Storrs, Conn. — UConn nearly lost a rare home game against an unranked team after losing another starter.
Aubrey Griffin scored 19 of 29 points in the second half, tying Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo’s school record with an 11-11 from the field to lead the No. 6 Huskies to a 69-64 victory over Princeton on Thursday. .
UConn postponed a ferocious rally by Princeton after Huskies starting point guard Nika Muhl was knocked out of the game early in the third quarter due to a collision in the paint.
UConn took a two-point lead with 46 seconds remaining, with Griffin driving to the basket for a contested layup. Madison St. Rose again made his two points his game with a short jumper with 30 seconds remaining.
Ines Bettencourt hit one of two from UConn’s foul line to push the lead to three. Kaitlyn Chen missed her 3-pointer that should have tied the game, but Princeton got the ball back with 5.2 seconds remaining. However, Princeton failed to get the ball in cleanly for the final shot.
“I feel great,” said Griffin. “Towards the end of the game, I think a lot of people stepped up. A lot of players were out, but at the end Ines stepped in and scored a free throw to close out the game.”
Lou Lopez Senechal scored 18 points and Aaliyah Edwards added 8 points for UConn (6-1).
Grace Stone added 20 and Chen added 18 to Princeton (5-3). It was the homecoming of Princeton coach Carla Bellube, who played with Lobo on UConn’s first national championship team in 1995.
“It’s like I left it,” Berbe said. “It was electric and it was fun. When I was down 15, I was afraid I was going to miss it, but I had tough guys with a strong will to win, so I did it.” did not.”
UConn played without leading scorer Azzi Fudd. Fudd injured his knee in the loss at Notre Dame, and he is expected to miss six weeks from three. The Huskies are already without former National Player of the Year Paige Bookers, forward Dorka Juhas and acclaimed freshman Ice Brady. Juhas could be back in court soon.
UConn manager Geno Auriema said he wasn’t sure Jujas, who is recovering from a broken thumb, would be able to return for Sunday’s game against Maryland. He said Mule said she was fine after she hit Edwards’ knee and the floor.Lopez, her senecial, is also dealing with her leg injury.
The Huskies went 6-7 in the fourth quarter but posted 14 turnovers.
“The only way to be prepared for something like that is to put yourself in the situation and see how you handle it,” Auriemma said.
“I don’t know if we handled it well. I don’t know if I’m proud of what I saw in the movie. When Nika goes down, it’s really hard for some of the other players.” I think at the end we have to play a few times and we have to make a few shots we have to do what we need to do at that particular time to win the game but it still makes a lot of sense.
big picture
Princeton has three more non-conference games before Ivy League play begins. not. The Ivy League has canceled the 2020-21 season as a result of the global pandemic.
UConn extended their winning streak of not losing in a row since the final two games of the 1992-93 season.
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Princeton: Hosts Delaware on Sunday.
UConn: 20 Maryland on Sunday.
