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| Olivia Nelson-Ododa came up huge on Sunday. The 6-5 sophomore forward dropped in 27 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked seven shots for good measure. |
Photos by Bill Harper
UNCASVILLE—No Geno? No problema! With the Hall of Fame coach
out for the game recovering from a minor health issue, it was assistant coach Chris Daley’s turn to
step up to the plate in steering the Husky rudder. And Geno Auriemma’s top lieutenant
aid was more than up to the task of pinch-hitting for her boss, who was missing
just the 10th game in his 35-year career.
Taylor Robertson scored 24 points, including seven dropped in from beyond the arc, to lead the Sooners, who had won three straight prior to this game. Ana Lianusa added 11 for Oklahoma, which fell to 7-5.
Auriemma, 65, was sidelined with diverticulitis—an inflammation of
a herniating pouch (the diverticulum) within the wall of the intestine—most often,
the colon. Before Sunday, Daily had most recently stepped in for Auriemma two
times last season when Auriemma was ill.
“I think we played as close to a good 40 minutes as we had all
year,” Dailey said. “Today there was no lull, that was a big step for this
team. Really, really happy. Olivia played great; everyone played well. Great
way to end this portion of our season and send kids home for holidays in good
spirits."
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| Junior forward Megan Walker put up a double- double (17 points, 15 boards) for the Huskies, who moved to the No. 1 position in the AP poll. |
When the Huskies opened the second half with a 7-0 run and took a 20-point lead, the outcome of this contest became a mere formality.
“I don't know that we're the No. 1 team in the country,” continued Daily, underplaying the Huskies obvious position. “I haven't seen enough of a lot of people. I've known our team when they have been No. 1 and this team isn't there yet.”
But seriously…what does it matter? Being No. 1 in late December is the college basketball equivalent of being in first place on Mother’s Day in baseball. This reporter often got a kick out of many of his college classmates at Providence College in the mid-1970s, who would boast of the start their beloved Red Sox would get off to in the early, then be strangely quiet by the end of the school year.
“We're not worried if we're No. 1 now,” acknowledged Daily. ‘Give ourselves best chance to be in that position in March. Geno said it last week. He was shocked we're the No. 2 team. I think he'll be shocked if we're the number one team."
Worried or not, it happened on Monday as the Huskies ascended to the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll—the 243rd week the Huskies have been ranked No. 1 in their fabled history and nearly one year (Dec. 31, 2018) since they last held the top spot.
The Huskies are now off for a week and will ring in the New Year by opening their last season in the American Athletic Conference on Thursday, Jan. 2, when they will host Wichita State at the XL Center. Tickets are available at the XL Center box office, or by clicking HERE. For those unable to attend the game, it will be televised live on SNY, streamed on ESPN3, and broadcast on the UConn/IMG radio network (ESPN Radio 97.9 FM locally). All UConn games are also available on TuneIn.
THE SKINNY
—with staff reports
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