UConn rolls to 20-point win over Wichita State, 80-60
Physical Knights will try to slow down tempo
STORRS — Crystal Dangerfield doesn’t know how many points she’ll score Sunday, but she does know this much about UConn’s showdown with UCF in Hartford: It’ll be closer to a heavyweight fight than a track meet.
“From the jump, we’re going to need to be able to take a punch and throw one back,” the junior guard said Saturday following practice at the Werth Center.
The Huskies, ranked No. 3 in the country at 17-1 (6-0 AAC), realize they may need to win ugly for a change.
“They have a style of play that’s difficult to play against,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “They try to control the tempo, they want to make it a low-scoring game, they want you to play at their pace. They play aggressively.
“They really try to disrupt the game as much as they can for the entire 40 minutes. It’s not like (they) disrupt it sometimes or after free throws. That’s just the way they play.”
For the Huskies, whose offense is built around rhythm, timing and perimeter shooting, the matchup represents a clash in styles. They’ll have no choice but to step out of their comfort zone against the
Knights.
“The level of physicality that they have, we’re going to have to meet it, otherwise it’s going to be a rough game for us,” forward Napheesa Collier said.
The Huskies have had few, if any, rough games within the American Athletic Conference over the years. They’re 107-0 alltime in AAC play, with only one victory — 63-60 over Tulane on Feb. 18, 2017 — decided by single-digits.
While UCF has lost all eight meetings with UConn by an average of 37.2 points, these Knights seem — at least on paper — a bit more formidable. They’re off to a 17-2 start, including 6-0 in the AAC, and received 20 votes in the latest Associated Press poll.
Guard Kay Kay Wright leads the Knights in scoring at 18.7 points a game, while Nyala Shuler — the tallest of the starters at 6-foot — is averaging a team-best 7.7 rebounds.
“We know that UCF is really physical,” guard Katie Lou Samuelson said. “They do a lot of things that we’re not good at. We’re really going to have to focus on those things — rebounding and just making sure we keep people in front of us.”
Auriemma has said for
months that the Huskies need to get stronger, tougher and rebound better. And he’s at the point where he doesn’t expect it to change.
“Not going to happen,” he said. “I mean, you are who are you. That’s not going to change. We have to execute well on offense and we have to create an uptempo kind of game so there’s a lot of possessions. We’ve got to make our share of shots.
“If it turns into any game that’s half-court, grind-it-out — as of now, we’re struggling with that kind of game.”
The Huskies haven’t shot particularly well of late. Dangerfield is 19 for her last 50 from the floor. Samuelson — the nation’s most accurate 3-point shooter a year ago — has made just 7 of her last 27 attempts from beyond the arc.
Auriemma believes that could soon change, though.
“We are probably due to shoot the ball really, really well,” he said. “We didn’t shoot it that bad against SMU. I thought we shot it pretty good, but I think we could shoot it great. I feel it coming, I can see it in practice. More guys are starting to make more shots.” Dangerfield feels it, too. “Fingers crossed,” she said. “I’m hoping.”