The UConn Huskies women’s basketball team came into this 2012 NCAA Tournament as an underdog. When the NCAA Selection Show was held last Monday, there was barely a mention of UConn other than when they were announced as a No. 1 seed.
So hopefully the Huskies can use that to their advantage on their way to a potential 8th national title. They opened up the 2012 NCAA Tournament on Saturday with the Prairie View A&M Panthers.
The Huskies were able to use the height they have to their advantage and a strong second half defensive effort helped them to a 83-47 win over the Panthers in front of 4,563 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT.
UConn advances to the second round on Monday where they’ll take on the Kansas State Wildcats.
Kaleena Mosqueda Lewis led the way for the Huskies (30-4) with 21 points. Those 21 points tie former Husky and current Cincinnati coach Jamelle Elliott for the most by a freshman making their NCAA Tournament debut. KML also led the Huskies with seven rebounds.
Bria Hartley added 18 points, five rebounds and three assists while Stefanie Dolson scored all 15 of her points in the first half. She also had a little bit of an incident towards the end of the game when she was kneed in her private lady parts. Kelly Faris had a great all around game as usual with six points, six rebounds and a team-high eight assists.
Latia Williams paced the Panthers (17-16) with 20 points. JaQuandria Williams added nine points while Kiara Etienne had eight. Larissa Scott led Prairie View A&M with seven rebounds to go along with her four points.
Here are the highlights:
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Prairie View A&M Panthers vs UConn Huskies 2012 NCAA Tournament First Round box score
Note: I could not find the postgame quotes any where on the interwebs.
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Photo credit: John Woike – Hartford Courant (No. 8 in gallery)
