Sports: UConn women beat Temple, 94-61, and advance to AAC tourney semifinals
UCONN AT TULANE 4 p.m. Fogelman Arena, ESPNU
Dan Hurley quickly responded without hesitation when asked if his UConn basketball team is a post-season caliber team.
"Absolutely," he said after beating No. 21 Houston on Thursday.
Now it's up to the Huskies to prove their head coach right and determine if they're NIT or even NCAA worthy. Or they could fall out of consideration for both and be completely left out of March Madness.
The Huskies (18-12, 9-8) close the regular season by visiting Tulane on Sunday (4 p.m., ESPNU) at Fogelman Arena in New Orleans. Then they'll participate in the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, starting on Thursday.
They're sizzling, taking six of eight including a season-high four straight. With a win Sunday, they can wrap up a winning league record for the first time since 2015-16.
A bit stunning that they're in the conversation for a post-season bid considering all the adversity they've had to overcome this season.
Freshman James Bouknight, who's blossomed into a star, was suspended for the first three games due to his off-the-court troubles. Junior Tyler Polley was lost to a season-ending knee injury in early January and fellow starter Akok Akok joined him on the sidelines on Feb. 1.
Yet the Huskies have grown through experience, learned valuable lessons from painful narrow defeats and seen several players greatly improve. Senior Christian Vital is playing at an All-AAC first team level and Bouknight is blossoming into a star.
three steals, an assist and a blocked shot for UConn (27-3). She drew nine fouls against Temple (16-15), going 11for-17 from the free throw line.
In her first 4 minutes, 52 seconds after entering the game in place of sophomore center Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who drew her second foul, Griffin had nine points, seven rebounds (four off the offensive glass) and drew four fouls. She had a double-double at halftime with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Dangerfield, a senior, led UConn — playing in its last AAC tournament before moving back to the Big East Conference — with 22 points. The Huskies had six players in double figures with Dangerfield and Griffin joined by Walker (17 points), Anna Makurat (14), Christyn Williams (12) and Nelson-Ododa (12).
Makurat, also a freshman, had eight assists and the Huskies made 14 3-point field goals, two shy of their own tournament record. UConn scored 32 points in the second quarter, one shy of its own tournament record, leading 47-28 at halftime.
UConn advanced to Sunday's semifinals against No. 4 South Florida (19-12), a 64-50 quarterfinal winner Saturday over No. 5 Tulane. The UConn-South Florida game will begin at 4 p.m. (ESPN2), with the Huskies bidding to remain unbeaten in their seven-year tenure in the league.
"You can see it," Auriemma said of Griffin, the 6-foot-1 forward who is the daughter of former NBA player and current Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin.
"It's an energy level you don't see very often, her ability to pressure (on defense), her ability to go get the ball when it comes off the rim. It's unique ... even when you think you got her boxed out. She's pretty good at getting in the lane. Sometimes she not sure when she gets in there what she's going to do."
Griffin's career high for points is 25, which came on Dec. 5 at Seton Hall, her dad's alma mater. Her 16 rebounds Saturday, however, were a career best. It took her a little over half the game (22:12) to earn her second career double-double.
"I just went out there and played hard, stayed aggressive," a reserved Griffin said. "I don't know how I feel about (the postseason); I've definitely just got to go out there and play hard. I just went in there. Just kind of do my thing."
UConn, averaging 92.3 points per game over the last three games of the regular season, didn't come into Saturday's game with that same offensive mastery, however. Temple led 9-2.
The Huskies took the lead for the first time, 12-11, on an offensive rebound by Nelson-Ododa with 3:35 to play in the first quarter.
UConn led 15-13 after one on a basket by Griffin, who broke a tie with 2.2 seconds left to go in the quarter and was fouled, but missed the free throw.
The second quarter then featured six UConn 3-pointers, two each by Dangerfield, Makurat and Walker. Makurat was also fouled taking a 3 — just after a made shot from behind the arc — and made all three foul shots, pushing the Huskies lead to 3320. Makurat's second 3 of the quarter gave UConn a 20-point cushion for the first time at 42-22.
It was 47-28 at halftime and 73-46 after three quarters.
Mia Davis had 21 points for Temple and Ashley Jones 13.
"I know that first quarter we came out and did some really great things," said Temple coach Tonya Cardoza, a former UConn assistant under Auriemma. "... In the second quarter, Griffin came in and changed the entire game. She gave them the energy that they needed. She was the spark that they needed." v.fulkerson@theday.com