 | |
| Napheesa Collier scored 20 points to lead the Huskies, but it wasn't enough as Louisville topped UConn, 78-69. (Photo courtesy of uconnhuskies.com) |
LOUISVILLE—There was
a time in the not-so-distant past that the UConn women’s basketball team would
have entered any game they played as heavy favorites, no matter the opponent,
no matter the venue. Those days are gone.
Last night, the No. 2 Huskies traveled to Kentucky to take
on the No. 3 Louisville Cardinals. And after a 78-69 victory by Louisville, in
all likelihood the two teams will swap places when next week’s poll is released
on Monday. That’s because Asia Durr led all scorers with 24 points, while Dana
Evans added 20 points off the bench to lead Louisville to a 78-69 victory over Connecticut
before 17,023 fans at the KFC Yum! Center on Thursday night. Jazmine Jones
added 13 points and Sam Fuehring popped in 12 for the Cardinals, who improve to
20-1. Both Jones and Fuehring also grabbed 12 boards apiece.
Napheesa Collier led
the Huskies with 20 points and eight rebounds. Crystal Dangerfield
added 19 points (also with eight boards), and Katie Lou Samuelson added
16 for UConn, which fell to 18-2. Which made things even sweeter for the home
team, this was Louisville’s first series victory vs. the Huskies since their inaugural
meeting in the 1993 NCAA Tournament.
The two teams were tied at the first turn, and the Cardinals
entered the locker room at intermission with a two-point advantage, 40-38. That
lead grew to seven, 58-51, at the third turn, and the Cardinals never looked
back.
“There was a stretch in the third quarter where I thought it
got away from us,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma
said. “We made a lot of mistakes defensively, and they took advantage of every
one of them. Every time we made a mistake, they got a bucket.”
Durr started the game by missing her first four shots. But
then, the senior guard caught fire, knocking down three consecutive treys en route
to an 8-for-18 shooting night from the field, 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.
“I had great looks, even when the ball didn't go in,” Durr
said.
Evans scored 12 points in the second half, hitting a
3-pointer with 1:55 remaining giving the Cardinals a comfortable 70-59 lead. It
was Louisville’s sixth consecutive victory this season and snapped a 17-game
losing streak to the Huskies, dating back to the two teams’ days in the Big
East.
“It was a great win for sure,” said Evans, who, like Durr,
was 5-for-10 from downtown. “It was something we've been working for and we
stayed focused, we played together tonight and came out with the win.”
UConn looked good in the stat line, but not good enough
where it counts most—on the scoreboard. For instance, the Huskies outscored the
Cardinals 32-20 in the paint, thanks in large part to 11 second-chance points.
But perhaps the biggest stat was bench points, won by Louisville 20-2 (all by
Evans).
“We struggled with their versatility and being able to
attack in so many different ways,” said Samuelson. “We weren't hitting shots that we normally do and we
weren't finishing that great. We still have to pick it up.”
UConn now heads to Cincinnati where they will take on the 14-7,
6-2 Bearcats in an American Athletic Conference contest at Fifth Third Arena on
Saturday. Keep in mind that Connecticut has never lost a game in The American—regular
season or championship tournament. And although Cinci is 11-1 at home, the
Huskies demolished the Bearcats, 82-38, in the teams’ first meeting last month
in Storrs. Tip-off is at noon, and the game will be televised on SNY, and streamed on ESPN3.
—Staff Reports
No comments:
Post a Comment