Katie Lou Reaches 2,000 in Huskies’ Win Over USF

By Bob Phillips

Katie Lou Samuelson led all scorers with 19 points, becoming the 10th
player in UConn women's basketball history to reach the 2,000-point
 mark. (Photo courtesy Stephen Slade)

STORRS—File this one in the “winning ugly” folder. Trailing by as many as eight points in the first half on their home court, the No. 3 University of Connecticut Huskies eventually shook off the cobwebs and came away with a 63-46 victory over the University of South Florida before 9,534 fans at Gampel Pavilion on Sunday.

USF was leading 6-4 when Husky head coach Geno Auriemma decided to send a message to his underachieving team—he pulled all five starters, which elicited a positive response from the home crowd. Auriemma’s tough love did not pay off immediately, however, as the Bulls built their lead to 14-6 after a three-pointer by Enna Pehadzic.

UConn's starters returned in the second quarter. The Huskies regained the lead at 20-18 on a layup by Megan Walker, and never looked back.

“I've got a very immature team, I think,” Auriemma said. “That shows up in the inconsistency some times.”

Katie Lou Samuelson led all scorers with 19 points, in the process becoming the 10th UConn player to reach the 2,000-point plateau. Walker added 14 points and Napheesa Collier had 12 for the Huskies, who improved to 14-1 overall, 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference. Indeed, the Huskies have never suffered a conference loss since joining The American when it was formed in 2013.

“We knew that we were going to get another chance at some point during the game to kind of fix what we started, and that’s what we did when we got back in there,” Samuelson said of the mass benching.

Enna Pehadzic had 17 points and 12 rebounds for USF, which fell to 10-7 overall, 1-2 in conference play. Tamara Henshaw also put up a double-double for the Bulls with a 12-point, 10-rebound effort.

“We've come up here with much more talented teams and didn't rebound and defend as well,” said USF coach Jose Fernandez, whose team outrebounded UConn 42-26, but shot just 34 percent from the floor. “It’s great to get a lot of our younger kids some time. We just right now don't have enough guys that can put the ball in the basket.”

UConn is now 27-0 all-time vs. USF, dating back to when both teams were in the Big East. The Huskies are 104-0 against the rest of the AAC since its inception, including 89-0 in the regular season. Next up for the Huskies is a trip to New Orleans where they will face 13-3, 3-0 Tulane on Wednesday. Tip-off at the Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse is at 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on SNY, streamed on ESPN3, and broadcast on the UConn radio network.

—with staff reports