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  • The Aftermath: UConn delivers No. 22 Louisville "a good old-fashioned ass whooping"

The Aftermath: UConn delivers No. 22 Louisville "a good old-fashioned ass whooping"

The Huskies put together their best performance of the season on Saturday night.

Photo: Ian Bethune

UConn women’s basketball might still be searching for its first full 40-minute performance of the season. But in the meantime, the team reached new heights in an 85-52 demolition of the No. 22 Louisville Cardinals in the Women’s Championships Classic at Barclays Center.

The Huskies blew the Cardinals’ doors off with an explosive 28-10 first quarter. While they struggled for the first seven or so minutes of the second period, that would be the extent of it. They finished the first half on a 13-3 run then landed a death blow out of the break by scoring 23 of the first 26 points.

It was a vintage UConn blowout — right down to rendering the fourth quarter meaningless. As Louisville coach Jeff Walz put it, the Huskies delivered “a good old-fashioned ass whooping.”

The Huskies shot 52 percent while holding the Cardinals to a 26 percent night. They won the rebounding battle 52-28. UConn led by as many as 46 before it called off the dogs late in the third quarter.

“This is what we're capable of doing,” Geno Auriemma said. “Doesn't mean we're going to be able to do that every night but we know that this is in the picture for us.”

Perhaps the most impressive part of the Huskies’ performance is they did it with Paige Bueckers having an off-night. The superstar couldn’t get her shot to fall, finishing just 2-11 for eight points. She still contributed with 10 rebounds and six assists but she didn’t have nearly the same impact that she typically does.

Instead, the other two members of UConn’s three-headed monster carried the load. Sarah Strong continued her ascent with a 21-point, eight-rebound effort while making eight of her 10 shots. Azzi Fudd put together her best all-around performance with 18 points and hit 4-7 from behind the arc.

“The best teams we've ever had at Connecticut, they were three-pronged,” Auriemma said. “We're fortunate that we have something like that. We won't know until later on whether it's the equivalent [to the best in program history] but we've got something like that going for us right now.”

Beyond the headliners, everyone else chipped in. Ashlynn Shade provided secondary scoring with 13 points. Kaitlyn Chen ran the point well with six points and four assists. Ice Brady and Jana El Alfy held down the post and limited Louisville star Olivia Cochran to seven points and four rebounds.

All eight players in UConn’s circle of trust contributed on Saturday night.

“Everybody had a huge role in tonight's win,” Bueckers said.

The Huskies also stepped on the Cardinals’ throat out of the half to finish them off. They started on a 10-0 run, gave up a pair of free throws, then followed it up with 13 more unanswered points. UConn found the “killer instinct” that Auriemma had been looking for.

“Today, we were determined that if we had an opportunity to have an advantage going into halftime, that we were not going to come out in the third quarter and let up,” he said. “We played exceptionally well in that quarter.”

This is the type of performance that the Huskies had been searching for. They’ve put together stretches where they look elite but they haven’t sustained it. UConn finally changed that and for the first time all season, it showed just how high the ceiling can be.

“You’re looking at a Final Four team from last year that got way better,” Auriemma said.

Azzi Fudd update

UConn’s victory wasn’t without incident. In the third quarter, Fudd’s right knee awkwardly knocked into a defender as she tried to get around a screen. She grabbed it while falling to the floor but then got up, jogged up the floor, drained a 3-pointer and ran back on defense before the Huskies forced a stoppage.

Fudd checked out and went straight into the locker room. She eventually returned to the bench while still wearing her uniform but didn’t go back in the game. Early indications are she avoided anything serious.

“She was walking around, she was fine. It didn’t look like the worst case scenario,” Auriemma said. “We’ll know more when we get back but — I hope I’m right — but it’s not that worst-case scenario we’ve seen so many times.”

Beyond that, Fudd gave Ice Brady a thumbs-up when she came back to the bench, got a hug from Auriemma and told Bueckers that she was okay before the game even ended. During the press conference, Bueckers, Strong and Auriemma were all smiling and being goofy — which wouldn’t have been the case if they were concerned about Fudd.

After all, we have plenty of experience seeing how the Huskies react to injuries over the last few seasons. It’s hard to imagine they would’ve been so jovial if Fudd were seriously hurt.

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