The UConn Huskies women’s basketball team kicked off their 2-game exhibition schedule with a complete domination of the Stonehill College Skyhawks (No.8 in Div II) in a 100-49 win at Gampel Pavilion.
For the No. 1 Huskies, the Skyhawks were no match for their superior skills and size. But since the rules don’t allow exhibition games against Division I schools, this is the best the Huskies can do during the preseason. It did give the Huskies a chance to work on some things new and old and get the freshman acclimated to the speed that UConn tends to play at during the season.
Tina Charles led the Huskies in scoring with 19 points with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots. Renee Montgomery added 17 points, 4 assists and 6 steals while Maya Moore had a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and she also had 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Newcomers Caroline Doty and Tiffany Hayes added 14 and 10 respectively. Kalana Greene returned to action with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists.
The Skyhawks were led by Kelsey Simonds who had 12 points. Megan Methven added 8 points and Kristen McWhirter added 7 points while Tania Williams had a team-high 6 rebounds.
This game was pretty much over right from the start as the Huskies got out to an 11-0 lead in the first 2 minutes of the game. They never looked back from there as they went into the half with a 56-30 lead although it did take them 2 minutes to start scoring in the second half.
Defensively the Huskies tightened up in the second half allowing just 19 second half points.
We all know that Geno Auriemma will find something wrong when they watch the film but this was the first time he gets to see his team in action and come up with a battle plan for the season.
The Huskies return to action next Wednesday night at the XL Center when they take on Team Resource Sports Program at 7 PM in their final exhibition game.
