University of Connecticut Athletics
No. 1/1 Women's Basketball Downs Providence 75-39
2/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Huskies dominated play tonight as they used a 25-0 run to start the second half and extend their lead to 46 before Providence netted its first points of the half at the 10:38 mark in the second frame.
With the victory, UConn improves to 26-0 for the first time since 2003 and the fifth time since the 1994-95 season as the Huskies extend their BIG EAST record to a perfect 12-0 on the year. Providence falls to 9-16 overall and 3-9 in the conference.
The Huskies opened tonight's conference match-up with an 11-0 run in the first 2:23 and extended their lead to as much as 22 in the first frame when Meghan Gardler (Springfield, Pa.) hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Huskies a 33-11 lead with 6:23 on the clock. They also held Providence to just two field goals in the opening 10:35.
UConn controlled the tempo of the first half as the Huskies shot .389 (14-of-36) from the floor, while the Friars shot just .233 (7-of-30), including a 2-of-10 performance from behind the arc. The Huskies also kept the game in their favor as they dominated the boards, outrebounding Providence 28-17.
Providence turned the ball over 13 times as UConn was able to connect on 14 points off those mistakes to head into the break with a 21-point advantage at 39-18.
After opening the second frame with the 25-0 run, Providence put some points on the board by hitting four consecutive three-pointers and a jumper in the paint to cut the UConn lead to 42 at 74-32. But it was all Huskies from there on out, as UConn dominated play on both ends of the court.
The Huskies ended the game shooting .421 (24-of-57), adding a 22-of-28 showing from the free throw line. UConn also outrebounded the Friars 44-33 on the night and held the Friars to just 39 points as they are a program that averages 59.9 points per game.
Providence allowed UConn 32 points off its 26 turnovers as well as 19 second chance points, while the Friars collected just four second chance points on their offensive end of the floor. The Friars shot .255 (14-of-55) from the field, including 8-of-23 from three- point land.
Sophomore Maya Moore (Lawrenceville, Ga.), who picked up 12 of her 16 points in the first half, finished the night with the game-high point tally along with nine rebounds.
Moore, along with four other Huskies, finished in double figures, for the 12th time this season and the second time in the last three games that five players have registered double figures in scoring.
Freshman Tiffany Hayes (Lakeland, Fla.) added 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Hayes' 15 points marked her 13th game with double-figure points this season and her seventh in the last eight games overall.
Kaili McLaren (Washington, D.C.) contributed with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists, while senior Renee Montgomery (St. Albans, W. Va.) chipped in with 10 points and three steals, respectively.
Junior Tina Charles (Jamaica, N.Y.) also recorded double figures with 14 points as she pulled down six rebounds, marking her 22nd game with double digits this season and the 73rd of her career.
After today’s win, UConn improves 86-9 on the road dating back to Feb. 1, 2001 and extends its regular-season winning streak to 34 consecutive games as the Huskies have won 127 of its last 135 games against BIG EAST opponents in the regular season.UConn returns home for a showdown with BIG EAST opponent Notre Dame on Sunday, Feb. 22 at the XL Center in Hartford. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m. (EST) on ESPNU.
SCOREBOARD 1st 2nd Final 1/1 Connecticut 39 36 75 Providence 18 21 39
Postgame Notes
- UConn improves to 26-0 for the first time since 2003 and the fifth time since 1994-95. - UConn increases its lead over Providence in the all-time series to 36-21 and has won each of the last 24 meetings. - UConn has won 127 of its last 135 games against BIG EAST opponents in the regular season. - UConn moves to 11-0 in BIG EAST play for the seventh time since 1994-95. - Connecticut is 86-9 on the road dating back to Feb. 1, 2001. - UConn extends its regular-season winning streak to 34 consecutive games. - UConn has won 109 consecutive games against non-ranked opponents. - UConn moves to 189-97 all-time in games played in the month of February and has won each of its last 12 games played during the second month of the calendar year. - UConn improves to 219-11 all-time when playing as the No. 1 ranked team in the Associated Press Top-25. - UConn has won each of its last 60 games against BIG EAST opponents other than Rutgers.- UConn opened the game with a 11-0 run over the opening 2:23.
- UConn held Providence to just two field goals in the opening 10:35.
- Tina Charles' 14 points marked her 22nd game with double-figure points this season and the 73rd of her career.
- Maya Moore's 16 points mark her 27th consecutive game with double-figure points and her 62nd in 64 career games.
- UConn has led at halftime in each of the last 25 games - the lone time they have not led at intermission was in the season-opener vs. Georgia Tech, which was tied at halftime.
- UConn opened the second half by out-scoring Providence 25-0 over the opening 9:22 of the second half.
- Tiffany Hayes' 15 points marked her 13th game with double-figure points this season and her seventh in the last eight games overall.
- Renee Montgomery's 10 points marked her 12th straight game with double-figure points and her 24th this season.
- Tina Charles moved past Tamika Williams (18th place) and into a tie with Chris Gedney for 17th place on the UConn career scoring list with her current total of 1,409.
- Renee Montgomery moved past Cathy Bochain into ninth place on the UConn career assist list with her current total of 242.
- UConn has now won a total of 15 games this season by a margin of 30 or more points.
- Kaili McLaren's 10 points marked her fifth game with double-figure points this season and her first since Jan. 3 vs. LSU.
- UConn had five players register double-figure points for the 12th time this season and the second time in the last three games.
