The UConn women’s basketball team walked off the court Wednesday night with a 50-point win over Creighton, but head coach Geno Auriemma wasn’t exactly throwing a party in the locker room. Despite the scoreboard reading 94-44, Auriemma zeroed in on something that doesn’t show up in the win column but matters just as much to him: rebounding effort - or in this case, the lack of it.
At halftime, UConn led by 19, but the rebounding numbers told a different story. Creighton, a team without a player taller than 6-foot-2 on the floor, was outworking the No.
1 Huskies on the glass, holding a 20-15 edge. Even more jarring: UConn had just one offensive rebound in the entire first half.
“I went in the locker room and said we didn’t even attempt to get an offensive rebound,” Auriemma said postgame. “We shoot the ball, and everybody jogs back.
I don’t understand it. You don’t need talent to rebound offensively.
You just need to react - when the ball leaves someone’s hand, go after it.”
And that’s the thing. For all the ways UConn is dominating this season - and there are many - rebounding remains the outlier.
Statistically, the Huskies are elite across the board: they lead the nation in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, and scoring defense. They’re top-five in scoring offense, steals per game, and turnover margin.
But rebounding? That’s where the cracks show.
UConn ranks 50th in rebounding margin, 112th in defensive rebounds, and a surprising 228th in offensive boards.
It’s not a fatal flaw - not yet - but it’s the kind of detail Auriemma knows could matter come tournament time, especially when the shots aren’t falling.
“We make so many shots,” he said. “But when they don’t go in, I want us to be better at getting some of those back.”
That wasn’t his only gripe after the win. UConn’s offense stumbled out of the gate, and while the final score looks like a blowout, the first quarter lacked cohesion.
Sophomore forward Sarah Strong carried the load early, scoring 12 of the team’s first 19 points. And while it’s great to have a star who can take over when things get choppy, Auriemma doesn’t want the offense leaning too heavily on isolation play.
“There was no flow. It was just everybody running around looking for something - I don’t even know what,” he said.
“Then the rest of the time there was a flow, like everybody was playing together. That’s the only chance we have to be really, really good.
We have players who can go one-on-one or two-on-two, but I’m always looking for that rhythm, that flow.”
With just five games left in the regular season, the Huskies are still fine-tuning - and next up is a Valentine’s Day road matchup at Marquette. UConn handled the Golden Eagles with ease in their first meeting back in December, rolling to an 89-53 win in Hartford.
Four Huskies scored in double figures that night, led by Strong’s 22-point performance, which included a 3-for-4 clip from beyond the arc. Despite six turnovers, she was electric.
KK Arnold Williams added 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal - one of her most complete games in Big East play.
Another standout from that game? Freshman forward Blanca Quinonez, who chipped in 12 points on 50% shooting.
But Quinonez hasn’t played since re-aggravating a shoulder injury that first popped up in November. Now, there’s hope she could return Saturday in Milwaukee.
Getting Quinonez back would be a big boost. She’s averaging 10.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.8 steals per game - and she’s doing it efficiently, shooting 57.4% from the field and 40.4% from deep. Her versatility gives UConn another dimension offensively, especially in half-court sets.
But her return also brings a new question: how does Auriemma manage the rotation with Allie Ziebell playing some of her best basketball of the season?
Ziebell has stepped up in Quinonez’s absence, scoring in double figures in five of the last six games while shooting over 50% from the field during that stretch. She dropped 34 points on Xavier on Jan. 28, followed by a 20-point outing against Creighton. She’s also been active defensively, logging a career-high four steals against Butler and grabbing a personal-best five rebounds at DePaul.
Auriemma, always one to keep players on their toes, made it clear that Ziebell’s minutes won’t be guaranteed if the defensive effort slips.
“If she doesn’t run back on defense, that sucker is going to the bench forever when Blanca comes back,” he joked. “When someone’s not available, that’s an opportunity for others.
Allie can do some of the things Blanca does, but she’s got experience. She was a point guard in high school, so she knows where the ball’s supposed to go.
And she can shoot it like nobody else.”
Bottom line: there’s going to be games where Ziebell’s impact is undeniable. And if Quinonez is healthy, UConn’s depth only grows stronger - a scary thought for the rest of the field.
So while the Huskies may be undefeated and ranked No. 1, the message from Auriemma is clear: there’s still work to do. Rebounding, rhythm, and readiness - those are the themes as UConn eyes another deep postseason run.