Marquette knocks off No. 4 UConn to hand Huskies first back-to-back losses since 1993
Geno Auriemma had a stumble a UConn team hasn’t had in almost 30 years.
Marquette stunned No. 4 UConn on Wednesday night with a 59-52 win over the Huskies in Milwaukee. The loss marked the second straight for Auriemma’s group, following Sunday's defeat to top-ranked South Carolina.
This is the first time UConn has lost consecutive games since March 1993, a span of 1,084 games.
𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗡𝗢. 𝟰 𝗨𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡‼️‼️#MUWBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/m4bJYtHteF
— Marquette WBB (@MarquetteWBB) February 9, 2023
UConn led out of the gate, but fell behind after putting up 10 points in the first quarter. All but two of those points came in the first four minutes of the game. The Huskies went almost eight minutes over the first and second quarters with a single bucket, which allowed the Golden Eagles to take a 12-point lead.
While UConn tied it up early in the third, and seemed poised to retake the lead near the start of the fourth quarter, Marquette flew ahead in the final minutes and outscored the Huskies 20-14 in the final period to take the seven-point win.
"There was a collective something different about today," Auriemma told SNY's Maria Marino. "Mentally, they're just not here. And God bless them, I don't know how they've done it this long, to be honest with you."
Chloe Marotta led Marquette with 19 points and nine rebounds in the win, the fifth in six games for the Golden Eagles. Jordan King added 18 points. Marquette forced 19 UConn turnovers and held the Huskies to their lowest offensive total of the season.
Dorka Juhasz led UConn with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Aubrey Griffin and Lou Lopez-Senechal added 12 points each.
Sunday's loss to South Carolina was a contentious one. Auriemma received a technical foul in that game after he threw a water bottle on the court, and he called out the Gamecocks after the game, claiming they were playing dirty on Lopez-Senechal.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley hit back at Auriemma on Tuesday.
“They play the right way, and approach it the right way whether they win or lose,” she said of her team. “We don’t denounce anybody’s play. They are always uplifting the game of women’s basketball, and when we were getting our heads beat in by UConn for all those years, I said nothing.”
The Huskies are 21-4 on the season. They’ll travel next to Georgetown on Saturday.
