After a lackluster performance in the 14 point win over St. John’s on Saturday, the No. 1/1 UConn Huskies had a plan of making a point in front of a nationally-televised audience against the No. 11/12 Oklahoma Sooners. Instead, the Huskies got all they could handle from Sheri Coale’s Sooners squad.
It took a strong second half effort to get the job done but the Huskies would prevail 76-60 in front of 11,865 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, OK on another WBCA Pink Zone game to benefit the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
It’s the 65th straight win for the Huskies who improve to 26-0. The Sooners fall to 18-7.
Tiffany Hayes led the way for the Huskies with 20 points. Tina Charles added 19 points and nine rebounds while Maya Moore had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kalana Greene was the only other Husky in double figures as she had 14 points before fouling out late in the game.
Danielle Robinson paced the Sooners with 18 points and had seven rebounds and five assists. Despite 6-of-21 shooting, Amanda Thompson had 16 points and finished with 13 rebounds.
UConn got out to a 6-3 lead before a Nyeshia Stevenson three-pointer tied it at 6. Then the Huskies do what they do best. They made a nice little 20-6 run to open up a fourteen point lead at 26-12 with 8:41 to go in the half.
The Sooners would work the lead down to at the half to just two points at 34-32 as they would close out the half on a 20-8 run.
A Greene jumper started off the second half for the Huskies but the Sooners would score the next five points to take a one point lead. Over the next four minutes, both teams would exchange the lead before a Greene layup would give the Huskies a 40-39 lead.
Moore started an 11-2 run as she nailed a three-pointer while pulling up on a fast break. The Huskies would never look back from there as the Sooners would get no closer than eight points the rest of way.
It wasn’t the greatest of efforts from the Huskies on Monday night but it showed how good they can be even when they don’t play their best game. Even better for the Huskies is that they persevered through a tough game on the road and in a hostile environment.
Sure the Huskies were playing after one day of rest but this is why you play these type of games late in the season. It gets you ready for the Big East and NCAA Tournaments.
UConn will be back in action on Saturday when the Providence Friars come to the XL Center in Hartford, CT for a Big East matchup. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and will be televised locally in Connecticut on CPTV.
Notes and musings:
UConn Huskies @ Oklahoma Sooners 2.15.10 box score
For the second straight game, the Huskies participated in a Pink Zone game. They once again wore the pink warmup t-shirts and pink sneakers. Their national flag blue road uniforms were trimmed in pink and white.
The starters were Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, Kalana Greene, Maya Moore and Tina Charles.
The Huskies shot 48.3% (29-of-60) from the floor while the Sooners shot 33.3% (23-of-69).
UConn had 12 assists on their 29 made baskets.
The Huskies were just 3-of-14 (21.4%) from three-point land.
UConn was 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the free throw line.
The Huskies won the battle of the boards 44-37.
UConn outscored Oklahoma 30-24 in the paint.
The Huskies had 12 points off of 12 Oklahoma turnovers. The Sooners had 13 points off of 15 UConn turnovers.
The rest of the game notes are courtesy of the UConn Sports Information Department:
– UConn’s 65-game winning streak is the second longest in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history. Connecticut holds the record at 70 (2001-03).
– UConn has won each of its 65 consecutive games by double-digits, an NCAA record.
– UConn has now won 20 straight against top-25 opponents during its 65-game winning streak.
– The Huskies improve to 26-0 for the second time in as many seasons and the ninth time in the program’s history.
– UConn improves to 258-11 playing as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team. The last time the Huskies lost as the nation’s No. 1 team came against Stanford on April 6, 2008 in the NCAA Final Four.
– The Huskies are 99-2 in their last 101 games played.
– UConn is now 150-53 all-time against AP Top-25 ranked opponents and are a perfect 19-0 against teams ranked in the AP Top-25 during their 65-game win streak.
– The Huskies have gone 603 games without losing back-to-back contests.
– UConn is now 197-97 in the month of February and has won its last 19 games played in February.
– UConn improves to 17-1 all-time against opponents from the Big XII Conference – with the lone loss coming against Iowa State on March 12, 1999 in the regional semifinals of the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
– UConn improves to 8-0 all-time against the Sooners and is now 2-0 when playing at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla.
– Tiffany Hayes scored nine of UConn’s first 13 points in the opening 5:17 of the first half, while recording 13 points in the first 11 minutes of tonight’s contest.
– UConn’s 32-30 halftime lead marked only the fifth time this season that the Huskies have not led by at least 10 points at the half (against St. John’s on Jan. 13, 2010 when the Huskies led 34-26, Stanford on Dec. 23, 2009 when the Huskies trailed 40-38; at Florida State on Dec. 28, 2009 when the Huskies led 41-35; and against West Virginia on Feb. 2, 2010 when the Huskies led 32-24).
– UConn’s 32 points in the first half tied its lowest tally in the opening half all season – UConn led West Virginia 32-24 at the break on Feb. 2, 2010 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
– Oklahoma became the first team this season, other than Stanford (Dec. 23, 2009), to take a lead against the Huskies in the second half of play.
– UConn trailed 39-38 at the 15:54 mark of the second half, the latest its trailed in a game all season before going on a 13-2 run.
– UConn used a 13-2 run during a span of 5:16 midway through the second half to take a 10-point lead at 51-41.
– Kalana Greene is just the second UConn player to foul out this season as she picked up her fifth personal with 1:47 left in tonight’s contest (Caroline Doty is the only other player to do so – vs. Stanford, Dec. 23, 2009).
– Tina Charles 19 points marked her 109th career game in double-figure points, including her 25th this season.
– Tiffany Hayes’ 20 points marked the 31st game of her career and the 14th time this season that she has tallied double-digit points.
– Tiffany Hayes’ 20-point performance marked the fourth in her career and her second this season.
– Kalana Greene’s 14 points marked the 65th game of her career and the 16th time this season that she registered double-figure points.
– Maya Moore scored 18 points for her 99th career game with double-figures, including her 25th in 26 games this season.
– Maya Moore’s 18 points and 10 rebounds marked her 36th career double-double and her ninth this season.
