UConn gets back on script

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands — Now that’s more like it.

One night after receiving a scare against St. John’s, the UConn women made things look easy. The secondranked Huskies closed out their stay at the Paradise Jam on Saturday with a laugher, an 86-40 victory over Purdue at the University of Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center.

It was over by the end of the first quarter — if not earlier. The Huskies (5-0) roared out to a thunderous start behind Katie Lou Samuelson, who made three 3’s in the first quarter. The All-American poured in 13 of her 22 points during that stretch, vaulting the Huskies in front, 28-8 after 10 minutes.

“There’s a couple things about our team that I hope become constants,” head coach Geno Auriemma said. “One, Lou’s going to make a lot of 3’s. When they start going in, and they go in early, we play with a lot of confidence.”

This was nothing like Friday, which came with a slice of unexpected drama thanks to an inspired effort by St. John’s in a nail-biting 65-55 win. This was like most other UConn victories, over before a crowd of 2,703 was even in its seats.

Napheesa Collier made sure of it. She contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season while freshman Christyn Williams finished with a career-high 17 points.

“On nights like [tonight], there aren’t many teams that can stop us,” Collier said.

Despite playing their 86 40

third game in three days, the Huskies displayed no signs of fatigue. They ran out in front early and didn’t stop, using a commanding 21-5 run to push their lead to 34 points. At halftime it was 47-18, and it only got worse from there for the Boilermakers (5-2), who would trail by as many as 50.

“After a while, the pace just got them where they weren’t getting any shots that they’re normally getting,” Auriemma said. “We changed up our defenses a couple times. We were just way more aggressive than we were last night. ... People scout us and they watch us play and they see us play in person, but until they get out on the court, it’s a tough adjustment.”

The Huskies improved to 9-0 all-time at the Paradise Jam spanning three different trips (2007 and 2012). They won all three games this year by an average of 32 points.

“We can have fun when we are supposed to,” Collier said. “We went to the beach and we did all these cool things here, but when it’s time for the game — especially this last one; we’re tired and we’ve already played two before — we can

walk in and do what we’re supposed to.”

The Boilermakers stood no chance. They watched the Huskies go 11-of-15 from the floor in the first quarter and 57 percent from the game. The Huskies hit 10 3’s, including five by Williams.

“I was really mad at her today because there was a couple things we went over yesterday and she didn’t quite get it. And then we went over them today and she still didn’t quite get it,” Auriemma said. “I got really mad at her during the game and she did exactly what I thought she would do. She got this look on her face like she wanted to punch me.

“Somebody was going to pay for that, and it wasn’t going to be me.”

It was Purdue.

“I play better when I’m mad, so it’s probably a good thing,” Williams said.

Accolades for Huskies: Collier, Samuelson, Crystal Allen of Mississippi, Tiana England of St. John’s and Ae’Rianna Harris of Purdue were named Tournament All-Stars.

Up next: The schedule is about to pick up in intensity. The Huskies will host No. 16 DePaul on Wednesday in Hartford, then visit No. 1 Notre Dame next Sunday in a rematch of last year’s Final Four.

“The two games we have coming up this week are about as difficult for us as you could imagine ...,” Auriemma said. “One, because of DePaul’s style of play, it’s difficult for anyone that plays them. They have a lot of starters back from last year’s team, and they’re going to want to play as fast as humanly possible. ... The Notre Dame matchup’s even worse.”