Unbeaten UConn piles on, rolls to 88-point victory
The UConn women’s team was in an online group chat watching the UMBC men upset topseeded Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The players assured each other that they weren’t going to let anything similar happened to them. All upset hopes ended in the first few minutes of this game as the Huskies went on to a record-setting rout.
Azura Stevens scored 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead six UConn players in double figures, and the Huskies opened their NCAA tournament with a 140-52 defeat of Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday in Storrs.
“I don’t think (the UMBC) game put extra pressure on us, but watching a No. 1 go down kind of motivated us to kind of come out from the start to be ready to go,” Stevens said.
The women’s top seed set a record for points in a tournament game and all-time NCAA records for points in a period (55 in the first) and a half (94 in the first). And UConn’s 88-point margin of victory was the second-biggest in tournament history. Baylor beat Texas Southern by 89 in the 2017 tournament.
The previous record for points in a tournament game was 121. The previous mark for points in a half was 80 and for a quarter was 45.
“I don’t think we were really aware, said Katie Lou Samuelson, who had 18 points and 10 assists. “We were aware of how quickly we were going up and down the court at that first media timeout. But, we were just getting a lot of opportunities and taking advantage of them whenever we could.”
Kia Nurse finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Napheesa Collier had 25 points and nine assists.
UConn (33-0) shot 65 percent from the floor, 73.6 percent in the first half, and outscored the No. 16 seed 96-10 in the paint.
Haley Thomas had 12 points and Caitlyn Kroll 11
for Saint Francis, which finishes the season 24-10. Jessica Kovatch, who came in as the nation’s second leading scorer at just under 25 points per game, finished with nine, all in the second half.
The Huskies improved to 96-10 in the NCAA tournament as a top seed and 11418 overall, all under Geno Auriemma, who is the winningest coach in the tournament’s history.
UConn will play Quinnipiac on Monday night, looking to make the Sweet 16 for a 25th straight season.
BUFFALO 102, SOUTH FLORIDA 79 >> Cierra Dillard scored a career-high 36 points, and the 11th-seeded Bulls got their first women’s tournament victory in Tallahassee, Florida. Buffalo, which is making its second NCAA appearance, trailed 29-18 midway through the second quarter but went on a 20-7 run the remainder of the quarter to take a 43-38 lead at halftime over sixth-seeded Florida
State. Buffalo (28-5) was 14 of 27 from the 3-point line, including 7 of 13 from Dillard. Courtney Wilkins added 23 points and Reid 19. Buffalo was also strong from the foul line, making 22 of 24. Florida State is up next for the Bulls.
Kitija Laksa led South Florida (26-8) with 28 points and Maria Jespersen added 23 points and 11 rebounds. USF was 32 of 63 from the field, but was 7 of 23 on 3-pointers.
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UCLA 71, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY 60 >> Monique Billings scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds, Kennedy Burke added 15 points to lead the No. 3 Bruins in Los Angeles. Jordin Canada had 10 points and 11 assists for the Bruins (257), who advance to the second round. The Bruins will play No. 11 Creighton, a 7670 winner over No. 6 Iowa. Cecily Carl led American (26-7) with 22 points and
10 rebounds and Elina Koskimies added 13 points and Maria Liddane scored 12 points.
After the Eagles took an early lead to start the game, the Bruins countered with a 22-3 run over the final 4:33 of the opening quarter to build a double-digit advantage and take control.
ARIZONA STATE 73, NEBRASKA 62 >> Robbi Ryan scored 16 points, and Kianna Ibis added 14 to lead the Sun Devils. Arizona State, seeded seventh, opened up a tight, defensive struggle with a 14-0 run late in the third quarter. Jamie Ruden scored five in the stretch and the Sun Devils pushed the lead as high as 16 early in the fourth quarter when Reili Richardson converted a 3-point play. Arizona State moves on to the second round for the fifth straight season with a chance to make the Sweet 16 for the second time in four years. Taylor Kissinger scored 15 points for Nebraska (21-11).