Huskies still seeking consistency

STORRS — That the first half ended with a missed layup by Crystal Dangerfield seemed too fitting.

Fourth-ranked UConn stumbled into halftime up only four on Cincinnati, but rebounded to win rather comfortably, 80-50, on Thursday at Gampel Pavilion.

Afterward, frustration was apparent.

“We know this isn’t what we’re used to,” said Dangerfield, a senior. “The upperclassmen know that this isn’t what we’ve done in the past couple years. It’s really falling on us to try to get it back.”

The Huskies are 19-1, but still haven’t played their best. Playing their fourth game in eight days, the Huskies were underwhelming for stretches against Cincinnati, especially in the second quarter. The Bearcats outscored them 22-9 to slice their halftime lead to 35-31.

Unlike many previous seasons, Geno Auriemma said he went into this one without any concrete expectations. Right now, he’s still not sure exactly what the Huskies are.

“In some ways, we’ve exceeded our expectations,” the UConn coach said. “At the same time, I don’t think we’re as good as we could be. So where are we? We’re probably like a lot of other

teams around the country. I bet you if you asked a bunch of the teams that started the season undefeated in the top-5 in the country … they would go, ‘I don’t know. Hard to say, hard to say.’

“We’re better than we were in November. We’re better than we were in the Cal and Vanderbilt games.”

Here are a few more takeaways from the Huskies’ latest victory. Building blocks for Nelson-Ododa: Auriemma made a concerted effort to get Olivia Nelson-Ododa deeper into the paint, making it easier for her to operate. The 6-foot-5 sophomore was effective, scoring 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting.

Auriemma was encouraged by Nelson-Ododa’s effort, but said that she needs to stop committing “dumb” fouls. She picked up three on the offensive end, limiting her to 22 minutes.

Gritty effort by Walker: Megan Walker was poked in the left eye twice and sat most of the third quarter after it nearly swelled shut. With UConn up double digits, it would’ve made perfect sense for Walker to call it an early night.

Instead, Walker returned from the trainer’s room and convinced Auriemma to let her start the fourth. She finished with 21 points, including the 1,000th of her career, and 11 rebounds. Her toughness spoke volumes.

Coming up in the clutch: With her team needing a jolt, Dangerfield took matters into her own hands. Dangerfield turned in one of her best (second) halves of the season, sinking five 3-pointers and scoring 16 of her game-high 24 points.

Auriemma has pushed his point guard to be a more aggressive scorer, and it showed. Now, what can she do for an encore against Sabrina Ionescu?

Look ahead: The NCAA will conduct its first “top-16 reveal” at halftime of Monday’s game against Oregon. The announcement will provide insight into the selection committee’s seeding process, but will have no bearing on the final 64-team field.

So, what should UConn fans make of it? Not much.

The Huskies were projected as a No. 1 seed in the second reveal last March. They went on to win the American Athletic Conference tournament, but ended up a No. 2 seed.