Huskies Vanquish Lady Vols, 60-45

And They’re Off!: UConn and Tennessee renewed their storied rivalry
last night. It was the first meeting between the two teams since the
2006-07 season.

By Bob Phillips

Photos by Stephen Slade

HARTFORD—It was 13 years in the making—far, far too long for true fans of women’s college hoops. But in the end, it was arguably worth waiting as two of the signature programs finally took the court to face each other. And so it was that behind 14 points from Crystal Dangerfield, the No. 3 UConn Huskies rode a dominant third quarter to vanquish the No. 23 Tennessee Lady Volunteers, 60-45, before 13,659 partisan fans at the XL Center on Thursday night. Freshman Aubrey Griffin came off the bench to pop in 13 and grab seven rebounds for the Huskies, while Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 10 and seven boards.

The game was televised nationally on ESPN and streamed on ESPN3.

Tennessee’s Rennia Davis led all scorers with 16 points and grabbed eight boards, while Jazmine Massengill (11 points) was the only other Lady Vol to score in double digits.

After Tennessee raced out to a 10-0 lead to open the contest, UConn clawed its way back and trailed by just two, 16-14, at the first turn. The Lady Vols regained control in the second quarter, opening up an eight-point lead, before Connecticut came back and trailed by three, 31-28, at intermission. To say the first half wasn’t pretty is an understatement. The two teams combined for 24 turnovers in the first two periods.

Not sure what UConn head coach told his troops at half-time, but whatever he said sure worked as the Huskies came out of the locker room with purpose burning in their eyes. Opening the third period with a 17-2 run. Now that’s making a statement! When Dangerfield banged in a trey with 1:45 remaining in the third, Connecticut had opened a 12-point advantage, 45-33, and led by 11 at the third turn.

And that was as close as the Lady Vols would get the rest of the way.

UConn forced Tennessee into 27 turnovers—their second most of the season—and dominated down low, out rebounding Tennessee 47-45, out-scoring the Lady Vols in the paint 24-20 and, most importantly, converting 11 second-chance points to Tennessee’s 4. The Huskies also dominated in transition, scoring 21 points on the fast break to Tennesee’s 6.

This was a renewal of a classic rivalry. The two hallowed programs first met in 1995 and played 22 times over the next 11 years. It came to an end after the 2006-07 campaign when the late Pat Summitt pulled the plug on it. She never revealed why she was ending the series and passed away in 2016 of Alzheimer’s at the age of 64. The Huskies went 13-9 in those first 22 meetings—including 4-0 vs. Tennessee in national championship games. That may have played a part in Summitt’s decision to hit the “pause” button on the rivalry.

“It wasn’t the same,” said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. “I miss having her hear. I miss looking forward to having her there. I don’t miss having to coach against her.”

The game was part of the We Back Pat week in honor of Summitt. Both teams wore shirts honoring her.

“Hopefully it continues,” said Dangerfield, who grew up in Tennessee before choosing UConn, about the rivalry. “I think this game was a good spark to get [our mojo]—bodies flying everywhere, yelling, screaming. It was a pretty good game.”

In addition to her 13 points and seven boards, Griffin added five steals to her bottom line, giving the Huskies a gigantic lift off the bench.

“Aubrey was unbelievable,” said Auriemma of his budding freshman star. “She really changed the complexion of the game.”

With the win, Connecticut improves to 17-1, while Tennessee falls to 15-4.

THE SKINNY

The Huskies now head to Greenville, NC, where they will take on the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday in American Athletic Conference play. Tip-off is at 1 p.m., and the game will be televised on SNY, streamed on ESPN3, and broadcast on the UConn Radio Network (ESPN Radio 97.9 in Connecticut). Then comes the exhibition match-up between the Huskies and Team USA featuring Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Diana Taurasi and Katie Lou Samuelson, among others. That game will be televised on ESPN2 starting at 7 p.m. from the XL Center.

—with staff reports

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