Auriemma’s pointed message received by sluggish Huskies
STORRS — Geno Auriemma didn’t hide how he felt about UConn’s porous start. He benched his starters, who had missed four of their first six shots, for his reserves.
In came Molly Bent, Mikayla Coombs, Kyla Irwin, Batouly Camara and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Out went five others, ready to hear it from Auriemma.
It was a bold move, one that caught most, if not all, the 9,534 fans packed inside Gampel Pavilion by surprise. But Auriemma, sensing his starters had taken injury-ravaged South Florida for granted, felt it was necessary to make a point. And he did. Behind 19 points from Katie Lou Samuelson (including the 2,000th of her career), the Huskies slogged their way to a 63-46 victory over USF Sunday.
Here’s five takeaways on a strange day from Storrs:
THEY WERE DUE, RIGHT?: Let’s face it, everyone, including UConn — which is now 104-0 alltime in American Athletic Conference play — has a clunker every now and again.
Circle back to Jan. 18, 2018, a 78-60 victory over Tulsa in Storrs, which Auriemma labeled the “most disgraceful effort” he had seen in all his years at UConn. The Hall of Fame coach didn’t go that far
Sunday, but clearly, he was still bothered by what he saw.
With 5 minutes, 24 seconds still to go in the first quarter and the Huskies down 6-4, Auriemma benched his starters. The Huskies would trail by as many as eight (14-6) before taking control.
All wins aren’t going to be perfect. This one certainly wasn’t.
WILLIAMS SHUT OUT: It was a quiet day for Christyn Williams. A bit too quiet, as far as Auriemma was concerned.
The freshman guard played 20 minutes. She attempted only two shots, missing both.
Auriemma has gotten on Williams lately about being more aggressive. She was anything but that against USF, and so Auriemma kept her on the bench to begin the second half.
Williams — who’s averaging 12.7 points and 3.8 rebounds — is ultra-talented, but she showed her inexperience against the Bulls.
CRASHING THE BOARDS: On paper, it was a complete mismatch. Yet, it didn’t play out as such.
Despite missing four of their top six scorers, including 6-foot-3 center Beatriz Jordao, who is out for the season with a foot injury, the Bulls outworked the Huskies on the boards. They pulled down 17 offensive rebounds and scored 18 second-chance points.
BENT A SPARK PLUG: UConn wanted to speed up the pace. USF, playing with only eight healthy scholarship players, preferred to slow it down.
The Bulls won that battle of wills early — that is, until Bent was inserted into the game.
If there’s one trait Auriemma admires about Bent, a seldom-used junior guard, it’s her boundless energy. She brought that to the floor for the better part of 21 minutes, notching six points, three assists and a pair of steals.
MILESTONE FOR LOU: During a bizarre game, Samuelson gave the Huskies a reason to celebrate. With her third-quarter layup, the senior became the 10th player in program history to reach 2,000 career points.
Samuelson, now at 2,006 points, has been a premier scorer in her time with the Huskies. Her latest accomplishment is a pleasant reminder of that.