The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Huskies put on vintage performance in rout of ECU
HARTFORD — Well, that was easy.
UConn authored a dominant performance Wednesday, crushing ECU 118-55 at the XL Center. It was UConn’s first game cracking 100 points in 2018-19 after doing so eight times last season.
The fifth-ranked Huskies improved to 20-2, including 9-0 in the American Athletic Conference.
Here’s five takeaways from the win:
⏩ PERFECTION FROM PHEE: Napheesa Collier couldn’t recall the last time she shot 10-for-10 — or better — in a game.
The answer? Collier hit all 10 of her attempts from the floor and scored 24 points in a 96-49 rout of Cincinnati on Feb. 7, 2017. A sophomore at the time, Collier would go on to post career-bests in points (20.4 per game) and shooting percentage (67.8 percent).
Collier matched that feat against ECU, this time posting 21 points. It was the latest in a string of eyeopening performances for the forward, who has been UConn’s most consistent threat during conference play.
Over the last 10 games, Collier’s averaged 19.4 points and 8.7 rebounds.
⏩ NOW, THAT’S MORE LIKE IT: From a pure execution standpoint, Wednesday’s performance was vintage UConn.
UConn operated with pinpoint precision on offense, making 45 shots, including 11 3-pointers, on a season-high 35 assists. The Huskies were just as relentless on the defensive end, recording 20 steals — one shy of their program record.
The ease with which the Huskies won wasn’t a surprise. ECU isn’t in the same hemisphere as the 11-time national champions. Nevertheless, it had been a while since the Huskies delivered a performance as thorough as this one.
⏩ TURNING UP THE PACE: Katie Lou Samuelson broke out of her slump in a big way, pouring in a season-high 31 points
on 9-of-11 shooting.
What was arguably most impressive about Samuelson’s performance was how those points came. The All-American attempted only two 3s (making both), feasting instead on a steady diet of high-percentage shots in transition.
While surveying the Huskies’ statistics in his postgame address, Geno Auriemma joked how Samuelson scoring 27 first-half points on just two 3s was “unheard of back in the day for her.”
⏩ WORKING ON HER CRAFT: Christyn Williams is a natural scorer. The problem is, the freshman guard had gotten away in recent weeks from what she does best.
Williams bounced back with 15 points against ECU, cracking double-figures for just the second time in eight games.
The key? Well, for one, Williams went back to one of her trademark shots from high school — a stepback jumper.
“I used to do stepbacks all the time,” she explained. ⏩ SAME OLD, SAME OLD: There are a litany of statistics that speak to UConn’s remarkable run of consistency under Auriemma.
Here’s one: The Huskies have now won 20 games or more 26 straight seasons. dbonjour@ctpost.com; @DougBonjour