The Huskies may have slipped in the national rankings this week but their performance has soared. Following their third regular season home loss of the century, the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team bounced back with a statement to start conference play.

After trampling then-undefeated St. Johns 60-32 on the road, the Huskies returned home Tuesday to face the Providence Friars. UConn released the hounds (literally and figuratively) in a crushing 83-33 victory. Fans got to see more competition at the halftime dog show than during the game.

The Huskies, who physically outmatched Providence in the paint, spent the majority of the game in a 3-2 zone in which UConn only had two players defending the post. The strategy couldn’t have worked better, as the 3-player rotation on the perimeter forced 23 turnovers while only allowing seven assists.

“We got back to Connecticut basketball,” junior guard Ann Strother said after the game.

Clicking on all cylinders, that defensive set led to 25 points off of turnovers. UConn held the Friars’ top two scorers to 5-for-25 shooting from the field and recorded a season high 10 blocks as a team. In the meantime, the forwards owned the paint, where UConn held a 62-12 advantage.

“We were able to come together as one and execute and do the things we needed to do on both ends of the floor,” freshman forward Charde Houston said.

What you also may not realize if you didn’t watch the game is that UConn got 51 of its points off the bench. Junior transfer forward Rashidat Sadiq and Houston dumped in 30 pointes in 36 minutes. Sixteen of those points were a season high for Sadiq.

“On the offensive end we created an up-tempo game that we wanted to create,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “We seemed to get an awful lot of people involved in what we were doing.”

Also achieving a season high was fellow newcomer, freshman guard Ketia Swanier, knocking down 10 along with seven assists and no turnovers.

“She came out with a lot of energy,” Auriemma said of Swanier. “She can get in the lane and make plays on the run.”

Swanier wasn’t the only one making plays for UConn. As a team the Huskies only committed five turnovers in contrast with their 18 assists.

“The number one thing that happened today was that we only turned the ball over five times,” Auriemma said. “For us that is something that we’ve really been harping on.”

All the harping is beginning to pay off, as the Huskies have returned to dominance.

Game Notes:

Tuesdays Providence game marked the 900th in UConn women’s basketball history…Barbara Turner was in street clothes and missed the game with a foot injury, and is considered day-to-day…all 11 active players scored in this game, with no player receiving less than 10 minutes of playing time…UConn went with its seventh starting lineup in 11 games this season. The suspects: seniors Ashley Valley and Jessica Moore, juniors Wilnett Crocket and Ann Strother, and freshman Mel Thomas.

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