University of Connecticut Athletics
Taurasi Paces UConn Past Southern California
12/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HARTFORD, CT (December 8, 2002) -- Junior Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA) put on a virtuoso performance with 24 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to pace the University of Connecticut to a 68-44 victory over Southern California, Sunday, before a sellout crowd of 16,294 at the Hartford Civic Center.
The victory improves the second ranked Huskies’ record to 7-0, while the Women of Troy slip to 4-3. The win was the 46th consecutive for UConn, tying Tennessee (1996-98) for the second longest streak in NCAA history.
The Huskies were able to overcome some sloppy ball handling with some tough defense and a lot of Taurasi. Connecticut turned the ball over 30 times, but USC could only convert those into 10 points. The UConn defense limited the Women of Troy to just 18% (12-66) shooting, but the story of the game was Taurasi. She scored 16 points in the first half as the Huskies bolted to a 37-19 halftime lead. Taurasi bettered her prior career mark of 10 rebounds with her 14. She also added six blocks and five assists.
Also in double figures for UConn was freshman Wilnett Crockett (Harbor City, CA) who came off the bench to score 11. Junior point guard Maria Conlon (Derby, CT), starting in place of the injured Ashley Battle (Pittsburgh, PA), scored eight points and dished out five assists. Sophomore center Jessica Moore (Palmer, AK) scored nine and shared team-high rebounding honors with freshman Nicole Wolff (Walpole, MA).
Ebony Hoffman led USC with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Connecticut now takes an 11-day break for semester examinations, and will resume its’ season on Friday, December 20, when they host Pepperdine at the Hartford Civic Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be televised by CPTV.
