UConn Tops Quinnipiac in a 25-Point ‘Squeeker’

By Bob Phillips

UConn All American Katie Lou Samuelson was held to 20 points, but it
didn't really matter. Napheesa Collier drained in 23 to lead the Huskies
over in-state rival Quinnipiac in NCAA second-round action.

STORRS—Only at UConn would a 25-point thrashing of an opponent be considered “close.” But listening to head coach Geno Auriemma after his team clobbered Quinnipiac, you might have thought his team had just emerged from the Battle of the Bulge. Quinnipiac, based in Hamden,  represents the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), a mid-major conference in which the Bobcats had an unblemished 18-0 record this season.

"You can’t dictate how you want the other team to play, and I thought Quinnipiac did a great job controlling their part of the tempo and not letting us get too many run outs,” was Auriemma's spin. 

Now, here’s what really happened: Napheesa Collier led the all scorers with 23 points, while Azura Stevens added 14 points and Kia Nurse chipped in with 13 to lead Connecticut to a 71-46 victory over Quinnipiac before 8,957 fans at Gampel Pavilion on Monday night in second-round NCAA Tournament play. Jen Fay led the ninth-seeded Bobcats with 12 points. Connecticut improves to 34-0 and advances to its 25^th consecutive Sweet 16. Let that one rattle around your brain for a minute when you consider all-time great college athletic programs. The Bobcats, who entered the game riding a school-record 23-game winning streak, end their season with a 28-6 record.

But don’t let the records fool you. This contest was… well… no contest. After Collier broke a 2-2 tie with a layup 49 seconds in, the Huskies never trailed, opening the game with a 9-2 run and never looking back. The Huskies led by 10, 19-9, at the first turn. After the Bobcats cut the margin to five in the second quarter, the Huskies kicked it in and led 33-18 at halftime. Now, a 15-point lead at intermission would be considered a healthy margin for most teams, but for the Huskies, 15 points at halftime represents the narrowest of margins—certainly against an unranked team, playing on their home court.

"[In] the first half we were taking shots with under 10 seconds left on the shot clock, so they were a little bit more rushed, I guess, and maybe that led us to not hitting as many threes as we're used to,” said Quinnipiac senior guard Carly Fabbri, who was playing for her mother, Bobcats’ head coach Tricia Fabbri, for the last time. Carly Fabbri finishes her college career with a 113-26 record including three trips to The Dance in four years.

The Bobcats were able to keep things respectable well into the second half. Of course, “respectable” is a relative term in a David vs. Goliath scenario such as this one. Still, the Huskies did not open a 20-point lead—something they normally do within the first five minutes—until well into the third period. To Quinnipiac’s credit, keep in mind that Connecticut ran roughshod over its first-round opponent, St. Francis of Pa., by the score of 140-52.

Perhaps Quinnipiac’s ultimate undoing was the fact that the Bobcats shot just 4-for-24 from beyond the arc, including 1-for-12 in the first half. And, as expect, the Huskies outrebounded the Bobcats 33-21, and outscored them 28-14 in the paint. Realistically, throwing up treys and hoping for the best was really the only strategy Quinnipiac could employ. Hit 75 percent from downtown, and you’ve got a chance, right? Miss 83 percent of them, and you’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell.

“Obviously we’re not thrilled with the result, but our execution and effort was fantastic,” said Tricia Fabbri, who has led the Bobcats to three NCAA Tournament wins in the past two seasons. “Coming out in the second half, still within striking distance… Heck of an effort; heck of a team.”

The Bobcats were successful in dictating the tempo of the game, creating a half-court environment which kept the Huskies from turning the game into Camptown Races. Doo-dah, doo-dah.

“I think it's good of us to have one of each [style] this weekend, so we can prepare as much as we can for now the next round that we're going to,” Collier said.

The Huskies now advance to the Sweet 16 where they will take on archrival Duke, the No. 5 seed in the Albany region, on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m. at the Times Union Center, and the game will be televised live on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN3/WatchESPN. Adam Amin, Kara Lawson/Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe call the action. The winner of the UConn-Duke game will take on the winner of the Albany Regional’s other semifinal—South Carolina vs. Buffalo—in the Regional Final for the right to advance to the Final Four in Columbus, OH, on Easter weekend.

—with staff reports