University of Connecticut Athletics
Wolff Paced UConn Past Wright St. in Season Opener
11/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
STORRS, CT -- Freshman guard Nicole Wolff (Walpole, MA) scored 18 points in her collegiate debut to pace all five Husky starters in double figures as UConn began defense of its’ third national championship with an easy 85- 39 victory over Wright State before the usual sellout crowd of 10,167 at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on Friday night.
UConn started slowly trailing in the game’s early moments before freshman Ann Strother (Castle Rock, CO), also playing her first collegiate game, hit two free throws to put the Huskies up for good at 5-4. The decisive run in the opening 20 minutes was a 19-3 spurt giving UConn a 31-10 lead with 5:55 to play in the first half.
After struggling with taking care of the ball early in the game, the UConn offense was righted by some excellent shooting. The Huskies finished the first half shooting 62 percent (18 of 29). Junior guard Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA) led a balanced attack with 10 points.
The Huskies’ hot shooting continued in the second half, as they finished shooting 57% (34 of 60) for the game. Wolff hit four of five three-pointers to lead the UConn scoring brigade. Also in double digits were Taurasi (15), sophomore Ashley Battle (Pittsburgh, PA) and sophomore Jessica Moore (Palmer, AK) had 12 apiece and Strother chipped in with 11. Moore and Strother each notched double-doubles, adding 13 and 11 rebounds to their scoring prowess. Taurasi had a game-high seven assists for UConn.
The Huskies had their way with Raiders inside, amassing 50 points in the paint and enjoying a huge 51-25 rebounding advantage.
Tiffany Webb led Wright State with 16.
The fifth-ranked Huskies have a quick turnaround, traveling to Raleigh, NC to play North Carolina State on Sunday in the Jimmy V Classic. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
