The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Makurat has a breakthrough
Guard scores career-high 21 points while channeling her “inner Luka” Doncic
STORRS — Geno Auriemma wanted them to have more fun.
And Crystal Dangerfield thought, why not?
So after Anna Makurat swished a 3-pointer to extend UConn’s lead to 60 in a 92-34 dismantling of Tulsa on Sunday, Dangerfield and three other starters broke into a jig-type dance on the sidelines at Gampel Pavilion.
“A few NBA players were doing it,” Dangerfield said. “We’ve always wanted to do it. Coaches, especially, they want us to be a little more excited.”
No one seemed to enjoy herself more than Makurat. She poured in a career-high 21 points, exhibiting a confidence that had been missing earlier this season.
“She’s shooting the ball, she’s shooting the ball well,” Walker said.
Makurat, who at times this year has been reluctant to fire away, scored 16 points in the second half and finished 8-of-12 from the floor, hitting four 3pointers. Additionally, she recorded six rebounds and five assists.
“That felt good,” Makurat, 19, said. “It was like I had this feeling here for the first time.”
Auriemma joked that the freshman from Poland channeled her “inner-Luka,” referring to Luka Doncic, the 20-year-old NBA star whom Auriemma wants Makurat to replicate.
“She just needed to see the ball go in a lot, and that’s what happened,” Auriemma said. “The kids got a kick out of watching her play. The kids got a kick out of some of the shots that she made and some of the shots that she took.”
Four other Huskies scored in double figures, led by Walker’s 24 points. Dangerfield scored 16 and Christyn Williams and Aubrey Griffin each totaled 11.
The feel-good performance coincided with the celebration of Gampel Pavilion’s 30th anniversary. Several members of the 1989-90 team were honored at halftime, and the current Huskies sported warmups donning the logo from that year’s team.
UConn put Tulsa away with a 21-0 run in the sec
ond quarter that spanned more than nine minutes. The Golden Hurricane — one of three teams still winless in American Athletic Conference play — trailed 48-11 at halftime and 69-26 after three quarters before falling victim to UConn’s largest win of the season.
It was an emphatic response for the Huskies (16-1, 6-0) following a road trip in which they combined to beat Memphis and UCF by only 19 points.
“We’ve wanted to make a big push for a while now,” Walker said. “Just being able to put it together, it also brings the energy. When you see things clicking, you see everyone in the right spots, everyone’s hustling, everyone’s playing hard.”
Added Auriemma: “We may have gotten some of the same shots that didn’t go in (during the last road trip). Today, they went in. Everybody felt good and it just built. It snowballed.”
Addison Richards led Tulsa with 11 points. Kendrian Elliott added six points and 11 rebounds.
Looking ahead: Auriemma doesn’t expect it to feel like old times when UConn and Tennessee square off Thursday in Hartford. He doesn’t think it’s possible to replicate the rivalry they once shared.
“We’ve said, ‘Hey, we’ve turned that spigot off. Let’s turn it back on and it’ll be just like it was when we left off.’ No it won’t be,” Auriemma said. “It won’t be. The coaching’s different, players are different, times are different, media cycle’s different.
“That game will be really big Thursday night, and by Saturday everybody will forget about it and move on to the next thing. Back then, that game was big from a month before to a month after. It’s just not there anymore. That’s OK too, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think it should be there. If we’re back to that … then we haven’t made the progress we think we’ve made.”
Notable: UConn’s bench accounted for 34 points, edging the previous high of 33 (Dec. 5 against Seton Hall) … Assistant coach Jasmine Lister missed her fourth straight game because of an illness … Former All-American guard Katie Lou Samuelson was in attendance … UConn improved to 10-0 all-time against Tulsa.