On Thursday night, the No. 3 UConn women’s basketball team went head-to-head with the No. 25 Tennessee Lady Vols, and emerged victorious in a thrilling top-10 clash. The game, which was played at UConn’s Gampel Pavilion, saw both teams fight tooth and nail until the very end, with the Huskies coming out on top with a final score of 67-61.
Leading the way for UConn was freshman sensation Paige Bueckers, who finished the night with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. The top-ranked recruit in the country coming out of high school, Bueckers has been living up to the hype in her first season at UConn, and she proved why she’s one of the best players in the nation on Thursday night.
Bueckers wasn’t the only Husky to have a big night, however. Senior guard Christyn Williams also came up big, finishing with 16 points and 4 rebounds, while junior forward Aaliyah Edwards added 15 points and 8 rebounds of her own. Together, the trio accounted for 49 of UConn’s 67 points, proving that they’re one of the best offensive trios in all of college basketball.
As impressive as the Huskies’ offense was, however, it was their defense that truly won them the game. UConn held Tennessee to just 35% shooting from the field, and forced 16 turnovers on the night. They also held Tennessee’s leading scorer, Rae Burrell, to just 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting, an impressive feat considering Burrell came into the game averaging over 18 points per game.
With the win, UConn improves to 9-0 on the season, and remains one of the top teams in the country. They’ll look to continue their hot streak on Monday, when they take on the No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks on the road.
For the Lady Vols, the loss drops them to 8-2 on the season, but they can hold their heads high knowing they gave the Huskies everything they could handle. Sophomore guard Jordan Walker led the way for Tennessee, finishing with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Burrell chipped in with 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Despite the loss, Tennessee can take solace in the fact that they went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country, and proved that they belong in the top 25. They’ll look to bounce back on Thursday, when they take on the Georgia Bulldogs at home.
Overall, Thursday night’s game was a thrilling showdown between two top-25 teams, and it lived up to the hype. UConn’s offense was firing on all cylinders, and their defense was fierce and relentless, while Tennessee refused to back down and gave the Huskies all they could handle. In the end, it was UConn that came out on top, but both teams should be proud of the way they played.