The #1 UConn Huskies women's basketball team rolls the USF Bulls, 100-49 in front of a USF women's record crowd of 6,659.
It was a game that was never close, with UConn opening the game with a 9-0 scoring run. In the blink of an eye, it was 33-11 and a quarter of play was in the books. The Bulls matched the Huskies, shot for shot (20 each), but hit just 25% of their attempts, contrasted with a very impressive 70% by UConn. The story was the same from three-point range, where the Huskies went 5-10 for 15 points and USF was just 1-9 from beyond the arc.
In the second quarter, things stabilized a little bit, with emphasis on little. USF shot a little worse in the second quarter, 24%, but UConn’s shot percentage dropped to 54%. Most of the 51-20 halftime lead by the Huskies was accounted for in the 12-0 points off of turnover advantage and the 24-10 domination of the paint.
The third and fourth quarters were more of the same, with UConn putting their talent mismatch on full display. They would lead most of the second half with 40-plus point leads before finishing with their game-high, 51 point lead to end the game.
Napheesa Collier led four Huskies in double digit scoring, also taking down 11 rebounds. Katie Lou Samuelson and Azura Stevens finished with 15 and Crystal Dangerfield scored ten. The #1 Huskies are now 14-0 and will host UCF in their next game on Tuesday, January 9th.
The only USF player to score in double digits was Alyssa Rader, who came off the bench to score 11. The Bulls hit just 28% of their field goals, compared to 54% for UConn. They turned the ball over twice as much and allowed the Huskies to capitalize on those turnovers to a 24-7 advantage. They were also dominated in the paint throughout, getting outscored, 42-18. While they shot fairly well from three-point range early on, they finished the game 7-31 from beyond the arc.
“I thought the ball didn’t go in the basket for us and we didn’t defend and go to the glass like as we usually do,” said USF head coach, Jose Fernandez. “And for us to have a chance, we can’t shoot as poorly as we did.”
The loss drops USF to 12-5 on the season. They’ll try to bounce back on the road Temple on Wednesday, 1/10.