Husky Express Rolls On To (Another) American Athletic Conference Final

Sophomore forward Megan Walker led all scorers
with 24 points to pace the Huskies' offense.

By Bob Phillips
Photos by Bill Harper

UNCASVILLE—Here’s a fact: The University of Connecticut Huskies miss Katie Lou Samuelson. Without question, playing without their 6-3 senior two-time All-American throws the Huskies off their rhythm, affects their ball movement and their overall offense. Losing 18.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game will do that do you. Here’s another fact: KLM’s absence from the lineup has a far lesser effect on the Husky D—which is a cooperative team effort. And here’s another fact: Very few teams belong on the court with the Huskies—with, or without, KLS. That is especially true in the American Athletic Conference.

And so it was that Mega Walker led all scorers with 24 points followed by Napheesa Collier with 23 and UConn breezed past the University of South Florida, 81-45, at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday. Leading 19-5 at the first turn—yep, the Husky D is that good. The question whether the Bulls would break into double digits was dispelled in the second period. That they did—barely—as  the Huskies went into the locker room leading 41-15 after the first 20 minutes of play.


Insurmountable, you say? Pretty much. Coming back from a 26-point deficit vs. a team that plays relentless defense as if it were the air it breaths? Against a team that has never lost a conference game—regular season or championship tournament—since joining The American in front of a friendly home crowd? Steep odds, to say the least.

Indeed, the Huskies’ dominance in the first half was total. Consider this: Connecticut scored more points in the first period (19) than South Florida scored in the entire first half. The Huskies outscored the Bulls 16-8 in the paint, scored 13 points off of turnovers (compared to 2 for USF), had 6 second-chance points to USF’s 2, and outscored the Bulls 6-0 in transition. Indeed, the only stat in which USF led was in bench points. The Bulls outscored the Husky reserves 4-0. The reason being that no Husky reserves played in the first half—the starting five were in throughout the first two periods.

With 23 points, Napheesa Collier became the all-time scoring leader in
American Athletic Conference Tournament history.

Things didn’t get any better for USF in the third period, won by UConn 25-13. By the time the Huskies eased off the pedal in Q4, the outcome had been long determined.

Collier set two conference tournament records, becoming the all-time leading scorer in championship history with 176 points. Pheesa also became the league’s all-time record-holder with 70 made field goals in AAC tournament play.

Besides Walker's 24, Napheesa Collier, coming off a career-high 37-point outburst in UConn’s 92-65 quarterfinal victory over ECU, added 23 points. In doing so, the 6-2 senior for forward from O’Fallon, MO, became the leading scorer in American Athletic Conference championship tournament history with 176 points, and also became the conference’s all-time leader in championship tournament field goals made (70). In addition, it was the second straight double-double for Pheesa, who was the game’s leading rebounder, hauling down 12 boards. Crystal Dangerfield (11 points) and Christyn Williams (10) also scored in double digits for the Huskies, who improved to 30-2.CrySydni Harvey led USF with 13 points, while Alyssa Rader added 10 points off the bench for the Bulls, who fell to 18-15.

“We played great defense, and we shot great,” said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, explaining his team’s total dominance. Indeed, the Huskies shot 53.3 percent for the game, while holding the Bulls to 26.2 percent shooting from the field (15-for-61). That included a 15-2 run that expanded UConn’s lead to 37 points, 60-23, in the first five minutes of the second half. During that run, the Huskies shot a scorching 78 percent. “Let’s go eat,” added Auriemma, wryly.

Connecticut now advances to the championship game on Monday night when they will face Central Florida, who stopped Cincinnati, 66-58, in the second semifinal. This will be UCF’s first ever appearance in the championship game. How close they can keep it against the Huskies, who have never lost a game—regular season or championship tournament—since joining The American. Also keep in mind that the Huskies have already beaten the Knights twice this season, 93-57 at the XL Center, and 78-41 in Orlando. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on ESPN2. #UConnHuskies #UConnWBB #WBB

—with staff reports