WASHINGTON -- Christyn Williams broke out of a slump with 19 points and No. 2 UConn overcame another slow start to beat Georgetown 64-40 on Friday night for its sixth consecutive victory.
Williams was 8 of 19 from the field and sparked a 16-2 run that turned the game around. Her layup midway through the second quarter put the Huskies (16-1, 13-0 Big East) ahead, and they didn’t trail again.
“She shot the ball fairly well, but she was involved in a lot of other things on the floor,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “From that perspective, it was a really good game for her.”
The junior guard from Little Rock, Arkansas, had missed 23 of her previous 27 attempts from the field. She threw the ball away trying to get it to Paige Bueckers at the top of the key and after an early miss shook her head trying to get back on track.
Williams did just that, scoring seven points the rest of the half to take UConn from down one to up eight. She had 13 points in the first half alone and finished with seven rebounds.
“I’ve really been struggling a little bit shooting the ball,” Williams said. “It felt good just to see the ball go in a couple times.”
Bueckers grimaced while playing 39 minutes on a sprained right ankle after taking an exam earlier in the day. Despite the injury, the standout freshman had 19 points and nine assists, ending a streak of six games scoring at least 20.
“I’m just trying to do what my team needs me to do, the coaches want me to do, what my teammates want me to do,” Bueckers said.
Georgetown (1-10, 1-10) lost its ninth in a row. Freshman Kelsey Ransom led the Hoyas with 15 points and was their only player in double figures.
BIG PICTURE
UConn is likely to be No. 1 in the AP Top 25 rankings Monday after a 3-0 week that included an overtime victory against currently top-ranked South Carolina. Coming down from the emotional high of that win, the Huskies shook off sluggish starts to take care of business against Seton Hall and Georgetown and reclaim the No. 1 ranking for the first time since January 2020.
Asked for his advice to Top 25 voters, Auriemma said: “Just vote. Vote your conscience. Vote what you see, whatever that is. And after the vote, don’t let anybody come from another state and challenge your vote. Stand by your vote.”
UGLY START
UConn was 4 of 12 with seven turnovers in the first quarter. Georgetown scored 10 off those turnovers. The Huskies still led 13-12 after the first and heated up from there.
“We need to come out with an aggressive mindset constantly,” Williams said. “Sometimes I think we start off a little slow, a little passive instead of coming out and throwing the first punch, and that’s just something we have to be more conscious about and get better at moving forward.”
ROAD WARRIORS
This was a strong start to UConn’s run of five consecutive road games. The program hasn’t played that many in a row away from home under Auriemma. The last time was 1980, when Auriemma was still in school himself at West Chester University.
DOMINATION
UConn has beaten Georgetown 30 consecutive times dating to 1993. The Huskies, who beat the Hoyas 72-41 at home last month, are 47-6 in the series.
UP NEXT
UConn: At St. John’s on Tuesday.
Georgetown: Hosts Creighton on Monday.