University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Creighton
No. 1 UConn Tops Creighton, 96-60, In Home Opener
11/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 
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STORRS, Conn - University of Connecticut junior forward Breanna Stewart (North Syracuse, N.Y.) scored 25 points and added 10 rebounds on Sunday, as top-ranked UConn bounced back from its first loss in 48 games with a 96-60 rout of Creighton.
Stewart hit all 10 of shots for the Huskies (2-1), who haven't lost consecutive games since 1993.
UConn freshman Kia Nurse (Hamilton, Ontario) made her first start and scored 22 points. Redshirt sophomore forward Morgan Tuck (Bolingbrook, Ill.), who played just eight games last season before having major reconstructive surgery on her right knee, finished with 15 points.
Marissa Janning, last season's Big East Player of the Year, scored 15 points to pace Creighton (2-2). Alexis Akin-Otiko added 12 points.
UConn scored the first nine points and never trailed, leading by 21 points at halftime. In the second half, a 3-pointer for Nurse capped an 11-0 run to make it 64-34, and the Huskies cruised from there.
After losing to Stanford 88-86 on Monday, the Huskies came into the game at 1-1. It was the first time they'd been .500 in a decade since losing the second game of the 2004-05 season to North Carolina.
UConn pressed the Bluejays early, scoring 17 points in the first half on 11 Creighton turnovers.
The Bluejays tried to stay in the game by shooting from the outside. Their first three baskets were 3-pointers and they hit five of their first seven shots from behind the arc to stay within 10 points at 27-17. But they went 1 for 7 from 3-point range the rest of the half, and finished 13 of 30.
Janning made just two of her 12 first-half shots, and Creighton had no answer underneath for Tuck, who had 14 points in helping UConn to a 49-28 lead at halftime. UConn freshman guard Gabby Williams (Sparks, Nev.) had 10 of her 11 points in the second half, and guard Moriah Jefferson (Glenn Heights, Texas) added 10 points and six assists.
UConn has now gone 775 games without losing twice in a row and is 57-0 after a loss during that streak.
UConn outscored Creighton 44-8 in the paint. It shot 55 percent from the floor, holding Creighton to 35 percent.
TIP-INS
UConn: The Huskies played without preseason All-American Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, who has been suffering from flu-like symptoms for the past few days. Freshman Courtney Ekmark will miss the next four to six weeks with a stress reaction in her right foot.
Creighton: This was the Bluejays' first game against a top-ranked opponent. They are now 4-21 against ranked teams under coach Jim Flanery, who is in his 13th season.
UP NEXT
UConn heads to Florida where the Huskies will face the College of Charleston in the Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday.
Creighton plays their second consecutive American Athletic Conference opponent, heading to the Cal Classic for a game against Cincinnati on Friday.
