Stefanie Dolson danced her way to head coach Geno Auriemma during the Senior Day festivies for the UConn Huskies women's basketball team. Fellow senior Bria Hartley was a little more calm just walking over there.

And once the game got going, both were running down the floor doing their thing helping their team continue its perfect season.

The UConn women clinched a share of the American Athletic Conference title on Saturday as they blasted the No. 24 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 72-35 in front of a sold-out crowd at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT.

UConn improves to 30-0 (17-0 American) while Rutgers falls to 21-7 (12-5).

Breanna Stewart and Hartley led the Huskies with 20 points each. Stewart ended up finishing with a double-double as she pulled down 10 rebounds as well. Moriah Jefferson added nine points and four assists.

Dolson joined the 1,000 points/1,000 rebounds club at UConn as she had 10 rebounds to tie Stewart for game-high.

Betnijah Laney led the Scarlet Knights with 14 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Scaife added eight points while Briyona Canty had six.

The Huskies opened up the game by taking a 16-8 lead. They seized control of the game of the game with a 14-2 run to make it 30-10.

Rutgers would never threaten again.

The outright AAC title is on the line for the Huskies on Monday night when they head to Louisville, KY for a matchup with the Louisville Wildcats. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ UConn Huskies 3/1/14 box score

Here are UConn's postgame quotes.

Here are UConn's postgame notes.

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photo credit: cloe poisson – hartford courant

At this point in the season, it doesn't matter how you win the game, it just matters if you win. Especially when you're playing for seeding before the upcoming conference tournament.

So despite not scoring a field goal for the final 7:39 of the game, the UConn Huskies upset the No. 11 Cincinnati Bearcats 51-45 in front of a sold-out crowd at the XL Center on Saturday afternoon.

UConn improves to 23-6 (11-5 American) while Cincinnati falls to 24-5 (13-3).

Shabazz Napier led the Huskies with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Lasan Kromah added nine points while Ryan Boatright had seven points.

Sean Kilpatrick paced the Bearcats with 16 points and had five rebounds. Shaquille Thomas added eight points while Titus Rubles and Ge'Lawn Guyn both had six. Rubles led Cincinnati with 13 rebounds before fouling out.

You could call this game a defensive struggle or two teams who shot the ball poorly.

The Bearcats shot just 27.1% (13-48) while UConn shot 31.3% (15-48).

The game stayed relatively close in the first half as both teams exchanged the lead in a low scoring affair. Cincinnati got out to a five point lead towards the end of the half before the Huskies closed it out on a 6-0 run.

UConn would build its lead in the second half as the Bearcats went cold for the seven and half minutes. They got the lead to ten points before their cold streak happened.

Fortunately, UConn clamped down on defense, Cincinnati made some mistakes and the Huskies hit their free throws to pull out the six point victory.

UConn showed its resiliency in overcoming the shooting difficulties. They still aren't playing their best offensively but defensively it's another story. This is a team as well as Cincinnati teams aren't going to want to play during tournament time.

Next up for the Huskies are the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Wednesday night at Gampel Pavilion. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and it's Senior Night for UConn.

Cincinnati Bearcats @ UConn Huskies 3/1/14 box score

Here are UConn's postgame quotes.

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photo credits:  john woike – hartford courant

The last time the UConn Huskies and South Florida Bulls men's basketball teams faced off, it was UConn who blew out the Bulls by 43 points at the XL Center a few weeks ago.

This time around, UConn wasn't at Level 5 intensity and almost suffered a BAD road defeat.

Thanks to an 18-0 second half run, the Huskies beat the Bulls 61-56 at the Sun Dome in Tampa, FL on Wednesday night.

UConn improves to 22-6 (10-5 American) while South Florida falls to 12-16 (3-12).

Shabazz Napier scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half to lead the Huskies. He also dished out seven assists. Ryan Boatright added 14 points while Niels Giffey added 11 points and five rebounds. DeAndre Daniels tied Giffey for team-high with five rebounds to go along with his five points.

Victor Rudd was the only member of USF to hit double figures with 14 points and he also pulled down eight boards and had five helpers. John Egbunu added eight points and a game-high nine rebounds while Chris Perry had eight points.

UConn got out to a quick 5-0 lead only to see that evaporate quickly after USF scored the next seven points. The Huskies battled back and extended their to lead to six points at 15-9.

The Bulls followed that up with an 11-2 run to take a three-point lead at the last media timeout of the first half. UConn kept it close the rest of the way before USF closed out the half with four straight points to take a 28-22 lead at the break.

Over the first part of the second half, the Bulls built their lead to nine points. Then they, USF, went cold like the New England air right now, as UConn went on an 18-0 run behind Napier and Boatright to seize control of the game.

The Bulls didn't lay down though as they fought back to cut a nine-point deficit to one point. But three-pointers by Giffey and Napier sealed the win for visiting squad.

Not exactly what the Huskies needed again. They're struggling right now to find an identity offensively. They'll need to find it before their next game on Saturday.

That game will come at the XL Center in Hartford, CT as they'll host the Cincinnati Bearcats. Tip is scheduled for 12 p.m.

UConn Huskies @ South Florida Bulls 2/26/14 box score

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As we get towards the end of the 2013-14 regular season, we know the UConn Huskies women's basketball team is a little tired and bruised up. And with the different travel this season, there's one more reason the players may be a little road weary.

However, the two game trip to Texas went well enough for them despite the slow start on Tuesday night.

UConn used a 15-0 run at the end of the first half to break the game open as the Huskies beat the SMU Mustangs 81-48 in front of 4,091 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX.

The crowd was the largest to see an SMU women's basketball game.

The Huskies improve to 29-0 (16-0 American) while the Mustangs fall to 16-11 (7-9).

Bria Hartley led the way for UConn with 23 points and had seven rebounds. Breanna Stewart added with 23 points and nine rebounds with five assists and four blocked shots.

Stefanie Dolson narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds while Texas native Moriah Jefferson also had nine points and tied Stewart with a team-high five assists.

Keena Mays paced SMU with 13 points despite 4-of-18 shooting and pulled down seven boards. Akil Simpson added 11 points and six rebounds.

The Mustangs stayed close over the first four minutes of the game before the Huskies used an 8-0 run to take an eight point lead. They would get it down to five points at 22-17 before UConn used that 15-0 run to put the icing on the proverbial cake.

With a comfortable margin in hand, the Huskies methodically increased their lead over the second half to ensure their 29th win of the season.

Being short-handed hasn't hurt the Huskies. Then again when the only strong team in your conference is the Louisville Cardinals, you don't need to worry too much about it.

The UConn women close out the home portion of their schedule on Saturday afternoon when they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It's Senior Day for Dolson and Hartley. Tip is is scheduled for 4 p.m.

UConn Huskies @ SMU Mustangs 2/25/14 box score

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photo credit: jim coswert

The 1999 UConn Huskies national championship team was inducted into the Huskies of Honor and Khalid El-Amin as an individual at halftime of game on February 23, 2014.

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photo credit: michael mcandrews – hartford courant

In the inaugural season of the American Athletic Conference, there's a big disparity in the top five teams in men's basketball and bottom five teams.

The goal is not to play in the 4/5 game in the AAC Tournament in a few weeks. The reason being is that it'll be a tougher game than anyone else will face.

Right now the UConn Huskies, SMU Mustangs and the hometown Memphis Tigers are jockeying for that third position. UConn's already beaten Memphis twice this season.

And now, SMU has beaten UConn two times this season as they beat the Huskies 64-55 in front of a sold-out crowd at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT on Sunday afternoon.

UConn falls to 21-6 (9-5 American, 5th place) while Southern Methodist improves to 22-6 (11-4, 3rd place).

The Huskies were led by Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright who both had 15 points. They were a combined 8-of-28 from the floor (28.5%). In fact the UConn team as a whole shot 29.6% (16-of-54) in the game.

Niels Giffey finished with 11 points. Amida Brimah led UConn with eight rebounds but scored just one point.

Nic Moore and Nick Russell paced the Mustangs with 15 points a piece. Markus Kennedy added 13 points and seven rebounds while Sterling Brown pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with six points.

Both teams started out the game a combined 0-for-7 before Kennedy put SMU ahead for good at 2-0. They would start the game out on a 7-0 run and never trailed in the game.

The Huskies would battle back and keep it close in the first half trailing by just two points at the half.

But it wouldn't take long for the Mustangs to seize control as they increased their lead to 10 points in the second half. And they were never really challenged by the cold-shooting Huskies.

An absolutely terrible offensive game for the Huskies who don't matchup well with SMU. The Mustangs are a little bigger and more physical and given UConn's reliance on its guard play, sometimes this things just don't work out.

You'd rather see UConn have a bad offensive game now than later down the road. So hopefully they got it out of their system and will play some inspired basketball in the final three games of the AAC regular season.

The Huskies are back in action on Wednesday night when they'll take on the South Florida Bulls at the Sun Dome in Tampa. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

SMU Mustangs @ UConn Huskies 2/23/14 box score

Here are UConn's postgame quotes.

Here are UConn's postgame notes.

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photo credit: michael mcandrews – hartford courant

It was the 1,000 game at UConn for UConn Huskies women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma. The same goes for his consigliere, Chris Dailey.

And while it was the 1,000 game under their leadership, it looked like the same things from many a games where UConn totally dominates their opponents.

UConn had three scorers in double figures as they went on to beat the Houston Cougars 92-41 in front of 1,569 at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, TX on Saturday.

The No. 1 Huskies improve to 28-0 (15-0 American) while the lowly Cougars fall to 5-22 (1-15).

UConn was led by its duo of seniors in Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson who both finished with 24 points. Dolson fell one rebound short of a double-double with a team-high nine.

Breanna Stewart rounded out the Huskies in double digits with 16 points and she pulled down seven boards. Saniya Chong and Stewart led UConn with five assists each.

Te'onna Campbell paced Houston with 15 points. Jesseika Parker was the only other member of the Cougars in double figures with 12 points. Yasmeen Thompson led the team with a game-high 10 rebounds while scoring just three points.

The Huskies jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and Houston would do its best to keep the game relatively close. Unfortunately for them, UConn went on one of those killer runs of the 21-3 variety to seize control of the game.

Any remote chance of a Houston comeback was put to bed as the Huskies were lights out from the floor in the second half shooting 80% (20-25).

The UConn women are back in action on Tuesday night when they head over to Dallas, TX for a matchup with the SMU Mustangs. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m.

UConn Huskies @ Houston Cougars box score

Here are quotes from Houston interim head coach Wade Scott and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma.

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photo credit: troy taormin – usa today sports

You know things aren't going to go your way when a player on your team starts to take the opening tip the wrong way. And it doesn't help that you're playing the best women's basketball team in the country in the UConn Huskies.

Sara Djassi took the opening tip for the UCF Knights towards the basket UConn was shooting at and it was all downhill from there as the Huskies beat the Knights 83-35 in the final regular season game at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on Wednesday night.

The numero uno Huskies improve to 27-0 (14-0 American) while the Knights fall to 10-16 (3-12).

The golden girl, Breanna Stewart, led the Huskies with a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds and had seven blocked shots. Bria Hartley's last game at the XL Center was a keeper as she scored 20 points. Her fellow senior, Stefanie Dolson added 10 points.

Saniya Chong had a nice game for UConn with a career-high 17 points that was part of a double-double with 10 rebounds.

Zykira Lewis led UCF with 11 points despite shooting 3-of-16 from the floor. Sara Djassi added 10 points despite the fact she was 3-of-18 shooting.

Andrea Hines, Yanique Gordon and Djassi all had six rebounds to lead the Knights.

After UCF scored the opening basket, UConn went on an 11-0 run. The Knights would work the lead back down to single digits before the Huskies went on a 13-3 run to make it 30-12.

UConn would then push the lead to 24 at 38-14 but UCF got it back down to 20 before the Huskies closed out the half on an 8-2 run for a 26 point lead.

UConn opened up the second half on a 22-2 run and never looked back.

The Huskies are back in action on late Saturday afternoon when they head to Texas for a two-game road trip. They'll kick it off at 5 p.m. on Saturday against the Houston Cougars.

UCF Knights @ UConn Huskies 2/19/14

Here are UConn's postgame quotes.

Here are UConn's postgame notes.

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photo credit: john woike – hartford courant

If you wanted exciting, you probably should have watched the end of the Syracuse-Pittsburgh game. If you wanted to watch lockdown, level 5 defense, then you definitely saw during the UConn Huskies men's basketball game on Wednesday night.

The UConn men did everything they could to take away the inside presence from the South Florida Bulls and they did so on the perimeter as well.

The result? Led by the level 5 defense, the Huskies easily beat the Bulls 83-40 in front of 10,553 and a nationally televised audience at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.

No. 24 UConn improves to 19-5 (7-4 American) while USF falls to 12-13 (3-9).

All 12 Huskies who played scored and were led by DeAndre Daniels' 12 points. Kentan Facey came off the bench to score 10 points while Ryan Boatright and Amida Brimah had nine points. Boatright is now one point short of 1,000 in his career. Brimah also had six blocked shots.

Walk-ons Pat Linehan and Nmadi Amilo had four points and two points respectively. Lasan Kromah, Shabazz Napier and Daniels all had five rebounds to lead UConn. Kromah also dished out a career-high seven assists.

No member of USF hit double figures in the 43 point loss.

They were led by Musa Abdul-Aleem who had eight points. John Egbunu had seven points and six rebounds while Victor Rudd had six points. Chris Perry also had six points and a game-high seven rebounds.

UConn started off the game on a 15-3 run and followed that with an 18-4 run. The end result was a 31 point lead at the end of the first half.

It was no different in the second half. In fact the only question in the second half was whether or not the Bulls would break their lowest scoring mark (36 points) in a game. They made their run to 40 points once UConn's walk-ons and end of the bench players got on.

Absolutely great performance defensively by the Huskies. They shut down the Bulls inside and outside. Definitely a good practice game entering their next game.

That game will come Saturday at the XL Center as the Huskies will host the Memphis Tigers. Tip is scheduled for 12 p.m.

South Florida Bulls @ UConn Huskies 2/12/14 box score

Here are UConn's postgame quotes.

Here are UConn's postgame notes.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

photo credit: richard messina – hartford courant