No. 3 UConn Upset by Georgia Tech; 1st Loss to Unranked Opponent Since 2012
The UConn women lost all of two games last season. This year, they've lost two of their last four games.
Georgia Tech stunned the Lady Huskies on Thursday night, beating them 57-44 behind Lotta-Maj Lahtinen's 15 points and three assists.
Nerea Hermosa added 13 points and six rebounds for the Yellow Jackets, while Christyn Williams led UConn with 13 points and three boards.
It was the extremely rare loss for UConn against an unranked team:
Life without reigning Player of the Year Paige Bueckers didn't get off to a great start for the Huskies. The superstar guard, out six to eight weeks with a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee, has been joined on the sideline by freshman Azzi Fudd and sophomore Nika Muhl, who are also dealing with injuries, this month.
Whether UConn (5-2) was unable to overcome those missing pieces or Georgia Tech simply played suffocating defense—likely a combination of the two—the Huskies struggled immensely on the offensive end Thursday, shooting just 31 percent from the field (18-of-58) and 13.3 percent from three (2-of-15). They also turned the ball over 16 times.
Without Bueckers to facilitate and lead the team in scoring, UConn's offense stagnated. It was a worrying first performance in this sans-Bueckers stretch of the season.
UConn's struggles will be the storyline, but Georgia Tech (7-2) has gotten off to a very nice start this season, with back-to-back wins over Georgia and the Huskies. That aggressive defense, paired with the team's length in the paint, will make the Yellow Jackets a tough out come March.
Just ask UConn.
