Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
UConn turns out the lights on Cincinnati with 38-0 run
NO. 1 CONNECTICUT 75, CINCINNATI 21
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Top-ranked UConn has become known for that one big run that puts opponents away.
Monday night’s was bigger than most.
The Huskies outscored Cincinnati 38-0 over 15 minutes that stretched from the first quarter into the third and went on to rout the Bearcats 75-21 in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Azura Stevens scored 21 points and pulled down 13 rebounds and Napheesa Collier added 13 points for the Huskies (31-0), who have won 100 games against AAC opponents without a loss since the league began play in 2013.
“We’ve had some runs against some really good teams that you can’t explain,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma.
“Maybe because we play pretty good defense every night, we get a lot of opportunities to get out in transition. That’s the only way I can explain it.”
Andeija Puckett had five points for Cincinnati, which fell to 19-12.
The Huskies played without All-American forward Gabby Williams, who tweaked a long-standing hip injury in the Huskies’ quarterfinal win over Tulane. They didn’t need her. The Huskies led just 9-5 after a 3-pointer by Cincinnati’s Nikira Goings with 4:39 left in the first quarter. Those would be the last points the Bearcats would score until just over a minute and a half into the second half.
UConn scored the final eight points of the first quarter and outscored Cincinnati 26-0 in the second to take a 43-5 halftime lead.
“Our goal is to always shut teams out, but that very rarely happens” said Collier. “We did notice ( the run) especially toward the end and right into halftime, but during the game we’re kind of locked in on defense and trying to do what you need to do instead of looking up at the score.”
Shanice Johnson ended the Bearcat drought with a 3-pointer that made it 47-8. UConn continued to stretch the lead, going up by as many as 56 points.
Stevens, starting in place of Williams, had her seventh double-double by intermission, with 14 points and 11 rebounds. It was the 6-foot6 junior’s eighth start since transferring from Duke.
But the AAC’s sixth player of the year said her approach was no different than when she comes off the bench.
“My role changed a little bit tonight, but not really,” she said.
“I’m still expected to do what I’m expected to do every night and I think as a team we did a good job pulling together a solid win for Gabby.”
NO. 19 SOUTH FLORIDA 74, CENTRAL FLORIDA 59
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Kitija Laksa scored 20 points and Laura Ferreira added 17 to lead No. 19 South Florida to a victory over rival Central Florida in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Maria Jespersen chipped in with 12 for the Bulls ( 26- 6), who advanced to the conference final for the fourth straight season.
Their three previous trips have ended in losses to UConn, who faced Cincinnati in the other semifinal.
Zakiya Saunders had 20 points to lead UCF (21-10).
South Florida, which put five players in double figures, led by three points at the half and began the second half with three 3-pointers, one from Jespersen and a pair from Laksa, to open up a 42-30 lead.
This was the first meeting of the rivals in the AAC Tournament.
South Florida won both regular season meetings, beating UCF by 17 points at home in January and by nine points in overtime on Feb. 18.
The Bulls are one victory from equaling their highest win total in program history.
NO. 22 WIS.-GREEN BAY 66, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 45
DETROIT — Jessica Lindstrom scored 17 points and set a program Division I record with 1,000 career rebounds and No. 22 Wisconsin-Green Bay reached the Horizon League championship game for the eighth- consecutive season with a victory over Youngstown State on Monday.
Youngstown State led by two points at the break, but Karly Murphy scored six straight points to cap a second-half opening 8-0 run for Green Bay.
After YSU scored its first basket of the second half at the 3:31 mark, Lindstrom opened and closed a 13-2 run with 3-pointers to make it 47-33 entering the fourth quarter.
A 7- 0 run to start the final frame made it a 21-point lead.
Allie Leclaire added 16 points, Jen Wellnitz, the league’s defensive player of the year, chipped in a season-high 14 points for top- seeded Green Bay (28-3).
Sarah Cash led No. 5 seed Youngstown State ( 16- 15) with 12 points to become YSU’s 20th member of the 1,000-point club