The No. 1 UConn Huskies defeated the Chattanooga Lady Mocs 79-31 behind a dominant defensive performance that held the Lady Mocs to just eight second-half points.
With the victory, the Huskies extended their winning streak to 41 games. They also snapped Chattanooga’s 17-game home winning streak that included impressive wins over Tennessee and Stanford last season.
Connecticut guard Katie Lou Samuelson (33) shoots as Chattanooga’s Jasmine Joyner (3) defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (Billy Weeks/AP)
UConn senior guard Moriah Jefferson led all scorers with 15 points while also dishing out four assists. Jefferson, who had four steals on the night, moved in to seventh place on UConn’s all-time steals list. She also moved into sole possession of 35th place on UConn’s all-time scoring list.
Jasmine Joyner and Keiana Gilbert each scored eight points to lead Chattanooga in scoring.
In the first quarter Chattanooga was able to hang around in the game mostly due to the fact that UConn committed six turnovers. After five minutes to play, UConn held a 10-6 lead thanks to six early points from Stewart.
UConn held a 19-11 lead after the first quarter thanks to 10 points from Stewart in the quarter. Stewart finished the game with 14 points.
The Huskies were able to gain separation at the start of the second quarter. A three pointer from freshman guard Katie Lou Samuelson started a 10-2 run to open the quarter and gave UConn a 29-13 lead. The Huskies controlled their turnovers in the second quarter, only committing three, as the pace of the game picked up.
A pair of three pointers from Chattanooga’s Joyner and Gilbert helped to cut into the deficit right before halftime. UConn led Chattanooga 37-23 at halftime.
In the third quarter the Huskies completely blew open the game. Queen Alford opened up the quarter with a three pointer for Chattanooga, cutting the deficit to 11 points. The Huskies responded with an offensive explosion. UConn scored 16 unanswered points. 10 of those points came in the paint as the Huskies used their size to attack Chattanooga.
Chattanooga finally scored again on a Sydney Vanlandingham layup with 2:58 left in the quarter. The damage had already been done, however, as UConn held a comfortable 53-28 lead at the time.
The Huskies cruised to victory in the fourth quarter as their dominating performance continued. UConn shot 55 percent from the field while holding Chattanooga to 24 percent from the field on the night.
UConn sophomore forward Gabby Williams recorded a double-double scoring 14 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds.
UConn will be in action again on Wednesday when they head to No.23 DePaul.
Spencer Mayfield is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at spencer.mayfield@uconn.edu. He tweets @SpenceMayfield.