UConn women’s basketball advanced to the Big East championship game after lighting up the 5-seed Creighton Bluejays in the semifinals on Sunday, 100-51. The Huskies finished with their most points ever in a Big East Tournament game.
KK Arnold had a career day, totaling 18 points — her biggest total against Division I competition — four assists and two steals in just 15 minutes. Sarah Strong matched a career-high with six steals to go along with 23 points on 9-11 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists and three
blocks. Azzi Fudd added 14 points, six assists and three steals. That trio outscored Creighton 55-51.
As a team, the Huskies forced 19 turnovers and converted those into 33 points the other way. Meanwhile, they only coughed the ball up eight times themselves. 11 different players scored for UConn while five recorded at least three assists.
The Huskies dominated from the opening tip. They scored the first seven points, then ripped off a 17-0 run with eight straight makes soon after. Arnold came to play with seven of UConn’s first nine points.
Creighton briefly found a foothold in the second quarter, scoring eight of 10 points, but couldn’t hold off the Huskies for long. UConn converted on its next nine straight possessions, building a 15-0 run that brought the lead to 29. Blanca Quiñonez hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left in the half to send the Huskies into the locker room ahead by 35, 57-22.
UConn kept rolling through the break and led by 44 at the end of the third quarter. The Huskies eventually closed out a 49-point victory.
With the win, UConn improves to 33-0 on the season and advances to the conference championship game for the 22nd consecutive year. The Huskies will play the winner of 2-seed Villanova and 3-seed Seton Hall on Monday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBC Sports Network.
