UConn women’s basketball opened the 2024-25 season with a blowout XX-XXX victory over the Boston University Terriers at the XL Center on Thursday.
Sarah Strong and Jana El Alfy tied for the team lead with 17 points in their collegiate debuts. Strong added six steals, four rebounds and three assists while El Alfy had a double-double with 11 rebounds.
Paige Bueckers put up 11 points in the opening quarter but then went quiet, scoring just two the rest of the way. She helped out with seven assists, five steals and four rebounds, though. Ashlynn Shade also hit double-figures with 10 points and set a career-high with six steals.
The Huskies started fast and put up 31 and 29 points in the first two quarters, but only scored a combined 26 points in the second half. The bench out-scored the visitors with 38 points while the Terriers finished with more turnovers (33) than points (32)
Offense proved to be hard to come by in the early going. Neither side scored for the first two minutes and UConn missed five of its first six shots. Then the floodgates opened for the hosts. The Huskies scored 11 straight points to start the game then followed it up with a 15-point run after BU finally scored.
UConn turned it into a rout by the end of the first quarter. Not only did it lead 31-6, the defense held the Terriers to more turnovers (11) than field goal attempts (6).
The lead grew to 47 by halftime — a wider margin than the Huskies won any game last season. UConn’s 10 available players all scored by the midway point as well.
The momentum didn’t carry through the break. The Huskies only outscored BU 12-9 in the third quarter and went over five minutes without a point at one point. It didn’t matter though — UConn still led by 50 entering the final period. After an uneventful fourth quarter, the Huskies came away with a 54-point victory.
UConn moves to 1-0 on the new season with a win. Next, it’ll welcome the USF Bulls to Gampel Pavilion on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on SNY.
