GREATER OZARKS MFA

12/17 20:27 CST Strong, top-ranked UConn women roll past Marquette in final home game of 2025 Strong, top-ranked UConn women roll past Marquette in final home game of 2025 By JIM FULLER The Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) --- Sarah Strong had 22 points and seven rebounds in three quarters to lead the top-ranked UConn women's basketball team to a 89-53 win over Marquette on Wednesday night. Azzi Fudd had 14 points in 23 minutes, Blanca Quinones added 12 points and Serah Williams finished with 11 points and six rebounds for UConn (11-0, 3-0 Big East) in the final home game for the Huskies in the calendar year. The Huskies finished 14-0 at home in 2025. Only one of those games was closer than 30 points --- a 72-53 win over then-No. 22 Creighton on Feb. 27 --- and the average margin of victory was 44 points. Skylar Forbes had 11 of her 17 points in the final 7 1/2 minutes for Marquette (7-4, 2-1). The Golden Eagles outscored UConn 24-16 in the fourth quarter. UConn hit eight shots in a row during one stretch in the first half. Marquette only hit back-to-back baskets once before halftime. The Huskies led 73-29 after three quarters and none of their starters played in the fourth quarter. UConn has had at least 20 assists in 10 consecutive games. Kayleigh Heckel had six of the 23 assists for the Huskies on Wednesday. Marquette played without Jordan Meuleman, the team's top scorer off the bench. The Golden Eagles are 0-8 against top-ranked teams. Seven of those losses came against UConn.

Up next Marquette hosts Truman State on Saturday. UConn plays No. 11 Iowa on Saturday in the Women's Champions Classic at the Barclays Center. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 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

	Copyright DTN. All rights reserved. Disclaimer.