Napheesa Collier (#24) goes up for a shot in a game agasint Tulane on Sunday January 22, 2017. (Jackson Haigis/The Daily Campus)
Time and Place: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, North Carolina
Where to Watch: SNY, channel 64 on Storrs TV listings
Last Meeting: UConn won 90-45 this season on Jan. 4, 2017. The Huskies are 6-0 all time against the Pirates
UConn’s Last Time Out: 100-56 win over Tulane at Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 22, 2017
East Carolina’s Last Time Out: 74-64 loss on the road to Cincinnati on Jan. 21, 2017
Projected Starting Lineups: UConn (18-0, 6-0 The American) vs. East Carolina (10-10, 1-6 the American)
G: Saniya Chong vs. Alex Frazier
Chong has spent her final year in Storrs becoming one of the best point guards in the country, averaging seven points and leading the country in assist to turnover ratio with 59 assists to 13 turnovers. Frazier isn’t much of a scorer with an average of just 3.2 points per game, but leads the Pirates with 45 assists.
G: Kia Nurse vs. Khadidja Toure
Nurse bounced back nicely from a five-point performance against Tulsa with 18 points and six steals in the win over Tulane and is averaging 11.6 points in her last five games. Toure is averaging 7.9 points per game and is one of the best three-point shooters on the Pirates, shooting 39 percent from deep.
W: Katie Lou Samuelson vs. Dominique Claytor
With 32 points against Tulane, Samuelson has scored 94 points in her last three games, tying Maya Moore for the UConn record for most points in a three-game span. Claytor, the No. 15 freshman wing player in the country, has started the last three games for ECU and has a total of 10 points and eight rebounds in that span.
G: Gabby Williams vs. Bre McDonald
Williams continues to be an integral cog in the UConn offense, averaging 15 points, eight rebounds and 6.6 assists in the Huskies’ last three games. McDonald, a transfer from West Virginia, is second on the team in points (12 points per game), rebounds (5.9 per game) and assists (41 this season).
F: Napheesa Collier vs. Kristen Gaffney
Sidelined with foul trouble for most of the Tulane game, Collier still managed 17 points and seven rebounds in just 21 minutes and has scored 17 points or more in her last six games. Gaffney, a graduate transfer from Vanderbilt, leads ECU with 14.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, a 52.7 field goal percentage and scored 12 points in the Pirates’ loss to the Huskies earlier this month.
Talking Points
KLS can’t miss: After tying the program record with 94 points in UConn’s last three games, Samuelson has now raised her season scoring average to 24.2 points per game. The sophomore has shot 61.4 percent from the field in her last three games and 16-31 from beyond the arc. If Samuelson scores 29 or more points against East Carolina, she will break the record after scoring 34 and 32 points in her last two games.
The Dominance is Back: UConn has won its last five games by at least 40 points with an average margin of victory of 46.8 points. That is the longest streak of 40-plus point wins for the Huskies since they won eight in a row by at least 40 points last season.
Gone Streaking: With the blowout of Tulane, UConn’s NCAA-record win streak is up to 93 games. The Huskies have also won 120 straight games against unranked opponents.
Dan Madigan is the sports editor for The Daily Campus, covering football and women’s basketball. He can be reached via email at daniel.madigan@uconn.edu. He tweets @dmad1433.