UConn’s win is No. 999 for Auriemma
CHICAGO » The 11 NCAA championships and 18 trips to the Final Four really weren’t part of Geno Auriemma’s plan when he became UConn’s coach in 1985.
Nor were 1,000 wins. But he’s about to get that, too.
Katie Lou Samuelson scored 20 points, Crystal Dangerfield had 18 and No. 1 UConn gave Auriemma his 999th victory with a 10369 rout of DePaul on Friday night.
Auriemma is on the verge of joining fellow Hall of Famers Pat Summitt and Tara VanDerveer as the only Division I women’s basketball coaches to reach the 1,000-win mark after the Huskies (8-0) had their way with the Blue Demons (6-3).
The program sure has come a long way since he took over. Back then, he just wanted to be able to beat Providence and Villanova and finish among the top four in the Big East.
“Believe me, where we’re sitting right now wasn’t part of the plan by any stretch of the imagination,” Auriemma said.
Samuelson led six players in double figures, and UConn set a season high for points. The Huskies shot 59.4 percent and hit 11 of 24 3-point attempts, with Dangerfield nailing 6 of 7. She also had nine assists.
Napheesa Collier had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Azura Stevens scored 16 points, Kia Nurse added 13, and Gabby Williams scored 11 to go with 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven turnovers.
Amarah Coleman scored 16 points for DePaul.
“We basically got beat badly tonight, and at the same, I know that we’re better for it,” coach Doug Bruno said. “I wouldn’t continue to play these kinds of games if I didn’t know that our team is better for it. It doesn’t feel good right now. It doesn’t feel good for our players right now . ... They will be better for having gone through this game.”
All but one of UConn’s victories has been by 18 points or more. The Huskies rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter to beat No. 3 Notre Dame by nine on Sunday. But they put this one away in the early going, overwhelming DePaul with their athleticism. And in the end, Auriemma closed in on a major milestone.
“It’s something else that shows how much (the coaches have) dedicated their lives to this, and they’ve done it in a way that excellence is the only thing that they’ll accept,” Samuelson said. “When they recruit you to come here, you know that you want to live up to all the players that have come before you.” MISSOURI 70, ST. LOUIS 58 » Cierra Porter and Sophie Cunningham posted double-doubles and No. 17 Missouri made 9 of 10 free throws in the final 63 seconds to hold off Saint Louis.
Porter hit 11 of 13 free throws and scored 23 with 18 rebounds, while Cunningham chipped in 15 points and 10 boards for the Tigers (8-1). Amber Smith added 13 points for Missouri, which trailed 41-39 heading into the final quarter.
Jackie Kemph paced the Billikens (4-7) with 18 points and seven assists, while Maddison Gits hit 6 of 7 shots and scored 15 before fouling out. Tara Dusharm contributed 12 points and six rebounds. FLORIDA GULF COAST 70, KENTUCKY 64 » Rosemarie Julien scored 23 points, including a clutch 3-point play and two late free throws, and Florida Gulf Coast defeated No. 20 Kentucky 70-64.
The Eagles (9-2) used a 9-0 run to close the second quarter to lead 35-26 at the half and pushed the margin to 14 in the third quarter against the second-highest ranked team ever to visit the school. After Taylor Murray made five free throws and Maci Morris knocked down a 3-pointer, the Wildcats pulled even at 57 on a layup by Alyssa Rice with 5:04 to play.
Then Julien converted a 3-point play and China Dow and Tytionia Adderly, an 18-percent 3-point shooter, made treys after Kentucky turnovers for a 66-57 lead with 3:32 to go. MARYLAND 80, GEORGE WASHINGTON 54 » Blair Watson had three 3-pointers and 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 19 points to lead No. 15 Maryland to a win over George Washington, the Terrapins seventh-straight victory.
Behind Watson, the Terps (9-2) got off to a quick start and never trailed. Watson had a 3-pointer, a layup and another 3-pointer to start a 10-0 run for a 12-2 lead. She had her third basket from distance as Maryland scored the last five points for a 22-10 lead and added a 3 as the run reached 11 into the second quarter. With Stephanie Jones scoring twice, the 11-0 run became a 19-2 gamebreaking surge.
Kaila Charles added 14 points and nine rebounds, giving her double figures in every game this season, Ieshia Small had 13 points to surpass 550 for her career and Jones had 12.