"It's February this weekend and we're still not where we need to be": Geno Auriemma emphasizes need to improve despite joy at UConn win over DePaul

UConn coach Geno Auriemma stressed the need for his Huskies to.improve heading into February despite winning over DePaul 84-58 on Wednesday.

January was friendly to the Huskies (20-2, 11-0 in Big East), going 9-0 during the month with standout wins over Seton Hall (96-36) and Xavier (81-27). But during the post-game talk with SNY courtside reporter Chelsea Sherrod, Auriemma showed concern over the team's inconsistent play as it approaches February — the time for contending teams to make their move for March Madness.

The 11-time champion coach spoke about the Huskies' meager rebounding advantage over DePaul and their "good" defense since the Christmas break.

"I thought we did a great job keeping them off the boards. I thought that was No. 1 priority today. So I was really proud of that. We've been good since we went back from Christmas and our defense has been really good and was good again tonight," Auriemma said.

"It's February this weekend and we're still not where we need to be. So we've got a lot of work to do," he added.

Despite winning the battle of the boards, UConn allowed DePaul to grab 34 rebounds and a +3 rebounding edge wasn't pleasing to UConn's standards. It is the second straight game their rebounding advantage was between +1 and +3 a far cry from their usual double-digit spreads in the past.

Their defense covered up the issues on offense, winning all their games since Christmas by at least 11 points. However, Auriemma thinks the team needs more than that to keep in step with the Top 5 teams in the AP poll — UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame, USC and LSU.

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Azzi Fudd, Kaitlyn Chen score 17 points each as UConn bucks Paige Bueckers' off night

UConn relied on perimeter snipers Azzi Fudd and Kaitlyn Chen to outclass DePaul on Wednesday night at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Fudd and Chen scored 17 points apiece to lead the Huskies' offense in beating the Blue Demons and stretch their conference winning streak to 34 games dating back to Feb. 25, 2023, when they beat DePaul 72-69.

Chen shot 7-of-9, including a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from the 3-point area, while Fudd went 6-of-12 (4-of-7 from the 3-point line) and tallied four rebounds, five assists and one steal.

"Maybe she shoots great every other game. When she's aggressive and she's confident the ball gets in the basket. She started the game like that today and it carried over," Auriemma said of Chen.

Freshman Sarah Strong continued her consistent form for UConn, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. The three players filled in for star guard Paige Bueckers, who was limited to eight points — on 2-of-10 shooting — three rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.

The Huskies face a heavy schedule in February where they'll play NCAA Tournament contenders Tennessee (Feb. 6) and defending champion South Carolina (Feb. 16), as well as the remaining Big East Conference games.