STORRS, Conn. — Dorka Juhász tipped the ball away from Vermont forward Aryana Dizon and passed it off to Aaliyah Edwards to get the fast break going. The 6-foot-3 forward then sprinted to the other end of the court in a flash and scored a layup plus the foul.
Fully embracing the moment in all of its March Madness glory, Edwards celebrated by dapping up a fan in the student-section, before making the shot at the stripe to give UConn women’s basketball its first double-digit lead of the day with under three minutes left in the first quarter.
Edwards was absolutely dominant, showing exactly why she was named an All-American as she led the No. 2 seed Huskies to a 95-52 victory over 15th-seeded Vermont in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. She finished with a career-high 28 points (on 13-of-15 shooting), seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks.
This is UConn’s 29th consecutive victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies will face the winner of No. 7 Baylor and No. 10 Alabama, later on Saturday, in the Round of 32 on Monday. With the win, UConn (30-5) also secured its 26th 30-win season in program history and is now 131-22 in NCAA Tournament games.
Juhász added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, plus six assists, three blocks and three steals. Caroline Ducharme was also in double figures with 12 points and five rebounds.
The Huskies shot 61.9% from the field, scored 23 points off turnovers and had a 54-10 edge in the paint. They also outrebounded the Catamounts 43-19.
UConn had 10 players available for the fourth consecutive game. Azzi Fudd returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 4, 2022, taking the place of Aubrey Griffin. Fudd finished with five points on 2-of-10 shooting, along with four rebounds and two assists.
The Huskies set the tone out of the gates, scoring seven unanswered points in the first two minutes.
Edwards imposed her will early. With under six minutes left in the first quarter, the 6-foot-3 forward beat out two defenders to grab an offensive rebound and score a tough and-one put-back bucket.
By the end of the first quarter, the Huskies had 27-12 lead. Edwards matched the entire Vermont squad all by herself with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting, along with three assists, two rebounds and two blocks through the first 10 minutes.
The Huskies extended their advantage to 20 points a little over two minutes into the second quarter following a 3-pointer from Ducharme and a layup from Juhasz.
Edwards splashed home a long jumper a few minutes later to put UConn up 36-12, already matching the total points allowed by Vermont in its last game. After another bucket from Edwards, the lead was up to 30 points seven minutes into the second.
With under two minutes left in the half, Lopez Senechal drew an offensive charge. She then hit a jumper on the other end to cap off a 12-0 run and put UConn up 50-18.
The Huskies had already surpassed the average points allowed by Vermont’s defense (52.8) by halftime, up 53-20 at the break. They shot 66.7% from the field and scored 16 points off turnovers, while holding the Catamounts to 27.6% shooting.
Edwards had 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting, along with four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in the first half.
With a little under seven and a half minutes left in the third, Lopez Senechal went up to defend a shot and came down awkwardly. She was slow to get up, jogged to the bench and then went back to the locker room with UConn’s trainer. She then spent some time on the stationary bike, and with the Huskies already up 57-26 she didn’t return to the court.
Fudd got her first three to fall with 1:57 left in the third, on her eighth attempt. UConn led 75-41 at the end of the third quarter.
With 7:48 left in the fourth, Edwards scored a fast-break layup to set the new career high and put the Huskies up 82-41. They rolled to victory from there.
Now the Huskies turn their focus to the second round, where they are 28-2 all time.
