The luster of the No. 1 UConn Huskies’ 2025 national title proved too much to overcome for Seton Hall women’s basketball on Saturday in Hartford’s PeoplesBank Arena, as the reigning champs won the matchup, 84-48.
Despite holding the Huskies (15-0, 6-0 BIG EAST) to just under 30% shooting in the starting minutes, the Pirates (10-5, 4-2 BIG EAST) never managed a comeback after a promising 11-11 tie with less than two minutes left of the first quarter. The Huskies immediately went on a 8-0 run, closing out the period with field goals by leading scorers Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd.
Strong, sophomore forward and BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year, and Fudd, graduate guard and 2025 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, combined to show why the UConn Huskies are the No. 1 ranked team in the country, scoring 18 and 16 points, respectively. With the help of their combined scoring , the Pirates, at one point, were down by 47 points in the fourth.
Junior guard Savannah Catalon opened the scoring for the Pirates in the first with a steal and score. Graduate forward Mariana Valenzuela wasn’t far behind, shooting for three shortly after. The BIG EAST named her its Player of the Week on Monday after the Florida State transfer averaged 19.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in a pair of wins for the Pirates over Creighton on Dec. 22 and Xavier on Dec. 28.
Valenzuela would go on to notch eight points by the end of the game, while Catalon scored 11 following her third acknowledgement on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll this season, the same week as Valenzuela was recognized.
By the second quarter, it was off to the races for the Huskies, featuring a layup to make the score 25-11 by junior guard KK Arnold on the fast break. She would end the game with a game-high five assists, in addition to five points and five steals. Arnold returned to UConn’s starting lineup after missing the Huskies’ most recent game against Providence on Wednesday due to a broken nose. Meanwhile, the Pirates were missing their starting point guard, sophomore Jada Eads, due to illness. Three minutes in, the Pirates had missed their last six shots from the floor.
To end the Huskies’ 15-0 scoring run, sophomore guard Ja’Kahla Craft was able to break through in the paint and make it a 26-13 game. But three field goals in a row by Strong meant the first half ended 38-18, with SHU crossing the 20 turnover mark, too close for comfort to their season high of 25.
Though senior guard Jordana Codio couldn’t hit a buzzer beater to end the first half, she brought her A-game in the second half, scoring her first points of the day in the third quarter. She continued to respond to the surging Huskies, ending up with the Pirates’ only points of the period and the layup that would break a 20-0 run for UConn. She ended the day with a leading 12 points for SHU.
Starting the final period 67-26, only scoring one of their last seven field goals, Catalon emerged to cut the deficit, hitting three three-pointers and working with Codio to finish off 84-48. The Pirates surpassed their previous season high for turnovers, committing 32 against the Huskies.
However, the Huskies were no strangers to turnovers themselves in this game, giving the ball up 17 times—tied for their second-highest total of the season after committing 21 against Providence. A third of SHU’s points (16) came off those errors.
The Huskies remain unbeaten on the season and in conference play, with their last loss on Feb. 6. The Huskies have won 52 straight against BIG EAST opponents.
Meanwhile, the Pirates fall to 10-5 on the season and 4-2 in the BIG EAST, with their other loss to a conference opponent being to Villanova in their first game of conference play this season.
The Hall will stay on the road as they travel to Rhode Island to face the Providence Friars on Jan. 8.
Jacqueline Litowinsky is a copy editor and the assistant editor of The Setonian’s Social Media. She can be reached at jacqueline.litowinsky@student.shu.edu.
