On Saturday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion, Kalana Greene and Tina Charles led the Huskies past the Syracuse Orange by the final score of 76-45. Greene had 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. Tina Charles had another double-double, 14 points and 19 rebounds. She also added 5 blocks to the cause. The 19 rebounds were a career high for Tina Charles. Charde Houston added 11 pts and Renee Montgomery rounded out the Huskies in double figures with 10 points and 9 assists.
Notes and Observations:
- The starters were Montgomery, Thomas, Greene, Charles and Houston.
- Kaili McLaren and Brittany Hunter did not play in the game. McLaren has been bothered by a foot injury and Hunter is still having issues with her right knee.
- Tina Charles 19 rebounds were the most ever by a freshman in UCONN women’s basketball history.
- After scoring 23 points the other night, Mel Thomas only scored 6 points. The Orange played a box-and-1 defense on her most of the game.
- Renee Montgomery and Charde Houston had a rough night shooting the ball. They were a combined 9 of 26 from the floor.
- Montgomery tied her career high with 9 assists.
- Kalana Greene was everywhere on the floor during the game. She created a lot of shots for herself as she took 22 shots making half of them. She did attempt four 3 point shots but didn’t make them. If she starts to put them down, it will make other teams defenses think about guarding her differently.
- Freshman Meghan Gardler continues to impress with her play. She seems to be working herself into the guard rotation a little more.
It was kind of a strange game for the Huskies. Early on they had trouble finding ways to score until they went on one of their patented runs to basically take control of the game midway thru the first half. The UCONN Huskies now improve to 13-1 (3-0 in the Big East). The Huskies now head to Chapel Hill, NC to take on the #2 UNC Lady Tarheels on Monday night. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 7 PM.
Technorati: UCONN Huskies, Geno Auriemma, UNC Tarheels, Syracuse Orange