For the first ten minutes of the game, it looked as though the Rutgers Scarlet Knights were going to have a chance to end the UConn Huskies 58-game winning streak.
Then the Huskies did what they do best, they delivered the knockout blow with a 20-2 run and never looked back in a 73-36 win in front of 12,437 at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on Tuesday night.
It’s the 59th straight win for the Huskies as they improve to 20-0 (7-0 Big East). The Scarlet Knights fall to 12-8 (4-2).
Maya Moore led the way with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies. She also four assists, three steals and two blocks. Kalana Greene chipped in with 17 point and five rebounds while Tina Charles had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Chelsea Lee had 10 points and six rebounds for the Scarlet Knights with April Sykes adding eight points and six rebounds. Rutgers’ leading scorer Brittany Ray was held to just three points.
This game was not pretty for the first few minutes as neither team could buy a basket. It took 2 minutes and 28 seconds before Moore opened up the scoring in the game with a layup. Rutgers scored the next four points before a Tiffany Hayes three-pointer gave the Huskies the lead for good at 5-4 with 15:49 to go in the half.
Normally after the first media timeout, if they already haven’t put the game away, the Huskies go on one of their patented runs. They didn’t though as Rutgers hung tough as they trailed 10-8. Then the Huskies turned it up going on the 20-2 run to open up a 30-10 lead.
They finished up the half leading by 25 points at 40-15.
Rutgers couldn’t do anything to get closer as a seven point run by the Huskies pushed the lead to 48-19 and they never looked back.
While it wasn’t pretty early on, the Huskies played the last 30 minutes as solid as they had at any other point this season. It’s still going to take a perfect game from someone and the opponent will need UConn to play like they did in the first ten minutes for a whole game.
The Huskies are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they head to the Peterson Events Center to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast locally here in Connecticut on CPTV.
Notes and musings:
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ UConn Huskies 1.26.2010 box score
The starters were Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, Kalana Greene, Maya Moore and Tina Charles.
The Huskies shot under 50% for the game at 44.3% (27-of-61). Rutgers shot 28.6% (16-of-56).
UConn had 14 assists on their 27 made baskets.
The Huskies won the battle of the boards 44-35 and outscored Rutgers 38-26 in the paint.
UConn had 18 points off of 18 Rutgers turnovers while Rutgers had 8 points off of 12 UConn turnovers.
UConn’s bench had 20 points to 18 for Rutgers.
The rest of the notes are courtesy of the UConn Sports Information Department:
– UConn extended its current winning streak to 59 consecutive games – the second-longest in NCAA Division I history.
– Connecticut opens the season 20-0 for the third consecutive year and seventh time since 1994-95.
– UConn is 13-0 at home this season, including a 4-0 mark at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
– UConn leads the all-time series with Rutgers 25-6 and has won the last five meetings in the series.
– UConn has won 139 of its last 147 games against BIG EAST opponents in the regular season.
– UConn has won 128 straight games against non-ranked opponents.
– UConn is 225-83 all-time during the month of January and have won each of its last 32 games played during the calendar’s first month.
– UConn boasts an all-time mark of 252-11 all-time when playing as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team.
– UConn is 264-2 vs. non-ranked opponents dating back to Jan. 31, 1999.
– UConn has won 58 straight regular-season games following Tuesday night’s win over Rutgers.
– Both teams combined for a 0-for-8 clip to open tonight’s contest before a Maya Moore layup at the 17:22 mark.
– UConn put together a 20-2 run late in the first half and increased its lead from 10-8 to 30-10. Rutgers was forced to take two timeouts during the run.
– UConn held Rutgers without a single point for a stretch of 4:58 in the first half.
– UConn has held its opponents to 20 or fewer points in the first half in four of its last five games.
– UConn’s 37-point margin of victory (73-36) over Rutgers marked the largest in the series history since the Huskies’ 33-point (78-45) win over the Scarlet Knights on Jan. 15, 1997.
– Kalana Greene’s 17 points marked her sixth straight game with double-figure points, her 13th this season and the 61st of her career.
– Maya Moore’s 19 points marked her fourth straight game with double-figure points, 19th in 20 games this season and 93rd in 97 career games.
– Maya Moore’s 19 points and 10 rebounds marked her 32nd career double-double and her fifth this season.
– Tina Charles’ 11 points marked her 11th consecutive game with double-figure points and her 19th this season.
– UConn has held its opponent to a field goal percentage of less than .300 in seven of its last nine games overall. Rutgers shot .286 (16-of-56) on the night.
– UConn has won each of its 20 games this season by a minimum margin of 12 points.
