Huskies Climb Over Penn to Advance into NCAA Second Round on Tuesday Night

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BRIDGEPORT, CT – Senior Diana Taurasi became the University of Connecticut’s all-time leading scorer in NCAA Tournament games with her 18 points as the Huskies rolled to a 91-55 win over 15th-seeded Pennsylvania in the opening round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship at the sold out Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.

The win improves second-seeded UConn to a record of 26-4 on the year and advances the Huskies to a second round matchup with Auburn on Tuesday night at 9:00 pm at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The Tigers were a 79-59 winner over NC State in the evening’s opening game.

Taurasi led four players in double-figures, and added five rebounds and nine assists top her game-high 18 points. Junior Jessica Moore posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies. Sophomore Barbara Turner added 17 points of her own and classmate Ann Strother scored 10 points and grabbed down six boards.

The Huskies gained momentum early in the game, its first since UConn fell to Boston College in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals on March 8. After opening the game with six points per team, UConn posted a 9-0 run to take charge sparked by five points apiece Jessica Moore and Turner. The Husky lead would soon swell to double digits and closed the first half with a commanding 51-23 lead.

UConn dominated the smaller Pennsylvania team inside by scoring 44 points in the paint, while the Husky defense only allowed 14 points inside by the Quakers. Penn committed 15 turnovers during the course of the game giving way to 24 Connecticut points. The Huskies shot 54.2 percent for the game on 32-for-59 shooting from the floor.

The 15th-seeded Quakers (17-11) were making only their second appearance in the tournament. Jewel Clark led the Ivy League champs with 16 points, and Mikaelyn Austen had 14.

POST GAME NOTES

• This was the first meeting ever between the two schools
• This is the first time since 1998 that UConn is not a # 1 seed.
• UConn has won 11 consecutive first round games and seven straight NCAA Tournament games.
• This was the 10th straight season that UConn won its first round game by at least 30 points.
• UConn is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies are 48-11 overall and now 12-2 in the first round and 33-7 in the East Region.
• This was UConn’s 13 straight win in the East Region.
• UConn is now 170-9 since 1999-2000
• UConn is now 25-3 in the state of Connecticut during NCAA Tournament play. The Huskies have won 23 straight games in the state of Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament.
• UConn is now 4-1 all-time as a #2 seed. The other four games were all in 1998 when the Huskies advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to N.C. State 60-52 in Dayton.
• This is just the fifth time that UConn was an at-large selection. They were also an at-large selection in 1990, 1992, 1993 and again last year.
• UConn is 8-3 as an at-large team in NCAA Tournament play.
• UConn has not lost back-to-back games since 1993, a span of 389 games.
• The Huskies are third all time with 48 NCAA Tournament wins.
• Diana Taurasi became UConn’s all-time NCAA Tournament scoring leader passing Kara Wolters mark of 322 points. Taurasi now has 328 career points in NCAA Tournament play.
• Ann Strother grabbed the 300th rebound of her career while Maria Conlon dished out her 300th career assist.
• Barbara Turner’s 17 points marked a career-high in NCAA Tournament play.
• Diana Taurasi moved up two places on the NCAA Tournament career scoring list past Janice Lawrence (La. Tech) and Katie Douglas (Purdue). Taurasi now has 328 points which is fourth all-time.
• Diana Taurasi’s six field goals moved her past Cheryl Miller into fourth place among the NCAA Tournament career leaders in field goals made. She now has 116.
• Taurasi’s nine assists are tied for the second most by a UConn player in an NCAA Tournament game.
• Maria Conlon moved past Kerry Bascom into sole possession of fifth place on the UConn career three-point list with her current total of 162 treys.
• Jessica Moore’s 15 points and 11 rebounds marked her team best fourth double-double of the season.
• This is Penn’s second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Quakers other appearance was in the 2000-2001 season when they were also a #15 seed and lost to Texas Tech 100-57.
• This was the second time that an Ivy team has played UConn in the NCAA Tournament. Ten years ago, Brown was the first Ivy team to play in the NCAA Division I Tournament and lost to UConn 79-60.