Tina Charles led five UConn Huskies in double figures with 17 points as they overcame their slow start to beat the Georgetown Hoyas 80-61 in front of 2,500 at McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C.
The No. 1 Huskies improve to 21-0 (7-0 Big East) while the Hoyas fall to 13-8 (3-5). It’s the second straight season and 5th time in their history that they’ve started a season 21-0.
Hayes continues to impress as she had 14 points off the bench to go with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Renee Montgomery had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists but had 6 turnovers while Maya Moore had an off day with 14 points. Moore also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. Kalana Greene rounded out the Huskies in double digits with 10 points while Kaili McLaren, who sparked the Huskies in the first half, finished with 5 points and 5 rebounds in front of her hometown crowd.
Georgetown’s Karee Houlette led all scorers in the game with 20 points, hitting 6-of-12 three pointers. Adria Crawford had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds while Monica McNutt chipped in with 10 points and Latia Magee had 8.
Both teams started out slowly as it was just 11-9 UConn at the 11:52 mark of the first half. A Haye’s three pointer gave the Huskies a 5 point lead at 14-9 and Georgetown stayed close though. With UConn leading 21-17, the Hoyas went on a quick 5-0 spurt to take a point lead. The teams continued to exchange baskets and with UConn leading 29-26, the Huskies closed out the half on a 16-4 run to take a 45-30 lead at the break.
It was all UConn to start the second half as a 25-6 run in the first 10 minutes pushed their lead to 72-36. The lead got as high as 30 points before the Hoyas whittled the lead down to the final margin during garbage time.
Since Caroline Doty went out with her knee injury, the Huskies depth has been tested and it was again today when Moore got into foul trouble. But they were able to persevere as McLaren came off the bench to help the Huskies close out the half on the 16-4 run. Plus what can you say about Hayes who finally seems to be shaking off the injury to her roommate and playing some great Connecticut basketball.
Next up for the Huskies is a matchup with their archrival the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Tuesday night at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. Tip is scheduled for 8 PM and the game will be broadcast on CBS College Sports.
Notes and musings:
UConn Huskies @ Georgetown Hoyas 1.31.09 women’s basketball box score
The starters were Lorin Dixon, Renee Montgomery, Kalana Greene, Maya Moore and Tina Charles.
This was the 10th time that 5 Huskies had scored in double figures this season.
The Huskies shot 47.7% (27-57) from the floor while Georgetown shot 42% (21-50).
UConn had 18 assists on their 27 made baskets.
The Huskies committed 22 turnovers and the Hoyas had 25 of their own.
UConn was just 7-of-26 (26.9%) from 3-point land while the Hoyas were 10-of-21 (47.6%).
The Huskies shot 73.1% (19-26) from the charity stripe.
UConn won the battle of the boards 37-27.
