GREENSBORO, N.C. — The first road test of the season did not phase the UConn women’s basketball team on Friday, as the No. 2 Huskies soundly defeated No. 14 North Carolina 69-58 in Greensboro.
UConn improves to 3-0 with the victory while North Carolina drops to 3-1 on the young season.
More importantly, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma secured the 1,216th win of his career, tying him for the most all-time in Division I men’s or women’s basketball. Auriemma needs one more victory to pass longtime Stanford women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer, who retired after last season.
On Friday, the Huskies and Tar Heels battled for the first five minutes before UConn began pulling away during the first quarter. A three-point field goal by star senior guard Paige Bueckers with two seconds left in the frame gave UConn a 25-14 lead.
UConn proceeded to score the first seven points of the second quarter, opening their lead to 32-14. The Huskies maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the first half and were ahead 38-26 entering the break.
Early in the third quarter, a three-pointer by Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen, a graduate student, put the Huskies back up by 17. A three-pointer by Bueckers with 1:25 left in the quarter but UConn up 58-37, and the Huskies shifted into cruise control from there.
North Carolina outscored UConn in the fourth quarter by five points, but it was far from enough, as the Huskies earned an 11-point victory and brought Auriemma one win away from becoming the all-time Division I wins leader.
Bueckers put together a vintage performance against the Tar Heels, scoring 29 points while nailing 12 field goals, including four three-pointers. Bueckers also added four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Freshman forward Sarah Strong, the number one recruit in her class, continued to play well, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. She also had five blocks and six assists while leading the Huskies in minutes played with 38.
Sophomore forward Ice Brady contributed nine points and nine rebounds, and Chen scored nine points as well.
North Carolina was led by junior guard Indya Nivar, who scored 15 points and brought in nine rebounds. For the Tar Heels, freshman forward Ciera Toomey played admirably off the bench, scoring 10 points.
On the night, UConn shot just 7-29 from behind the arc, but the 24.1% three-point shooting performance failed to slow them down. UConn shot 28-65 from the field overall, good enough for 43.1%. The Huskies could use work at the free throw line, where they shot only 60%.
North Carolina also hit seven three-pointers, shooting 29.2% from distance. The Tarheels shot 21-58 from the field, scoring at a 36.2% clip.
The rebounds and turnovers were relatively even, as UConn turned the ball over 11 times and secured 41 rebounds. North Carolina had 15 turnovers and 37 rebounds.
UConn is back in action next Nov. 20 against Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m. in Gampel Pavilion. The game will be broadcast on SNY.
It is expected that Auriemma will make history that evening by becoming the all-time winningest college basketball coach in Division I history.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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