Dominant UConn set to break own record
Huskies seek 91st straight win today
Maya Moore has been watching UConn intently, cheering for the Huskies to keep winning.
The former Huskies great, who was instrumental in the previous 90-game winning streak, hopes the current team can keep its record run going and shatter the mark her group set a few years ago.
“I don’t feel like it’s their streak and we have our streak. We all kind of share everything this school accomplishes,” Moore said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “I’ve watched them play a couple of times. They are the same UConn, same unselfish passing. I’m proud of who they are and who they can be. That’s why I want them to succeed. If they were doing things differently, things might be different.”
Moore remembered the buildup when her Huskies were chasing the UCLA men’s record of 88 consecutive wins in 2010. There was so much more “outside noise” as they approached the vaunted mark with comparisons between men’s and women’s basketball and questions whether the Huskies were good for the sport.
Moore said that coach Geno Auriemma did a tremendous job keeping the team focused on the task at hand — winning the next game — instead of focusing on the bigger picture or paying any attention to those outside the team’s inner circle.
“The coaches did such a good job of shielding us from it,” she said. “Being undefeated and the streak weren’t our main focus. We didn’t want to get swayed from the ultimate goal of playing great basketball. At the same time, you knew what was there. You wanted to win and I think for us, it really brought out the best in us. We wanted to play well, our freshmen had to grow up fast.”
The Huskies, led by Moore, didn’t see their streak last much longer after topping UCLA’s mark against Florida State. They lost to Stanford nine days later.
“It was such a big deal to us when we did it,” Moore said. “Maybe not in the moment, but looking back, it’s such a legacy-defining accomplishment. The first to win 90 games in a row. Big picture, no one can take away from that streak, that time together, the uniqueness of that group we had over those games.”
The current run that UConn is on should go a lot longer. The team equaled the record mark Tuesday night in a rout of No. 20 South Florida. UConn scored the first nine points and never looked back in the 102-37 victory — the biggest victory over a ranked opponent in school history. While Auriemma and his players have been reticent to talk about the streak, they did celebrate the accomplishment after the game.
“Some things you just can’t really explain; you just have to enjoy it.” Auriemma said. “We don’t set out to break records or keep track of records. We set out to play as hard as we can, play with as much energy as we can.”
With about 2 minutes left in the contest, fans were given signs that read “90 and counting” on one side. On the other was: “The Two longest win streaks in college basketball.”
The Huskies should break their record today at SMU. They haven’t lost an American Athletic Conference game since joining the new league in 2013-14. So the only real potential obstacle before the NCAA Tournament is a home game against No. 5 South Carolina on Feb. 13. That could be consecutive victory No. 100.
Auriemma has said repeatedly that the streak will end sometime. He set up the schedule this year with test after test for his young squad. Seven of UConn’s first 12 games featured opponents ranked in the Top 25, including at No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Baylor and at No. 4 Maryland. The Huskies passed all of those exams to keep the run going.
Before the 90-game run that Moore helped accomplish from 2008-10, UConn ran off 70 straight from 2001-03. Who’s to say there won’t be another one when this streak ends?
“As long as Coach Auriemma is there,” Moore said, “I wouldn’t be surprised by anything they do.”
Note
NMSU: The Aggie women (116, 3-0) try to maintain their halfgame lead in the Western Athletic Conference today at CSU Bakersfield (6-10, 1-1). The Aggies are coming off an 81-65 win over Grand Canyon on Thursday in Phoenix.
Friday
(8) WASHINGTON 90, ARIZONA 73: In Tucson, Ariz., Kelsey Plum scored 36 points to become the 12th player in women’s basketball history to top 3,000 career points and Washington rolled past Arizona.
The nation’s leading scorer at 30.7 points per game entering the contest, made 12 of 19 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws to lead the Huskies (17-2, 5-1 Pac-12). LaBrittney Jones scored 20 points for Arizona (10-6, 1-4).
(17) UCLA 66, (10) OREGON STATE 56: In Los Angeles, Jordin Canada scored 18 points, Monique Billings added 17, and UCLA (12-4, 3-2 Pac-12) used a finishing 13-2 run to defeat Oregon State (15-2, 4-1).
Gabriella Hanson scored 13 points for Oregon State.
(13) STANFORD 77, UTAH 58: In Salt Lake City, Karlie Samuelson scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half and Stanford never trailed in a victory over Utah.
The Cardinal (14-3, 4-1 Pac-12) have won six of their last seven games. Emily Potter scored 15 points to lead Utah (12-4, 1-4).
(19) ARIZONA STATE 68, WASHINGTON STATE 49: In Tempe, Ariz., Sophie Brunner had 20 points and 15 rebounds to help the Sun Devils (13-3, 4-1 Pac-12) win their fourth in a row.
Chanelle Molina scored 13 points for Washington State (8-9, 3-3). Cougars freshman Cameron Fernandez hit her head on the court after taking a charge and was carried off on a stretcher. A school spokesman said Fernandez was admitted to the hospital for the night as a precaution. She was expected to make a full recovery.
(21) DEPAUL 101, BUTLER 66: In Chicago, Brooke Schulte scored 24 points, Amarah Coleman added a career-high 20 and DePaul rolled to its ninth straight victory.
The Blue Demons (15-4, 7-0) reached 100 points for the fifth time this season. Michelle Weaver scored 17 points for the Bulldogs (5-12, 2-4).
(24) CALIFORNIA 65, COLORADO 53: In Boulder, Colo., Kristine Anigwe finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds to help California (14-3, 2-3 Pac-12) pull away for a win over Colorado (11-5, 1-4)
Alexis Robinson led the Buffaloes with 18 points.
State women
UC-COLORADO SPRINGS 80, NM HIGHLANDS 70: In Las Vegas, N.M., Brittany Hernandez scored 16 points to lead the Mountain Lions (12-4, 9-1) past the Cowgirls in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup. Juliana Gurule and Kaylani Maiava scored 16 points apiece for NMHU (2-11, 1-9), which dropped its 10th game in a row.
State men
UC-COLORADO SPRINGS 98, NM HIGHLANDS 88: In Las Vegas, N.M., Padiet Wang scored 27 points and the Mountain Lions (6-9, 5-5 RMAC) defeated the Cowboys (6-9, 4-6). Ron Lawton paced NMHU with 27 points, while James Healey and Kieran Woods scored 18 apiece.