Maya Moore had 18 points to lead the No. 1 UConn Huskies women’s basketball team to a 65-34 Big East win over the Cincinnati Bearcats in front of 2,346 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati.
The win for the Huskies improves their record to 19-0 (5-0 Big East) while the Bearcats drop to 13-6 (3-3). It’s the second straight season that UConn has won their first 19 games (21-0 to start last year).
Moore also had 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Tina Charles added 13 points and 4 rebounds while Renee Montgomery had 11 points. Tiffany Hayes rebounded from her poor performances in the past two games chipping in with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Kalana Greene added a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with 6 points.
Val Schuster led the Bearcats with 11 points and pulled down 4 rebounds. Kahla Roudebush and Jill Stephens both added 7 points while Angel Morgan had 6 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
This game was pretty much over about a minute into the game or so.
With the score tied at 2-2, the Huskies went on a 26-0 run, lead by 14 of Moore’s 16 first half points, as the Bearcats went 12:39 without a field goal or any points. Stephens finally got the Bearcats on the board with a jumper but at the point the game was out of reach for the Bearcats as the Huskies took a 39-7 lead at the half.
If there was any bright spot for the Bearcats, it was the fact that they outscored UConn 27-26 in the second half.
As we’ve seen the past three games, Geno Auriemma’s squad has ramped up the defensive pressure and it showed tonight as Cincinnati shot 10.7% (3-of-28) in the first half. After such a great game on Monday night against North Carolina, Lorin Dixon was pretty much a non-factor in the game.
The Huskies now head home for a Big Monday matchup on ESPN2 when Angel McCoughtry and the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals come to Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
Notes and musings:
UConn Huskies @ Cincinnati Bearcats 1.24.09 women’s basketball box score
The starters were Lorin Dixon, Renee Montgomery, Kalana Greene, Maya Moore and Tina Charles.
UConn shot 43.9% (25-of-57) from the floor while the Bearcats shot 23.6% (13-of-55).
The Huskies had 13 assists on their 25 made baskets.
UConn won the battle of the boards 40-32 and outscored Cincinnati 24-2 in the paint.
The Huskies scored 20 points off of 15 Bearcats turnovers while committing 10 of their own.
Cincinnati never led in the game and only tied it once at 2-2.
UConn’s bench outscored Cincinnati’s 17-12.
