The St. John’s Red Storm exposed weaknesses in the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team in their win on Saturday night. So you almost had to feel bad for whomever the Huskies were playing their next time out because you know they were going to come to play.
Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Panthers, it just happened that they fell next on UConn’s schedule.
Kaleena Mosqueda Lewis led the way with 23 points to help UConn to a very easy 86-37 win over Pitt in front of 2,095 at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA on Tuesday night.
UConn improves to 25-3 (12-2 Big East) while the Panthers fall to 8-19 (0-14).
KML got her 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting including going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Tiffany Hayes added 13 points while Bria Hartley had 10 points and five assists.
Kelly Faris had a spectacular all-around game with eight points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Caroline Doty led the Huskies with nine assists to go along with her two points.
Brianna Kiesel paced the Panthers with 15 points but turned the ball over eight times. Ashlee Anderson was the only other member of Pitt to reach double digits with 10 points. Leeza Burdgess put up a donut on the scoreboard but led the Panthers with seven rebounds.
As soon as the ball was tipped in this game, it was pretty much over.
UConn started out the game on a 29-4 run that included 10 straight points from KML. The only question that needed to be answered in the first half was whether or not Pitt would get to double figures in the half.
They did. They had 10 points in the first half but unfortunately UConn had 48.
This was a nice bounce back win for the Huskies even if they were playing an inferior opponent. This was perhaps one of their finer games this season.
They were outstanding on the defensive end as their pressure was relentless. They were hustling all over the place for loose balls and were dominating on the glass. UConn will need to keep up this type of intensity for their final two games of the regular season as they are playing for seeding in the Big East Tournament.
Depending on how the final two games play out, the Huskies could be seeded anywhere from first to third in the tournament. What they need to do is win their final two games and let everything else play out.
First up will be a trip to Milwaukee, WI on Saturday afternoon when they’ll take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. Tip is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally here in Connecticut on CPTV.
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Notes and musings:
UConn Huskies @ Pittsburgh Panthers 2.21.12 box score
UConn has now gone 683 games without losses in consecutive games. They are 48-0 during that streak.
The starters for the Huskies were the usual five of Bria Hartley, Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, Kelly Faris and Stefanie Dolson.
UConn shot 61.4% (35-57) from the floor while the Panthers shot 24% (12-50).
The Huskies had 27 assists on their 35 made baskets.
UConn was 8-of-15 (53.3%) from beyond the arc. Pitt was 1-of-14 (7.1%).
The Huskies were 8-of-11 (72.7%) at the free throw line.
UConn dominated the glass, outrebounding the Panthers 38-24.
The Huskies had 13 steals.
UConn outscored Pitt 40-8 in the paint and 18-4 on the fast break.
The Huskies had 14 second chance points to six for the Panthers.
UConn’s bench outscored Pitt’s 45-6.
The Huskies had 24 points off of 21 Panthers turnovers. Pitt had eight points off of 13 UConn turnovers.
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Photo credit: Bettina Hansen – Hartford Courant (No. 3 in gallery)
