Utah HC Reveals UConn's Key to Dominance

"We got to keep rotating people because we got to try to find the next person, the next person, the next person, but that's the standard. And so with players like that, it just opens up the floor. They set really good, hard screens. They cut with pace. And as soon as you make a mistake, they'll make you pay. And then you always have that one player on the floor that can shoot from half-court, it seems like."

"So, you got to know where she is on the floor at all times. You turn over the ball, it's a matter of do they want the layup or do they want the open three. And so that's tough to guard. And I mean, again, as long as we don't have to play them again, I'll be their biggest fans because I think they play basketball the right way. They play with pace and then they defend. And it's awesome to see,” added Petersen.

It was the kind of quote that doesn’t just describe a game, it describes a gap. And the game itself proved everything Petersen said. The Huskies jumped into a 32–8 lead after one quarter, which started with a 14–0 burst where Azzi Fudd, Strong and Quinonez scored every point.

The Huskies forced three turnovers in the first four minutes, converted them into instant offense, and then simply kept squeezing. By halftime, Utah had only one made field goal through nearly seven minutes of play and trailed 44–19. Everything Utah struggled with, screens, closeouts, decision-making, tied right back to Petersen’s point: “as soon as you make a mistake, they’ll make you pay.”

Fudd’s 24 points on 9-for-11 shooting, plus a career-high eight rebounds in just three quarters, Quinonez’s 21 on 8-for-11 from the bench, and Strong’s 15-4-4 line reflected the “versatility” Petersen talked about. Utah was top-25 nationally in threes coming into the matchup; UConn held them to just nine points from Lani White and eight from Brooke Walker, the only real sparks the Utes managed.

Meanwhile, UConn made 39 points off turnovers and 21 in transition, the perfect embodiment of “do they want the layup or the open three?” Utah never had time to breathe, and UConn, now 6–0 overall with a spotless neutral-site record, never let the standard slip. The things Utah wants to build are the things UConn is already wearing like armor.

UConn’s Next Test is With A Familiar Foe, But Can it Have a Familiar Ending?

Next up, the Huskies will be taking a trip to Cincinnati to face Xavier. Now, that is a matchup that history has treated as lopsided. The Huskies are sitting at a a perfect 9–0 against the Musketeers since their first meeting in 1999.

The smallest margin in the entire series has been a nine-point win back in 2023. Everything else has been a UConn avalanche. The Huskies last faced Xavier in January 2025, winning 81–27. Now they head to the Cintas Center for another BIG EAST meeting, looking to extend that unbeaten streak to 10.

And if UConn plays with the same urgency it showed against Utah, Xavier’s task becomes rather tough.

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