter against Georgetown

UConn women’s basketball picked up an 83-42 win at Georgetown on Thursday that should’ve been even more lopsided. The Huskies put up 51 points in the first half and went into the locker room up by 31, but only extended that lead by 11 over the final 20 minutes. They were hampered by a miserable third quarter in which they only scored nine points — their second-lowest output in a single period this season.

The head coach wasn’t too bothered about it postgame, though.

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Geno not worried about third-quarter struggles

Burn the tape of the third quarter. UConn came out of the halftime break ice-cold, making just one of its first 10 shots while managing just two points through the first 7:17 of the third quarter.

Despite the obvious struggles, Geno Auriemma felt the Huskies’ issues were pretty cut-and-dry.

“Usually when you score nine points, the shots aren't falling. Then the shots were falling and you scored 30 (in the second quarter),” he explained. “So, as I’ve said all season long, I'll start worrying when we can't get open shots. But when we get a bunch of open shots and we don't make them, I can't complain. I mean, I do, but I can't really complain.”

The scuffling offense didn’t get any help from the defense in that frame, either. After UConn recorded 15 steals and scored 24 points off turnovers in the first half, it only had one steal and two points off turnovers in the third quarter.

“Our defense didn’t really carry over into our offense,” Sarah Strong said. “We weren’t able to get out in transition and get things going that way.”

The Huskies eventually righted the ship. They closed the period by making three of their last five shots, then put up 23 points on 7-11 shooting in the fourth.

Defensive deficiencies

While UConn held Georgetown to 42 points on 16-56 shooting (28.6 percent) and a 1-19 day from three (5.3 percent) while forcing 28 turnovers, the Huskies weren’t particularly happy with their defensive performance in the win.

“Well tonight, I don’t think we quite mastered our defense. We had a good quarter but [there are] definitely some areas of improvement,” Fudd told the broadcast postgame.

Beyond the lack of steals in the second half (four total), UConn gave up a few too many open shots throughout the course of the night. The Hoyas just didn’t take advantage.

Play of the game

Player spotlight

Don’t look now but Serah Williams might finally be turning a corner for UConn. She finished with 12 points — making all three shots from the field and all six attempts from the line — along with six rebounds, four blocks and three steals against Georgetown. She’s now hit double-figures in back-to-back games for just the second time all season. Beyond the numbers, Williams is playing with more confidence and assertiveness.

She’s still searching for a bona fide breakout performance, but for the first time all season, the arrow is beginning to point upwards for Williams.

Statistical leaders

Points: 25 — Sarah Strong

Assists: 5 — Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong

Rebounds: 8 — Sarah Strong

Steals: 5 — Ashlynn Shade

Blocks: 4 — Serah Williams

Notable numbers

UConn is officially halfway through Big East play with a 10-0 record and is at the midway point of the season at 20-0 (presuming the Huskies reach the Big East final and national championship game).

With a victory on Thursday, UConn also extended its winning streak to 36 games — its longest since 2017-18.

Geno Auriemma hit a new milestone, too. According to team historian/Hearst CT’s Carl Adamec, the coach recorded his 500th career Big East win over Georgetown.

Stock watch

Risers

Serah Williams: As mentioned above, the Wisconsin transfer continues to stack up good performances.

Ashlynn Shade: The junior has quietly played some of her best basketball recently. While she isn’t scoring at her usual clip, she’s helping out in other ways — such as recording five steals in the win.

Jana El Alfy: After a four-game absence due to a concussion, El Alfy returned against Georgetown and scored on her first touch of the game.

Fallers

Sarah Strong: By pretty much any measure, Strong had a spectacular day with 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. But she also had four turnovers and four fouls, then couldn’t snap the Huskies out of their third-quarter drought.

KK Arnold: After putting together one of the best two-game stretches of her career coming in, Arnold was quiet on Thursday, finishing with no points, two assists and three steals while picking up three fouls in just 23 minutes.

3-point shooting: Over its last three games, UConn is hitting just 27.4 percent from deep — well below its season-average of 39.0 percent. The Huskies went just 8-29 from three against Georgetown, led by a rough 3-12 night from Azzi Fudd.

Quote of note

“Priority one would be to hurry up and try to get back to our hotel, find a great place, have a great glass of wine. Priority two would be a great restaurant in South Orange. I'll leave that to (Seton Hall coach) Tony Bozzella.” — Geno Auriemma on how to manage UConn’s quick turnaround to Seton Hall on Saturday.

On deck

UConn only has one day off before taking on Seton Hall at Walsh Gymnasium on Saturday at noon. The contest was originally scheduled for Sunday but was moved up a day due to the impending snowstorm.