UConn falls to Villanova in first conference loss since 2013

Villanova women’s basketball snapped UConn’s 145-game regular-season conference winning streak, downing the Huskies 72-69 on Wednesday.

UConn’s conference record dates back to 2013 and was the longest in NCAA women’s basketball history.

🚨 HISTORIC UPSET 🚨@novawbb goes into Hartford and snaps the Huskies 169-game conference win streak. pic.twitter.com/PFpz3GDOYd

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) February 10, 2022

The Wildcats outshot the Huskies 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent, outrebounding the squad as well, pulling down 37 boards to UConn’s 21.

Four Villanova players scored in the double digits, led by Lior Garzon, who notched 19 points on five-for-ten shooting from the three-point line. Maddy Siegrist and Brianna Herlihy each recorded double-doubles for the Wildcats, with Siegrist netting 17 points and 12 rebounds and  Herlihy adding 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Statement dub in Hartford‼️✌️ pic.twitter.com/ntJmDlrntJ

— Villanova WBB (@novawbb) February 10, 2022

Azzi Fudd’s 29 points for UConn wasn’t enough to overcome Villanova down the stretch, with Christyn Williams posting an impressive 24 points, joining Fudd in playing the entire game as the Huskies were down to just six players.

“You’ve got to lose at some point, otherwise you’re not in a good conference,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma after the game. “Losing to a good team like Villanova, they deserved to win. I thought today, they were way more physical than us. They just worked harder at it. This was just not a good day. Losing is part of basketball, and you have to figure out how it happened and then move on and get ready for the next one.”

Villanova improved to 16-6 on the season and 10-3 in conference play, while UConn fell to 15-5 and 9-1 in the Big East after Wednesday’s matchup.

“We’re just excited. We talked about shrinking the scoring gap against UConn,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon. “I’m so proud of this group.”