With a 69-58 victory over the No. 14 UNC Tar Heels in Greensboro on Friday, Geno Auriemma tied Tara VanDerveer for the most wins in college basketball history with 1,216.
“It’s been one of those things where it caught up to me. It just added up, added up,” he told ESPN postgame. “We’re fortunate to have so many great players to make this possible, so many great people on my staff. It’s hard to comprehend it.”
Two of those great players — Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong — led UConn to victory. Bueckers dropped 29 points while Strong put up 14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks.
Ice Brady also helped out with a gritty effort down low, finishing with nine points, nine rebounds and three assists. Kaitlyn Chen also had nine points.
The Huskies led by as many as 21 late in the third quarter but the Tar Heels rallied to cut the deficit to single-digits with just seven minutes left. From there, UConn’s defense stiffened up to see out the victory. The Huskies didn’t allow a point for over 5.5 minutes and by the time UNC scored again, just 1:23 remaining in what had become a 15-point ballgame.
After a back-and-forth start, UConn jumped ahead thanks to its defense. UNC started out 5-8 from the field then cooled off with a 2-13 stretch that featured five turnovers. In that same span, the Huskies used a 7-0 run to push the lead to double-digits then opened the second quarter by scoring 11 of the first 13 points.
UConn went ahead by 20 and then took its foot off the gas. The Huskies failed to score over the final 3:44 of the half and gave up eight straight points, which allowed the Tar Heels to pull within 12 at the midway point.
After the break, UConn built a lead as large as 21 in the third quarter before UNC made its move. The Tar Heels used a 15-3 run to get back within single-digits midway through the final period. They had plenty of chances to get it closer, but they missed a pair of free throws, threw the ball away a few times and couldn’t keep the momentum going.
The Huskies finally woke up and slammed the door shut on any comeback hopes. Six straight points from the offense pushed the gap back to 15 while the defense held North Carolina without a basket for 5:40. The Tar Heels finally snapped the drought with 1:23 remaining but it was too late. UConn melted the rest of the clock to come away with the 11-point win.
Next up, the Huskies will prepare for a historic night. They’ll host Fairleigh Dickinson at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday, which is when Auriemma will become the sport’s all-time wins leader — barring the biggest upset in the history of the sport, of course.
