UConn shows no mercy with 60-point trouncing

CONNECTICUT 98, MISSISSIPPI STATE 38

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Breanna Stewart and the UConn Huskies took notice of the major upsets Friday night. They needed just four minutes to put to rest any notion of that happening to them.

Stewart had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks to lead No. 1 UConn to a 98-38 record rout of fifth-seeded Mississippi State on Saturday.

“Crazy things happen in March,” Stewart said. “We wanted to make sure when we came out today that wasn’t going to happen with us.”

It hasn’t in quite some time.

The victory was the 72nd consecutive for UConn (350) and left the Huskies three victories shy of an unprec- edented fourth consecutive national championship. Their road to that historic title got a bit easier Friday night when top seeds South Carolina and Notre Dame both lost in the Sweet 16.

“It was an awakening for our players and everyone else,” Coach Geno Auriemma said. “If you show up in March and don’t bring your ‘A’ game and your guys aren’t focused and locked in and playing their best basketball, that this can happen.”

The best team in the nation put together one of its most dominant games during this run, quickly quashing any thoughts of the Bulldogs pulling off the upset with a dominant start.

The victory supplanted the record 51-point victory the Huskies had over Texas in the regional semifinals last year that set the NCAA record for margin of victory in the regional rounds and beyond.

UConn will face the Longhorns in the Bridgeport Regional

final Monday night.

Stewart, the two-time Associated Press player of the year, got the game started with a three-pointer and UConn was off and running. The Huskies scored the game’s first 13 points, including 11 by Stewart and Morgan Tuck.

A basket by Mississippi State (28-8) did little to turn the tide as UConn scored 19 of the final 21 points of the quarter, including Moriah Jefferson’s basket that just beat the buzzer.

UConn kept it going in the second quarter, converting turnovers and missed shots into easy baskets. The Huskies shredded the Mississippi State defense, which entered giving up just 54.7 points a game. UConn surpassed that with 1:40 left in the first half and led 61-12 at the break.

The Huskies fell two points short of the NCAA record for points in a half in the regionals or later. The Bulldogs points were the second fewest for a half in an NCAA regional semifinal, one more than Texas Tech had against Rutgers in 1999.

Stewart finished the opening 20 minutes with 18 points and 13 rebounds and UConn shot 65 percent (24 for 37) from the field.

The onslaught continued in the second half as UConn extended its advantage to 68. Auriemma took out Stewart and Jefferson for good with 3:52 left in the third quarter to a loud ovation from the nearly 9,000 fans in attendance. Tuck, who finished with 21 points, left soon after.

“Today it felt like I was playing a WNBA team,” said Mississippi State Coach Vic Schaefer, a former Arkansas assistant. “That team right there probably finishes. I don’t know what team in the league they can’t compete with. They got all the pieces.”

Texas 72, UCLA 64

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Imani Boyette scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead second-seeded Texas to a come-from-behind victory over UCLA.

Brooke McCarty added 15 points for the Longhorns (31-4), who will play in their first regional final since 2003.

Monique Billings scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for UCLA, which finishes its season at 26-9. Jordin Canada also had 20 points for the third-seeded Bruins.

UCLA led by 10 points in the second quarter, five points at the half and 54-48 after three quarters.

But Texas scored the first 10 points of the fourth to take the lead for good. Texas’ Ariel Atkins made a three-point play, hitting a shot as she fell down in the lane while being fouled, to push the lead to 63-56 and the Longhorns hit their free throws down the stretch. UCLA missed its last nine shots. Texas and Coach Karen Aston (Bryant, UALR) will play UConn in the regional final.

The Longhorns won the game underneath, outrebounding Texas 46-40 and outscoring the Bruins 40-22 in the paint.

UCLA, which won won the WNIT last season, had an eight-game postseason unbeaten streak, second only to UConn. The Bruins were looking for their first national title since 1978, when they won an AIAW championship, four years before the NCAA had a women’s tournament.