STORRS, CT. – FDU women's basketball (4-2, 0-0) dropped a road contest to No. 2 UConn (4-0, 0-0) Wednesday night by a score of 85-41.
With the win, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma tallied his 1,217th victory as a head coach, the most in the history of NCAA College Basketball. Auriemma, a close friend of head coach
Stephanie Gaitley, shared a few moments with Gaitley and the FDU coaching staff ahead of the game.
The Knights got out to a good start, hanging with UConn through the first several minutes of regulation.
Ava Renninger hit a big three to silence the UConn crowd early and tie the game at 10. After the first break, FDU trailed by just nine to the number two team in the nation.
The second quarter saw the Knights go cold, however, as they shot just 20% (3-of-15) from the field. UConn would outscore FDU 22-8 across that second quarter, to pull away to a large lead they would not give up for the remainder of the game.
Despite the loss, FDU saw several strong performances against some truly tough competition. Renninger, the back-to-back reigning NEC Rookie of the Week, put on a big show in front of a sold out Gampel Pavilion. She led the way for the Knights with 19 points on 8-17 shooting, including a 3-for-6 night from downtown. The only player across both sides to score more in the match-up was UConn freshman Sarah Strong, who had a 20 point night on 8-of-13 shooting.
FDU also saw a strong performance out of
Teneisia Brown. The graduate student from Montego Bay, Jamaica dropped 10 points to go with eight rebounds for the Knights.
THE STATS
- FDU was led in scoring by freshman Ava Renninger for the third time this season. The freshman has been a go-to scorer for FDU, and leads the team with 15.3 PPG on the year.
- Teneisia Brown had another dominant night on the glass for FDU. Brown has not tallied less than seven rebounds in any of FDU's six games on the season.
- Rebecca Osei-Owusu blocked two shots on the defensive end, the most by a Knight this season.
- Freshman Tyler Edwards checked into the game late and scored an impressive and-one in the lane against the UConn defense. The freshman has appeared in each of the last two contests for the Knights and recorded two points in each.
- Despite the loss, the Knights' ball movement continues to be their bread and butter on offense. They assisted on 11 of their 18 makes tonight.
- FDU has assisted on 84 of their 132 made baskets this year (64%).
- FDU only had three attempts at the free throw line, all in the fourth quarter.
- The Knights lost the rebounding margin 45 to 29.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Knights head back home, and will next face off against a New Jersey foe in Saint Peter's. That game will tip off at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 23. Coverage will be available on the YES Network.
Connect with FDU Women's Basketball on X and Instagram, @FDUKnightsWBB.
Segovia Steakhouse is the presenting sponsor of the 2024-25 FDU Women's Basketball season.
