Aubrey Griffin set the tone defensively for the Huskies, who led the Wolfpack from wire to wire in route to the win.
UConn women’s basketball took down No. 10 NC State, 91-69 on Sunday afternoon in Hartford. The Huskies earned their second top-10 win of the week behind 32 points from Azzi Fudd, which ties the career high she set on Monday against No. 3 Texas. UConn never trailed in the game.
Aubrey Griffin was a difference maker for the Huskies in Dorka Juhász’ absence, setting the tone defensively for UConn from the opening tip. Griffin finished with a career high six steals and also scored 16 points in the contest. Aaliyah Edwards added a double-double with 20 points and 12 boards. Nika Muhl tallied a new career high with 15 assists, which broke Paige Bueckers’ program record for the most assists in a single game.
Despite an unsettling start to the afternoon with associate head coach Chris Dailey being helped off the floor by medical staff, UConn started out hot, opening up the game on 9-0 run. The Huskies were particularly locked in on the defensive end, forcing more turnovers than they allowed NC State baskets in the first quarter.
Griffin was a menace to the Wolfpack offense, coming up with four steals in just the first quarter. The Huskies scored 15 of their 23 points off of turnovers in first.
The Wolfpack were able to make a run in the second quarter to keep things interesting. Diamond Johnson started to heat up on the perimeter, and knocked down three triples. NC State cut UConn’s lead down to three with 2:34 remaining in the half, but Fudd had the answer from deep. Edwards found the basket in transition at the buzzer to give UConn a seven point lead heading into the locker room.
Fudd had 22 points in the first half alone, including four three pointers. Fudd, Griffin and Edwards were the only Huskies to get on the board in the first half. Edwards also reached double figures with 12 points.
Lou Lopez Senechal was able to get going for UConn out of the break, and scored 12 points in the third for UConn. Adding a fourth weapon on offense allowed the Huskies to take a 19 point lead into the final 10 minutes of the game. The Huskies kept it rolling in the fourth to win by a margin of 22 points.
Lopez Senechal finished with 20 points after going scoreless in the first half. Freshman Ayanna Patterson also added important minutes for the Huskies, and grabbed five rebounds in the game.
Next up, the Huskies head to Portland, Oregon for the Phil Knight Legacy tournament. They will play Duke at 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday.