The women’s basketball team defeated Memphis 102 to 45 in the XL Center Wednesday night. Katie Lou Samuelson led the team with 32 points and Napheesa Collier followed with 22 points. Their next game is Saturday at 1 p.m. against Houston in Gampel Pavilion. (Photo by Nicholas Hampton/The Daily Campus)
The UConn women’s basketball team won its’ second-straight game without head coach Geno Auriemma on Tuesday night when the team defeated Wichita State 84-47.
Auriemma missed the matchup due to a stomach bug and did not travel with the team. Associate head coach Chris Dailey coached the team in Auriemma’s absence. Dailey is now 9-0 in games where Auriemma has been absent.
“Based on my doctor’s recommendations, I’ve decided it’s in my best interest to stay home and fully recuperate,” Auriemma said in a statement. “I look forward to being back on the sidelines at 100 percent this weekend.”
Tuesday marked the Huskies first matchup against the Shockers in Kansas and only their second matchup all-time. UConn leads the series 2-0.
Before the game, Wichita State head coach Keitha Adams said that playing UConn (26-2, 13-0 The American) at home was a great opportunity for her team.
“It’s great for the game,” Adams said in an article posted to the Shockers’ website. “We’re looking at this opportunity to grow as a basketball team and as a program. It’s an opportunity-that’s exactly the word we used when we talked about it in the locker room.”
The two seniors on the Husky squad made history in Tuesday’s game with Katie Lou Samuelson grabbing her 600th career rebound and Napheesa Collier passing both Kara Wolters and Diana Taurasi on UConn’s all-time scoring list.
Collier ended the night with a season-high 32 points and 12 rebounds for her 17th double-double of the season. Samuelson contributed 18 points and five assists.
Collier currently leads the American Athletic Conference with 19.6 points-per-game and 10.4 rebounds-per-game.
While the Huskies played exceptionally well in the first half, they struggled a bit to get their offense rolling early in the third.
Freshman Olivia Nelson-Adoda was a force for UConn defensively blocking six shots in 19 minutes. The 6-4 forward struggled with the physicality of college hoops in earlier in the season, but has been playing more quality minutes in the Huskies’ last few games.
On Saturday the Huskies will play their final home game of the regular season at 1 p.m. against Houston. Before the game,seniors Collier and Samuelson will be honored ,and during halftime, Rebecca Lobo’s number will be officially retired. The matchup will be broadcast on SNY and ESPN3.
Mariana Dominguez is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at mariana.dominguez@uconn.edu.
