Not even the Northeast’s worst winter storm in years—or a strong start from Seton Hall women’s basketball— could deter the No. 1 UConn Huskies.
Ahead of the storm, the Pirates (14-6, 8-3 BIG EAST) fell to the top-ranked Huskies (21-0, 11-0 BIG EAST), 92-52 at Walsh Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. Entering the contest, The Hall were the winners of four-straight. The last team to beat them? UConn on Jan. 3.
Despite the cold weather outside, the Pirates started the game off hot. They got out to a 6-0 start over the defending champs in the game’s opening minutes thanks to the early aggression of senior forward Mariana Valenzuela.
The previous week’s BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, Zahara Bishop, found Valenzuela on back-to-back drives to the basket to open the scoring at 4-0 in the game’s first minute, before another layup from the six-foot-two forward at 8:22 made it 6-0, a lead they held until the 7:57 mark.
“I thought Seton Hall came out really, really aggressively,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said after the game. “And I think we got caught up in a couple of situations where, I think for the first time in maybe four or five games, I thought our sequencing and our communication on the defensive end wasn’t 100%, and they took advantage of it each time we made a mistake.”
Entering the contest, UConn had only trailed for a total of 12 minutes all year, with SHU’s lead for 4:13 in the first quarter being the longest the Huskies have trailed any opponent this season. But once UConn got more organized, Auriemma said, it was all downhill for the Pirates from there.
“Then, obviously, the next three quarters we kind of settled in and got the ship going in the right direction,” Auriemma added.
Huskies graduate guard Azzi Fudd matched the Pirates with a 6-0 run of her own to bring the game back level with 7:26 left in the first quarter, before hitting a three-pointer just forty seconds later to give UConn their first lead of the game at 9-8.
SHU managed to regain the lead minutes later, though, with the Pirates up 12-9 at 5:49, then 15-13 at 4:55 after a three-pointer from Valenzuela. But that would stand as the Pirates’ last lead of the game, as the Huskies then rattled off a 11-2 run in the time remaining to put them up 25-17 heading into the second.
Never trailing again in the game, the Huskies then outscored the Pirates by at least eight points in the next three quarters, including a 25-11 second quarter that gave them an 18-point lead at halftime, the Pirates trailing 42-24. The Huskies doubled that lead, and then some, in the second half to earn a 92-52 win, their 21st win of the season and 11th in conference play, while the Pirates fell to 14-6 and 8-3, respectively.
Despite SHU falling in the game, though, Valenzuela led all scorers with 18 points, 12 of which were scored in the first quarter, and a game-high eight rebounds. The Mazatlan, Mexican native’s performance earned her high praise from UConn’s Hall of Fame head coach, who said she is an All-BIG EAST caliber player.
“I think players that are hard to guard in our league—she’s one of them,” Auriemma said. “She’s a big kid that can score from a lot of different spots on the floor, she’s a tough matchup.”
“We played everybody at least once,” Auriemma added. “And I’ve not seen 10 players better than her, that’s for sure.”
Auriemma also praised historic Walsh Gymnasium after the game, saying it's one of his favorite venues to play over the years—hardly a surprise, considering his team has not lost there since Jan. 5, 1994, just six years after SHU head coach Anthony Bozzella graduated from the university.
“I’ve always enjoyed coming here,” Auriemma said. “This was the place where we won our first BIG EAST Championship in 1988-89. The BIG EAST Tournament was here at Seton Hall—matter of fact, Tony was a student here, he was in the stands for that tournament, and now he’s coaching.”
“So I’ve always enjoyed coming here,” Auriemma added. “Because it’s a place where [it’s] tight quarters, everybody’s on top of you [and] the rims are kind—if you’re a good shooter you’re gonna shoot well here.”
Auriemma was also sympathetic towards Bozzella, who was not only unable to attend the postgame press conference because he was under the weather (no pun intended), but will also be without starting guard Jada Eads for the remainder of the season after she suffered a season-ending lower-body injury during SHU’s win over DePaul on Jan. 17. Pre-game, Eads could be seen wearing a brace that ran the length of her left leg.
“It’s unfortunate for Tony and his team that they’re gonna miss the kid for the rest of the season [because] they are a different team when she’s playing,” Auriemma said about Eads. “She is really hard to guard, and she creates a lot of offense for herself and for the other kids on the team. She can shoot, she can distribute the ball, she plays good defense.”
“When you lose somebody like that [it's tough],” Auriemma added. “But at the same time, I think if things keep going the way they are going for Seton Hall, and they beat the teams they’re supposed to beat in our league, win the games they’re supposed to win, they’re an NCAA Tournament team. They’re real close right now, but they just need to end the regular season on a high note.”
With nine games left in the regular season, eight of which against teams they have already beaten this season, the Pirates will have an opportunity to do just that, first by defeating the Georgetown Hoyas (12-8, 5-6 BIG EAST), who they play next on Jan. 29.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
