Women’s Basketball: Lady Vols deliver first loss to Huskies against Tennessee since 2007
Three minutes into the first quarter, Talaysia Cooper notched a layup to put the Tennessee Lady Volunteers two points over the Huskies for the first time in the second half.
After that, it was complete domination from Tennessee over the Huskies, as Kim Caldwell and her SEC squad took down Connecticut 80-76 in a coveted rivalry matchup for the first time since 2007.
There’s no doubt in women college basketball fans’ minds, that the Blue hates the Orange.
The rivalry between these two squads dates to the National Championship in 1995 when Geno Auriemma’s Huskies beat Pat Summit’s Lady Volunteers, 70-64, after trailing at halftime.
Right off the bat, the Huskies’ current squad struggled to keep up with Tennessee due to their full court pressure. The 2024-25 Vols play a newly evolved version of basketball, where they have a whole-sale substitution scheme, swapping out multiple players from the court and on the bench various times throughout the game.
However, after a few possessions in the first quarter, the Huskies started to find their way after a jumper from Sarah Strong.
As red shirt freshman Jana El Alfy had frustrations from the start, Auriemma swapped Strong into the center position.
In total for the entire first half, Strong notched a total of 12 points, four rebounds and two assists.
With an off-shooting night and three fouls from Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers and Strong maintained their composure, taking the lead 39-37 at the half.
“Just be smart… not to be aggressive but just keep your composure a little bit; just play smart,” Bueckers said to ESPN’s Holly Rowe at halftime.
Along with their two-point lead at the half, with persistent defense from the Huskies the team held Tennessee’s leading scorer, Cooper, to just two points and five rebounds.
In the third frame was when the Huskies started to lose their steam immensely, as the Vols went on an 8-0 run at the midway point and would eventually take the lead for the rest of the game.
Fudd clashed with her defender, Cooper and with El Alfy back in the game Tennessee won the battle of the boards.
At the end of the third quarter the Huskies were down 59-54 and gave up eight points off of four turnovers. The Huskies struggled to get the ball in the basket shooting 37.5% from the field and 23.5% from the three-point line, compared to their last matchup over Butler when they were shooting over 60%.
Even with Strong leading the Huskies in points, she suffered on the defensive side of things. This was where sophomore KK Arnold came to play for the Huskies.
“I thought she was the most competitive player for UConn tonight,” Auriemma said postgame to the media on Arnold, per Maggie Vanoni of CT Insider on Twitter.
Arnold was the player who kept the Huskies in the game in the third and fourth quarter, as her momentum did not stop, despite her teammates losing steam due to the quickness in play from Tennessee. In total, Arnold racked up a total of 11 points and three assists.
As the game clock started to wind down, the Huskies could not keep up with the Volunteers as they traded shots back and forth. It was a one possession game until the Volunteers notched a layup from Zee Spearman with 12 seconds left to solidify the final score.
This loss marks the end of the Huskies’ recent 11-game winning streak. Their most recent loss came on Dec. 21, when Connecticut was defeated 72-70 by JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans.
As UConn looks at the game against the second ranked South Carolina Gamecocks on Feb. 16, it will be imperative for the squad to take this game as a lesson to stay more persistent and gain confidence by the boards.
“Right now, we’re having a hard time keeping them out of the lane, so it puts on the offensive end. So, if we can’t find a way to keep them out the lane, then I think we’re going to be in big trouble.” Auriemma said to Holly Rowe of ESPN postgame.
Next up the Huskies will continue their conference play as they will travel to take on the Providence Friars on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for noon from Amica Mutual Pavilion. Husky fans can tune in on CBS Sports Network.
