No. 17 UConn women pull away in second half to beat Butler 88-62 in Big East opener

0:22

Ashlynn Shade hits back-to-back 3s to help UConn pour it on

Freshman Ashlynn Shade connects on consecutive triples to put UConn up by 28 in the fourth quarter.

Dec 19, 2023, 02:00 am

HARTFORD, Conn. -- — Freshman Ashlynn Shade scored a season-high 22 points, Paige Bueckers had 16 points and seven assists, and No. 17 UConn beat Butler 88-62 on Monday night in a Big East opener for both teams.

UConn scored the opening six points of the second half for a 17-point lead. The Huskies went ahead by 30, 74-44, after beginning the fourth on a 10-0 run — with two 3-pointers from Shade.

UConn only had eight turnovers after committing 20 against No. 18 Louisville on Saturday in an 86-62 victory. The Huskies also turned 14 Butler turnovers into 18 points.

Aubrey Griffin scored 14 points and Aaliyah Edwards had 12 points and 12 rebounds for UConn (8-3). Edwards, averaging 16.1 points per game, had one point and seven rebounds in the first half.

Griffin scored 10 points in the first half to help UConn build a 45-34 lead. The Huskies shot 61% from the field, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range.

Rachel Kent and Caroline Strande each scored 13 points for Butler (7-4). Jordan Meulemans, averaging 11.1 points per game, was held to three points.

Butler made seven of its first eight 3-pointers and led 29-23 early in the second quarter. But UConn scored the next 11 points, with five from Shade and four by Bueckers, to take a 34-29 lead. The Bulldogs went nearly four minutes without scoring during the run.

UConn travels to Canada to face Toronto Metropolitan on Wednesday in Edwards’ homecoming game — an exhibition.

------ Get alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here ------ AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball