The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Huskies rule AAC again
UNCASVILLE — Over a three-day stretch, the UConn women reaffirmed what the rest of the country has known for years.
The Huskies are untouchable in the American Athletic Conference.
Even without All-American Katie Lou Samuelson, the Huskies barreled through the competition while barely blinking an eye. They culminated their run to a sixth straight AAC title by blitzing UCF 66-45 Monday at Mohegan Sun before a crowd of 6,001.
UCF was badly overmatched, just like the Huskies’ previous two opponents — East Carolina and South Florida — were badly overmatched. The Huskies’ incredible unbeaten streak remains firmly intact (120-0).
“They’ve built a dynasty here,” UCF coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said.
UCF is in midst of its best season in program history — 26-6 and a likely NCAA Tournament berth — yet the Knights didn’t stand a chance against the Huskies. Napheesa Collier outscored the Knights by herself in the first half (16-15), helping the Huskies build a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Collier, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds. The senior scored 85 points over three sensational games, breaking the record of 71 held by Samuelson.
“I think she’s the best player in the country,” Abrahamson-Henderson said. “She’s really good. She’s really good, she’s really strong, she’s really tough. She’s hard to guard. She can play multiple positions; she’s a perfect four. She can handle the ball, she can stretch you out and do a lot of things. She’s a special player.”
Best player in the country? Geno Auriemma would tend to agree.
“She is,” the UConn coach said. “She is the best player in the country. Let’s put it this way, I’m open to suggestions who’s had a better year. So, you can try to convince me, and I’ll be openminded about who rebounds better, who plays better defense, who scores more and who’s more durable and plays 40 minutes every night. I would like to know.”
The Huskies (31-2) were missing their top 3-point shooter, drawing more attention to Collier. And yet, the senior didn’t miss a beat.
“What she does, I’ve said it time and time again, there’s nobody else in the country doing what she does every night,” guard Crystal Dangerfield said.
Dangerfield scored 12 points and handed out six assists, while Christyn Williams had
13 points. Both players were named to the AllTournament team along with Megan Walker, who finished with nine points.
The Huskies did all their work without Samuelson, who hasn’t played since March 2 with a back injury. The two-time All-American is expected to return for the NCAA Tournament, which’ll tip off March 22 or 23.
First, though, they’ll spend a few days savoring this latest title.
“Everybody that starts Oct. 15, it’s about winning conference championship,” Auriemma said. “It doesn’t matter which conference, we’ve been in a bunch of them in the last 34 years — different configurations. That’s still always the goal, win the regular season, win the conference tournament and go the NCAA Tournament. That’s what you aspire to do in October.
“I remember back in the days when I used to try to figure out how many home wins we needed in the conference and how many we could afford to lose on the road.”
Now, the Huskies — whose ultimate goal is to win a 12th national championship — have no such worries.
The Huskies put forth another outstanding defensive effort, holding UCF to 34.6 shooting. Kay Kay Wright, an AllAAC guard, was a nonfactor. She was held to four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
“That was our game plan, disrupt their offense, trap the ball-handler, just get out and run after we get a steal,” Walker said. “We did that.”
In the running: Dangerfield was named one of five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, joining Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon State’s Destiny Slocum, South Carolina’s Tyasha Harris and Syracuse’s Tiana Mangakahia.
Moriah Jefferson is the last Husky to win the award (2016), which recognizes the nation’s top point guard.