It was all about the M&M girls tonight for the No.1 UConn Huskies as Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore combined for 36 points in a 96-47 thrashing of the BYU Cougars in front of 3,109 at the Marriott Center in Provo, UT.
Montgomery led the Huskies (4-0) in their first road of the game with 19 points, including 5-of-6 from 3-point land. Moore fell 3 assists of a double-double with 17 points, 14 rebound and 7 assists. She also added 2 steals and 3 blocks. Tina Charles added 13 points while Kalana Greene had 11 points. Lorin Dixon also had 11 points, which is a new career-high for her. Kaili McLaren rounded out the 6 Huskies in double figures with 10 points.
The Cougars (2-2) were paced by Mindy Nielson’s 14 points. Keilani Moeaki added 10 points and Coriann Woods chipped in with 9 points. Jazmine Foreman had a team-high 6 assists.
During last year’s game against the Cougars, the Huskies opened up the game with a 23-0 run on their way to an 80-34 win. This year it was a little different early on for the Cougars as they held strong tying the game at 7 on a Nielson layup. The Huskies followed that up with a 10-2 run and continued to expand their lead. BYU cut the lead back down to 13 with a 6-0 run before the Huskies went on an 11-3 run to take a 47-26 lead. Nielson banked in a 3 at the buzzer to cut the UConn lead to 18 at the half.
The Huskies started the second half with a 28-7 run in the first 8 minutes of the second half to put the game way out of reach. Geno Auriemma then cleared out his bench as the reserves would outscore the Cougars 21-12 the rest of the game.
UConn’s defense continues to be outstanding as the Cougars had no answer for the relentless defensive pressure. The Huskies will need more of the same as next up for the Huskies is their first test of the season when the No. 4/4 Oklahoma Sooners come to Gampel Pavilion on Sunday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:15 PM and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Notes and musings:
UConn Huskies @ BYU Cougars 11.25.08 box score
UConn women’s color analyst Meghan Culmo gave birth to her third child on Monday, a girl.
The Huskies shot 60.3% (38-of-63) while holding BYU to 28.3% (17-60).
They also shot 52.2% (12-of-23) from 3-point land.
The Huskies only got to the charity stripe 12 times, making 8 of them.
UConn won the battle of the boards 46-27.
The Huskies outscored the Cougars 34-20 in the paint.
UConn forced 20 turnovers converting them into 21 points. The Huskies committed 17 turnovers. This will need to improve before Sunday’s matchup.
Surprisingly enough, the Huskies only had 4 fastbreak points.
The only member of the Huskies not to score tonight was Jacquie Fernandes.
Senior reserve Cassie Kerns matched her season total with 2 points tonight.
