UCONN VS. QUINNIPIAC
Location: Gampel Pavilion Tip: 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Records: Quinnipiac 28-5 overall; UConn 33-0.
Last game: Quinnipiac beat Miami 86-72 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Saturday; UConn beat Saint Francis (Pa.) 140-52 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Saturday.
Probable starters: Quinnipiac, 6-0 Jr. F Paula Strautmane (9.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 spg), 6-0 redshirt Jr. F Jen Fay (13.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg), 5-10 Sr. G Carly Fabbri (9.8 ppg, 4.2 apg, 1.8 spg), 5-9 Jr. G Edel Thornton (5.0 ppg), 5-11 Jr. G Aryn McClure (12.4 ppg, 3.3 apg, 1.6 spg).
UConn, 5-5 So. G Crystal Dangerfield (9.5 ppg, 4.0 apg), 6-0 Sr. G Kia Nurse (13.8 ppg), 6-3 Jr. G/F Katie Lou Samuelson (17.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg), 5-11 Sr. F Gabby Williams (10.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 5.3 apg, 2.6 spg), 6-1 Jr. G/F Napheesa Collier (15.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg).
Noteworthy: Quinnipiac has won 23 straight games following a 74-55 loss to Michigan State on Dec. 18 which made the Bobcats 5-5. They started 0-3, in fact, with defeats against Iowa (83-67), then-No. 16 Missouri (66-51) and then-No. 9 Ohio State (95-63). “I think obviously our five losses did come during that nonconference play,” Carly Fabbri said Sunday of the early going. “No team likes to lose, but the whole time we were having those growing pains, we knew that while it stung then, this was going to help us come March.” The Bobcats went 18-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and followed by winning their second straight league tournament title. … UConn, despite winning its first-round game in record-setting fashion against Saint Francis, has no illusions of being perfect, especially entering the game against hard-nosed Quinnipiac. “I think energy-wise we were all ready to go and we had contributions from almost everyone on the team (Saturday), so that’s really good and a positive for us,” Samuelson said. “But we know there are always little things that we can get better on here and there and we can really focus on making sure everything we do is the same no matter who we’re playing.” Three UConn players had double-doubles against Saint Francis: Samuelson (18 points, 10 assists), Nurse (15 points, 10 rebounds) and sixth man Azurá Stevens (26 points, 10 rebounds). In addition, Williams (16 points, 9 assists), Collier (25 points, 9 assists) and freshman Megan Walker (19 points, 8 rebounds) came close. Said UConn coach Geno Auriemma: “I don’t think it’s going to be an easy game for us, but I like the way our team played yesterday and we’re anxious to get going (Monday).” … UConn and Quinnipiac are each one of 20 teams in the country to have won 20-or-more games in seven straight seasons from 2011-18. … Monday will mark the final home game for UConn seniors Nurse and Williams. … The only previous meeting between UConn and Quinnipiac came on Dec. 27, 1998, with UConn winning 117-20; Quinnipiac was then in its first season as a Division I program.