UConn not stop these Huskies!
STORRS, Conn. — UConn’s Katie Lou Samuelson didn’t score in the first quarter and didn’t play in the fourth.
In between, the 6-foot-3 sophomore scored 32 points and the top-ranked Huskies extended their record winning streak to 93 games on Sunday with a 100-56 rout of Tulane.
Samuelson hit 11 of 18 shots to come within two points of her career scoring high set Tuesday in Tulsa .
“She makes it happen so quickly and so effortlessly at times,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma.
Kia Nurse added 18 points and Napheesa Collier had 17 for Connecticut (18-0, 6-0), which has never lost an American Athletic Conference game. The Huskies are 60-0 in the regular season and 9-0 in the three conference tournaments.
Collier made the first shot and the Huskies led from start to finish for a ninth straight game.
But Samuelson missed her first attempts and UConn led just 19-12 after the first quarter. She found her touch in the second quarter, making three straight shots from 3-point range after missing five of her first six. She had 18 points at halftime and came out of the game for good with more than a minute left in the third quarter.
“I wasn’t really concerned about the misses or the fact that I didn’t have any points,” Samuelson said. “I just felt like overall I wasn’t contributing to the team and so I just wanted to pick it up in that second quarter. I think last year it would have freaked me out a lot more than this year. It doesn’t really faze me when I start off missing.”
UConn shot 56% from the floor and had 31 points off 26 Tulane turnovers.
“We put a lot of pressure on them, got those steals and translated that into offense,” said Nurse. “That is an energy giver for everyone on the team.”
Samuelson had seven of UConn’s 20 steals. She also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
Kolby Morgan had 22 points to lead Tulane (12-7, 3-3 American). The junior guard has scored in double figures in 12 straight games, and more than 20 in her last four.
“I think she is a big time player,” said Tulane coach Lisa Stockton. “I was really excited to see her answer this challenge and step up today.” BIG PICTURE
Tulane: The Green Wave went 10 for 15 from the foul line. The free throws were Tulane’s first in their three games at Gampel Pavilion. They also failed to have a foul shot in last year’s conference semifinal at the Mohegan Sun arena, but were more aggressive driving to the basket on Sunday.
“I thought we wanted to get to the basket a little bit, but it wasn’t necessarily to get to the free throw line,” said Stockton. “I know that the team did cheer when we got the first one, though.”
UConn: UConn has not trailed since Dec. 11, when Kansas State took an early 4-2 lead in a 17-point UConn win. The biggest deficit the Huskies have faced during their winning streak came against Tulane last season when they trailed 13-2. SCORING STREAK Samuelson has 94 points over her past three games, tying Maya Moore for the best three-game stretch in program history. She became the first Husky with back-to-back 30-point games since Tiffany Hayes did it in the 2011-12 season. BACK HOME This was the Huskies’ first game on campus since they beat DePaul on Dec. 1. UConn has had three other home games since then. —AP AP