Yet Another Memphis Walkover
The Story: Katie Lou Samuelson scored a season-high 32 points as the No. 3-ranked Huskies flattened Memphis 102-45 last night in their final game of the season at the XL Center.
LIGHTS OUT: Samuelson, held without a field goal in the win against UCF on Sunday, bounced back in a big way, although it was against significantly inferior competition. She made 11 of 19 attempts, including 8 of 11 3-pointers — the most she has drilled in a game since early last season. She also grabbed 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the year, finished with seven assists and even drew up a few plays in the huddle once in the fourth quarter because, hey, why not?
CARRYING THE LOAD: Samuelson and Napheesa Collier, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the season, set the table so their teammates could feast. The two seniors combined to score 45 of the Huskies’ 62 first-half points before making their way out, with Samuelson playing 30 minutes and Collier just 27 for some well-deserved rest.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “Eventually, [as a shooter], you’re going to revert back to who you are. Lou has a bad shooting day, supposedly. She’s going to revert back to who she is. She’s going to make a bunch.”
AGGRESSIVE ON THE BOARDS: Geno Auriemma was particularly pleased with his players’ rebounding as they held a commanding 39-18 advantage on overwhelmed Memphis. Freshman Olivia Nelson-Ododa grabbed eight rebounds in 21 minutes and is continuing to emerge as a respectable inside presence, and Kyla Irwin even scrapped for seven rebounds in 13 minutes. The Huskies had 16 offensive rebounds, nearly as many as the Tigers had altogether, and scored 21 second-chance points.
WHERE’S WILLIAMS? One concern from last night is regarding freshman Christyn Williams, who had just five points and three rebounds in 16 minutes. Geno said he didn’t hear when she asked to come out of the game in the first quarter and finally pulled her midway through the third quarter when she seemed a little off. Williams, who has had some breakout games this season and some rather lackluster ones, is a tremendous asset for the Huskies when she’s on her game and will need to find some consistency with the postseason looming.
BENCH A BONUS: These final five regular-season games will be a chance for the Huskies’ reserves not only to state their case for a reliable role come the postseason but for next year as well. Nelson-Ododa, the first player off the bench in recent games, has emerged as a better player than she has shown in practice, Geno said. Mikayla Coombs played the most of any reserve, though she had two points and four rebounds in 22 minutes and took only two shots. Geno has had a love-hate relationship with his back-ups this season, and if they don’t pull it together in the next few games, they’ll be on the outside looking in once the NCAA tournament begins.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: UConn shot 54.9 percent and 51.9 percent from 3-point range against Memphis (10-16, 5-8), which somehow is one of the best perimeter defending teams in the country. The Huskies also finished with assists on 82.1 percent of their shots with 32 assists on 39 baskets, their third-most efficient outing of the year (Crystal Dangerfield had seven of them). And, Memphis’ Alana Davis, who entered averaging 12.5 points and eight rebounds a game, was held to two points and three rebounds in 16 minutes, having missed five of her six shots.
UP NEXT: The Huskies (24-2, 12-0) open a two-game midwestern swing Sunday afternoon at Tulsa (11-14, 5-7), which lost 74-41 at Cincinnati last night and has dropped seven of its last nine games.
Can Huskies Turn it Around in Dallas?
The Story: Injuries, a three-game losing streak and the stretch run for the postseason. Plenty is on the line for the men’s basketball team when it plays at SMU (12-12, 4-8) tonight in Dallas (9 p.m., ESPN).
WILL GILBERT PLAY? Guard Alterique Gilbert has missed the Huskies’ last five games and has not played in nearly a month because of a left shoulder injury, but Dan Hurley seemed to indicate he could see some time tonight. UConn is playing with only a seven-man rotation with all the injuries and there is no margin for error if the Huskies are going to win on the road.
ROAD WINS THE NEXT STEP: It is late February and March Madness starts in less than three weeks, and the Huskies still are only 1-7 on the road. The one road win is spectacular — and not in a good way. How do you get to late February and only have one road win but remain .500 in the league? That’s a scheduling issue that Hurley should fix in coming years. Running up a big non-conference schedule with home and neutral site games does nothing for the Huskies.
VITAL STARS IN ABSENCE: Christian Vital has taken the mantle as the offensive leader in the absence of the injured Jalen Adams. Vital has scored 18, 18, 13 and 15 points over the last four games and is averaging 14 points a game on the season while shooting 46.2 percent and 40.8 percent from 3-point range. Vital, after a rough start to the season, remains the Huskies’ most consistent and efficient offensive force.
NO BENCH TO GO TO: The Huskies’ bench remains thin with all the injuries as only Brendan Adams and Eric Cobb are seeing any time. That’s just the way the injury bug hit the Huskies and the lack of depth has caused Hurley to go to a “bend but don’t break” defensive philosophy. The Huskies aren’t going to pressure as much as they used to and can’t sustain the overwhelming defensive pressure we saw early in the season.
ABOUT SMU: The Mustangs have lost their last five games, incluing an 82-74 loss at Temple on Wednesday. The Mustangs are led by Jahmal McMurray, who is scoring 17.7 points per game. The Huskies beat SMU 76-64 on Jan. 21, when Jalen Adams scored 21 points, so this one will play out a bit differently.
Morning Reads
MAKE IT FAIR: Is it time to change the locations of the regionals in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in the interest of competitive balance? (Hartford Courant)
CHONG TO LAS VEGAS: Former UConn guard Saniya Chong, who played the last two seasons with the Dallas Wings, has joined the Las Vegas Aces ahead of training camp. (WNBA.com)
MACDONALD THE PITCHER WHISPERER: Former pitcher Josh MacDonald, an assistant on Jim Penders’ staff, has helped produce 11 pros in his time as pitching coach for the Huskies, with more on the way. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
SPOILER ALERT: The men’s hockey team has had a bit of a lost season, but it will play its final road game tonight when it heads to No. 2 UMass. (UConnHuskies.com)
