“It took us a little bit of time”: Geno Auriemma reviews UConn’s first half vs Marquette

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma was pensive while reflecting on UConn's first half in their first game of 2025 against Marquette earlier today. While speaking to SNY in a halftime interview, Auriemma was quizzed about their slow start to the game, as they finished the first quarter just six points ahead of the Golden Eagles.

He admitted his side took some time to get in their rhythm, mentioning how they initially felt the pressure of not scoring effectively before turning things around.

"Yeah, it took us a little bit of time to get started, but once we got our rhythm going, you know," said Geno Auriemma. "So many times, if you can't score, it's hard to get into your pressure, you're constantly running back into your defense.

"I thought once the ball started going in the basket, we were able to organize our pressure and obviously, we carried it through. And as I said before going in, Marquette wants to play at their pace and I thought we scrambled them up pretty good in the second quarter."

Geno Auriemma went on to credit the way UConn was able to bounce back in the second quarter.

"We got.. 43 points. A ton of open shots that don't go in, so we keep getting those open shots. I keep telling myself, one of these days, it's going to come true, that they're going to go in."

Despite a somewhat slow start, the Huskies still strolled to a 77-45 win to start 2025.

Geno Auriemma praises KK Arnold's 'aggressive' performance in Marquette win

Top recruit Sarah Strong finished as the Huskies' top scorer this afternoon, scoring 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists. Although Paige Bueckers finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals, she struggled to make shots effectively, shooting 4-for-12 from the field and 2-for-5 from 3-point range.

Meanwhile, KK Arnold had 13 points and seven assists off the bench. After the game, Geno Auriemma praised the sophomore guard's play.

"I just liked how aggressive she was... I thought today especially at both ends, but mostly on the offensive end, that was the most aggressive I've seen her in quite some time."

The Huskies, now 12-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference, will travel to Pennsylvania to face the Villanova Wildcats on January 5 at 1:30 PM ET.