Jake McCreven The UConn women’s basketball team steam rolled its last two opponents in Tampa Bay by an average of 28.5 points enroute to a national championship in April – top-seeded UCLA was dropped by 34 points before South Carolina was popped 82-59 in the title game 48 hours later.
240 days later, and that number’s up to 30.3.
The Huskies (8-0) made their glorious return to Champa Bay on Tuesday, routing South Florida (5-4) 85-31 at the Yuengling Center.
Doesn’t that score sound familiar? It is. The Huskies defeated UCLA – in Tampa — by the same score eight months prior.
Much like the Final Four game against the Bruins, it was never particularly close on Tuesday.
An Ashlynn Shade three pointer, Azzi Fudd driving layup, Sarah Strong pull-up triple and Serah Williams turnaround hook gave the Huskies a 10-0 advantage within the first two minutes and 10 seconds of the game.
The Huskies started 4-of-4 from the field and forced two turnovers before the Bulls attempted their second shot. USF didn’t sink a field goal until the 7:08 mark of the first quarter, when L’or Mputu hit on a jumper from the paint, and went on its largest run of the game, 6-0, across the ensuing 58 seconds.
10-6. It was the closest the Bulls would get the rest of the night. Fudd added two more quick jumpers from the elbow to build the lead back up to eight, aiding in the Huskies’ 17-4 scoring run to end the quarter.
Eight of those 17 came from Blanca Quiñonez, who, in less than two minutes, hit on two three pointers (from opposite corners of the court) and a driving lay-up to widen the Husky lead to 18.
Quiñonez provided scoring punch once again off the bench for Geno Auriemma, leading all first half scorers with 13 points in as many minutes as the sixth woman for the day.
The Milagro, Ecuador native didn’t score in the second half but was still able to notch her third double-digit scoring day in seven appearances as a Husky, totaling 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting (3-of-4 from behind the arc) while also grabbing two rebounds and dishing a single assist in 19 minutes of action.
Connecticut started the second quarter on another run, this time getting baskets from Shade at the charity stripe, Williams down low (twice) and Strong from the perimeter to extend its lead to 28.
The Huskies forced turnovers on three straight possessions and were able to get into transition in search of open looks.
Connecticut forced 20 total turnovers, cashed them in for 26 points and held South Florida to 19-of-52 from the field and moribund 3-of-12 mark from behind the arc.
Strong became the first Husky in double figures after she cashed in one of those transition looks at the rim.
Strong, who coming into the day led the Big East in rebounds per game, finished with 14 points and 10 boards enroute to her third double-double of the season (and 16th overall). She also facilitated four baskets, blocked a shot and grabbed two steals in her 25 on-court minutes.
Two other Huskies finished in double figures. Fudd and Shade both carved out 10 a piece on eight combined field goals while Kayleigh Heckel (8), Allie Ziebell (8) and Serah Williams (6) comprised the rest of the “full vile of poison” that Rebecca Lobo referred to on the broadcast.
Auriemma emptied the bench in the second half. All twelve Huskies who got into the game played five or more minutes, with eight playing 17 or more. The bench accounted for 41 points and 1.288 points per possession as it got one of its largest runs of the season.
The Huskies have a four day break to recover from a five day road trip that started with Xavier on Sunday. They’ll take on the DePaul Blue Demons (2-6) in the Big East home opener on Sunday at 1 p.m.
A trip to Los Angeles on Dec. 13 to take on No. 16 USC looms large in the distance. It’ll be the first of four remaining non-conference tests the Huskies will take this season.