Samuelson, Huskies cruise
Katie Lou passes Taurasi for UConn career 3-pointers
HARTFORD — It must be a coincidence, right? Arguably the two best shooters to ever play for Geno Auriemma attended the same high school.
“Crazy, right?” Auriemma, now in his 34th season at UConn, said Saturday. “And isn’t the third one from California, too? Well, that’s what they do out there, stand out there and shoot.”
In this case, the third one is Diana Taurasi, whom Katie Lou Samuelson passed in the school record books Saturday at the XL Center. Samuelson had one of her most complete games as a Husky, notching 26 points along with a careerhigh 16 rebounds and six assists in a resounding 99-61 victory over Seton Hall before a crowd of 9,536.
“She’s just making herself into a really, really complete player,” Auriemma said. “Little by little, it’s evolved. There’s still some things (she can work on), there always will be. But she’s in a really, really good place right now.”
Samuelson hit 4 of 12 3-point attempts, including the 319th of her career, to move past Taurasi, a player she idolized while growing up. The only Husky with more career 3-pointers than Samuelson is fellow Mater Dei High (Calif.) alum Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, with 398.
“Once I started becoming a shooter, you see and you watch players that are people you want to look up to — guards that are really good,” Samuelson said. “That’s how I kind of started watching (Taurasi).”
Four other players hit double figures, leading top-ranked UConn to its 56th straight non-conference win in the regular season. Napheesa Collier and Crystal Dangerfield
scored 18 and 16 points, respectively.
With final exams approaching, the Huskies don’t play again until Dec. 19 at Oklahoma. They will head into the break at 9-0.
“The players themselves need some time away from the game,” Auriemma said. “I think mentally you get a little drained, more so mentally than physically. You add the exam part on, it’s a lot.”
Seton Hall (7-2) tried to wear down UConn physically by playing an uptempo style like DePaul. But it didn’t affect the Huskies, who put the Pirates away early. The Huskies led 61-29 at halftime thanks largely to Christyn Williams, who scored all 15 of her points in the first quarter.
“I was just going with the flow of the game,” Williams said. “We get out in transition and everything starts. We just get out in transition early and that gets us going.”
The Pirates, an old rival from the Big East, didn’t fare much better in the half court. Overall, they committed 17 turnovers and had almost as many fouls (24) as shots made (25). Guard Nicole Jimenez led the Pirates with 23 points.
Seton Hall coach Anthony Bozzella liked the energy his team brought, just not the result.
“You don’t ever want to lose by 38,” he said, “but I thought we lost by 38 trying to play our way. … We came in here and at least played with some toughness and some moxie.”
Despite Seton Hall’s best efforts, the only mystery during the second half was whether Samuelson would hit another 3 to pass Taurasi. She finally did so with 4:22 left after missing seven straight attempts from beyond the arc.
“I kept everyone on their toes a little bit,” Samuelson joked.
Irwin steps up: Making her second straight start in place of Megan Walker (strep throat) junior forward Kyla Irwin recorded six points and three assists in 29 minutes.
“I felt really comfortable out there,” Irwin said.
Added Auriemma: “Those minutes that we get from Kyla are really important for her. … It’s given her a little bit of confidence.”
Thanks, Coach: Bozzella, now in his sixth season at Seton Hall, credited Auriemma, saying he’s leaned on the Hall of Fame coach and his staff for advice throughout his career.
“In order to be the best, we have to learn from the best,” Bozzella said. “Coach Auriemma, from way back when I was at LIU and we lost in the NCAA tournament, to Iona when they played with us, to Seton Hall … he pulled me aside and gave me some great words of wisdom.”