MONTVILLE, Conn. — UConn women’s basketball’s Big East dominance continues as they defeat Villanova 67-56 to win their 21st Big East Tournament Championship.
The Huskies also continue their streak of consecutive Big East Tournament wins as this is their 10th in a row.
Aaliyah Edwards posted another dominant tournament performance with another double-double, this time with 19 points and 15 rebounds controlling the interior on both ends. This consistent showing from her earned her the Big East Player of the Tournament.
"We put a lot into practice and everything we went through this season," said Edwards. "To still come out with the same outcome we wanted to coming into the season is amazing."
Dorka Juhász and Lou Lopez Senechal again offered the Huskies consistent scoring as second and third options as Juhász dominated the paint with Edwards scoring 16 points and 8 rebounds, and Lopez-Senechal scored 14.
"It feels special," said Lopez Senechal. "All the hard work we had, all the struggles and the challenges that we went through the whole year, it's just really rewarding."
Big East Player of the Year Maddy Siegrist was the leading scorer with 22 points shooting 9-21 from the field, but the team shot 30% from the field in total.
Azzi Fudd again started slow but she exploded in the third quarter with three threes much to the delight of the UConn crowd as she had a smile on her face after hitting them. Those threes ballooned the lead to where it was out of reach for the Wildcats.
"We knew that if Azzi missed a lot of shots in the first half, it's gonna go in the second half," said Juhász.
Head Coach Geno Auriemma talked about what this win meant for him personally and the team.
"It almost felt like a chapter had been closed," said Auriemma. "I can really just sit back and let everything wash over you that you been holding. So many things have happened on and off the court this past season. Personally and team-wise. So to get to this point, you wanna just close that book."
The game started with both teams trading blows at one another. Villanova shot poorly but made up for it with their control on the boards grabbing 16 in the whole first quarter to the Huskies' nine. But UConn's efficient shooting allowed them to edge away a lead.
The Wildcats couldn't get anything to fall from three going 0-10 from beyond the arc, and UConn smartly stayed on the interior allowing them to be ahead 19-14 at the end of the first.
But Villanova's poor shooting didn't last long as they opened the second with two quick threes to get right back into the ballgame.
The Huskies withstood their small comeback thanks to Edward's continued dominance scoring eight points and grabbing four boards alone in the quarter. She finished the half just one rebound shy of a double-double as she had 12 points and nine rebounds.
UConn led Villanova by 10 at the half.
The Huskies then put their foot down in the second half and didn't let up going on a 14-0 run that increased the lead to 20. Their defense again held the Wildcats to just 35% from the field whereas UConn shot 62.5%
Rebounding was key in the second as UConn lost that battle in the first half, but they matched the Wildcats with 19 in total which allowed them to take control of the game.
"I think we took that personally in the beginning," Juhász said on the rebounding battle. "That's just a quick switch of mindset."
In the fourth, Villanova mounted somewhat of a comeback as UConn's offense went cold but the lead was too great for them to overcome and time began dwindling down in the game.
Now, the Huskies look ahead to Selection Sunday where they will learn what seed and side of the bracket they'll be in the NCAA Tournament.
Auriemma said that there's a lot of uncertainty going into the tournament this year.
"The talent is spread out a lot more now and I think this may be one of the more exciting NCAA tournaments in recent years," said Auriemma.
Daniel Dashefsky is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at ddashefsky@fox61.com.
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