The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Happy Homecoming
Collier records double-double in return to her hometown of St. Louis
ST. LOUIS — There were no signs of nerves, nor were there any hints of apprehension. Napheesa Collier was pretty much her usual self for her big night — cool, calm and collected.
“I think she handled it in the most Phee way possible,” point guard Crystal Dangerfield said following the Huskies’ 98-42 dismantling of St. Louis on Tuesday at Chaifetz Arena.
And that means what exactly?
“Humble,” Dangerfield said. “She just does what she does. She was excited. I asked her before the game if she was excited to be back home, and she was. She came out and played great.”
Collier, who grew up in nearby Jefferson City, Mo., and later starred at Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis, was the No. 1 attraction on the No. 1 team in the country. Playing in front of hundreds of family and friends for her homecoming game, the senior forward paced the Huskies with 22 points and 11 rebounds over 29 minutes.
“I don’t think I played very well,” Collier said, offering a harsh critique following her 10-of-17 performance from the floor. “But it was fun to be in front of my friends and family.”
UConn, which rose to the top spot in the Associated Press poll following its win over Notre Dame on Sunday, improved to 8-0. Five players scored in double figures, including Katie Lou Samuelson, who had 20 points along with eight assists and six rebounds.
“Some people, they are what you see. Pheesa doesn’t really have a range of emotions,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “She stays on a pretty level plane every day, every practice, every game and in every situation. I think last night was a perfect example of that. She was pretty much the way you always see her. There was no over-the-top reaction.”
On Monday, Collier had her jersey retired by her high school — an ode to a sensational career marked by three Gatorade State Player of the Year awards and a trio of state championships. The next night, she played in front of the third-largest crowd (7,105) in St. Louis’ history, as fans flocked to the arena to catch a glimpse of the 11-time national champions.
“I think (St. Louis athletic director) Chris (May) understands the value of having a game like this on campus and getting 7,000 people in the building to watch a women’s basketball game,” Auriemma said. “It’s good for basketball, it’s good for St. Louis University, it’s good for those kids that played against our kids tonight to have that moment and say, ‘Yeah, I went toe to toe with the big kid from Connecticut.’ I don’t think you can pass up those opportunities.”
Collier had an allotment of 334 tickets to hand out for the game, according to her father, Gamal. The Billikens’ average attendance to date was only 506.
“It was awesome,” Collier said. “I hadn’t played in front of a lot of them live before, so to have them here and to have so many people show up for me is really humbling. It was really cool.”
The game itself was never close. The Huskies sprinted into halftime up 46-20 with help from a 19-2 run. And it only got worse from there for St. Louis (4-5), which had no answer for the Huskies’ size, speed and strength.
With a comfortable lead in and, Auriemma mixed and matched his rotation for much of the second half. It didn’t matter who was on the floor, St. Louis had no answers. The Huskies outscored the Billikens 25-7 in the third quarter, then took their largest lead of the night in the fourth (60 points).
Walker out: Per a team spokesperson, sophomore forward Megan Walker, who is averaging 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds, missed the game with a fever. Junior Kyla Irwin made her first career start in Walker’s place and had two points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes.
More time for ODO: Olivia Nelson-Ododa followed up her effort off the bench against Notre Dame by recording her first doubledouble (12 points and 10 rebounds) in 23 minutes.