No 1 Connecticut Overwhelms Lady Mocs, 79-31

Huskies Prevail With Pressure Defense In Second Half

  • Monday, November 30, 2015
  • John Hunt
Connecticut's three-time NCAA Championship's Most Outstanding Player Breanna Stewart (30) grabs a rebound in the Huskie's 79-31 win over UTC Monday evening in front of  6,104 fans at McKenzie Arena. Stewart had 14 points for the three-time defending champions.
Connecticut's three-time NCAA Championship's Most Outstanding Player Breanna Stewart (30) grabs a rebound in the Huskie's 79-31 win over UTC Monday evening in front of 6,104 fans at McKenzie Arena. Stewart had 14 points for the three-time defending champions.
photo by Dennis Norwood

At least 6,104 basketball enthusiasts got to see what the best women’s college basketball team in the country looks like Monday night at McKenzie Arena.

The three-time defending national champion Connecticut Huskies won for the fourth time this season and 41st game in a row with an impressive 79-31 victory over the Chattanooga Lady Mocs before the seventh-largest crowd in Lady Mocs history.

It was fairly competitive in the first half, but the Lady Mocs came completely unglued in the final 20 minutes as they basically wilted under the pressure.

The Huskies have been known through the years for their suffocating full-court pressure, but they didn't press the first time on Monday night.

Chattanooga played to fairly even terms in the first half as the Lady Mocs even led at 6-4 with 7:13 left in the opening quarter on a short bank shot by Aryanna Gilbert, but the Huskies scored nine of the final 11 points to enjoy a 19-11 edge when the first 10-minute segment ended.

The difference began to expand in the second as UConn had its biggest lead at 35-15 with 2:43 showing following a reverse layup by Morgan Tuck.

Chattanooga enjoyed its best stretch of the game as they scored eight of the final 10 points to trail by only 37-23 at intermission.

It never got any closer.  As a matter of fact, it only got exponentially worse as Chattanooga was outscored 42-8 in the final 20 minutes, including 23-5 in the third stanza.

The Lady Mocs, who finished the game with 24.5 percent from the field on 13 of 53 shots made, were miserable in the second half as they only sank three of 23 shots attempted for a frigid 13 percent

Queen Alford sank a 3 from the wing to start the second half, but the difference was 53-28 by the time Sydney Vanlandingham scored on a drive down the lane with 2:53 showing in the third quarter.

Keiana Gilbert hit the first of two free throws – the only two charity tosses for the Lady Mocs in the game – with 7:29 to play and she added another jumper from the key with 1:41 to play.

But for a team that has now won 88 of its last 89 games and has an average margin of victory of 43 points this year, it was just another day at the office for the Connecticut women.

“We knew we weren’t going to score a 100 points as that’s just not the way Jim coaches, but we just had to pound it one possession at a time,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma said in his post-game comments.

“We knew what we were in for, but it’s tough for a team to play against us when we play defense like we did in the second half.  Chattanooga was able to keep their composure for most of the first half, but we took them out of their comfort zone in the third quarter.

“We pride ourselves in being really fit as we don’t want the other team’s defense to have a chance to get set.  I’ve been in a game like this before when Jim was at Vanderbilt and it’s not a fun place to be, but I’ve been there,” the veteran coach added after his career record at UConn improved to 921-134 in 31 years.

Chattanooga coach Jim Foster, who has been close friends with his Connecticut counterpart for a long time, felt like his team quit doing the little things, especially in the second half.

“They have a big, strong team, but we just stopped doing the little things in the second half as we were a bit tentative and didn’t attack like we needed to,” he began.

“We regressed from what we had practiced in preparation for this game, but their intensity is impressive to watch.  Our kids played hard, especially in the first half, but not necessarily smart.

“There’s no way we regret scheduling them as we look forward to going up there next year, but the first half was something to grow on and the second was something to chew on,” Foster concluded.

Moriah Jefferson scored 15 points to lead four UConn players in double figures.

Breanna Stewart and Gabby Williams both followed with 14 while Tuck finished the game with 10.

Chattanooga, on the other hand, didn’t have a single player in double figures as Jasmine Joyner and Kieana Gilbert both finished with eight points.

The Huskies also won the battle of the boards by a whopping 45-23 margin.

Naphessa Collier, who only played 21 minutes, tied teammate Williams with a dozen while Joyner topped Chattanooga with seven.

UConn plays at DePaul in its next game on Wednesday while Chattanooga returns to action on December 13 with a road trip to South Florida.

CONNECTICUT  19  18  23  19  --  79

CHATTANOOGA  11  12  5  3  --  31

CONNECTICUT (79) – Tuck 10, Stewart 14, Jefferson 15, Nurse 8, Williams 14, Chong 5, Lawlor, Ekmark, Collier 8, Samuelson 5.

CHATTANOOGA (31) – Joyner 8, A.

Gilbert 4, Payne 4, Alford 5, K. Gilbert 8, Noblit, Melton, Vanlandingham 2, Johnson, Chilton.

FIELD GOALS – Connecticut 31 for 56 for 55.4 percent; Chattanooga 13 of 53 for 24.5 percent.

FREE THROWS – Connecticut 15-18 for 83.3 percent; Chattanooga 1-2 for 50 percent.

3-POINT GOALS – Connecticut 2-11; Chattanooga 4-20.

REBOUNDS – Connecticut 45 (Tuck 4, Stewart 4, Jefferson 1, Nurse 1, Williams 12, Lawlor 1, Collier 12, Samuelson 4, Team 6); Chattanooga 23 (Joyner 7, A. Gilbert 3, Payne 3, Alford 2, K. Gilbert 1, Vanlandingham 1, Johnson 3, Chilton 2, Team 1).

ASSISTS – Connecticut 23, Chattanooga 4.

STEALS – Connecticut 14, Chattanooga 4.

ATTENDANCE – 6,104.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

Chattanooga's Jasmine Joyner (3) picked up four blocked shots against Connecticut to set a new Mocs' record of 225 blocks. Joyner also led UTC with 8 points and 7 rebounds.
Chattanooga's Jasmine Joyner (3) picked up four blocked shots against Connecticut to set a new Mocs' record of 225 blocks. Joyner also led UTC with 8 points and 7 rebounds.
photo by Dennis Norwood
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