UConn women steamroll St. John’s, 77-32

[Carnac]

The UConn Huskies had their first chance to defend their No. 1 ranking Wednesday on the road against St. John’s — and defend it they did, while looking like the top team in America in the process.

The UConn women shined on both ends of the floor at Carnesecca Arena, steamrolling St. John’s, 77-32, in Queens, N.Y. and putting together one of their most complete outings of the season.

Note - St. Johns NEVER led in this game. They were tied at 2 early in the first quarter, then UConn went on a 16-4 run the rest of the quarter.

Leilani Correa, the Red Storm's leading scorer at 20.9 ppg, scored her only basket on a steal and a driving lay up with about 2 mins left to go in the first quarter. She was scoreless (0-9) the remainder of the game. She finished the game 1 for 10 in 35 minutes.

No. 1 UConn women steamroll St. John’s, 77-32, in one of the most complete outings of the season

The UConn Huskies had their first chance to defend their No. 1 ranking Wednesday on the road against St. John’s — and defend it they did, while looking like the top team in America in t…

www.courant.com

 

[veryolddog]

It is nice to see how a little rest and practice restore both mental and physical health in the "troops". Even Geno sounded good. Crazy year.

 

[oldude]

UConn continues their extended road trip by rolling over the Musketeers in Cincy.

UConn 83 - Xavier 46

 

[donalddoowop]

UConn continues their extended road trip by rolling over the Musketeers in Cincy.

UConn 83 - Xavier 46

Xavier played DePaul tough last night. They lost by only eight. So, UConn will have to go out and play as they did last night and roll over Xavier as your score prediction shows.

 

[huskyd]

Knee-deep in stats, let's recall how GOOD the team looked playing last night as a complete team. On the whole, there have been few (if any) games that achieved the aesthetic quality that separates UConn from the rest of wcbb. Last night was a thorough pleasure to watch. It elevated everyone: coaches, players, fans. More of those, please.

 

[Carnac]

UConn continues their extended road trip by rolling over the Musketeers in Cincy.

UConn 83 - Xavier 46

You're right OD. UConn is in a good place right now. They're hitting their stride and appear to be in sync. This team has 17 games under their belt. They learned a lot of lessons along the way. The old adage that "there's no substitute for experience" is true. The freshmen came in with no Division 1 game experience, but were forced to grow up fast.

They had not played against A TEAM of Division 1 players at this speed. The freshmen that this team so heavily depends on had to make many adjustments i.e., living away from home, attending virtual college classes, doing college level research and home work, learn time management, adjust to living in isolation (quarantine pods) isolated from the rest of their teammates, learning Geno's system, learning to play with complete "strangers", and lifting weights on a regular basis for the first time, etc. all while being expected to perform at a very high level playing for Geno. As ONO recently said: "UConn is a hard place to play."

The Sophomores had their challenges too. With no seniors, Aubrey and Anna were now expected to assume a limited leadership role. The 3 juniors could not do it alone. Look where they are now. 16-1, undefeated in the BIG East Conference, and ranked number one in the country in both polls. This team has come a long way. I say team because that is what they are. We read all summer and into the fall about how close this team is. That's good because they will have to draw strength and energy from those teammates as there were never (and won't be) any fans in Gampel to draw from this year.

I believe as you do, this team will run the table the remainder of the regular season (they only have 4 games left), including the conference tournament which begins in a little over two weeks. UConn Nation is ready for some post season women's college basketball. How far can this team go? We (along with everyone else) know that there will be at least 5-8 other teams in the field that can get hot, go on a run and win six games. Where does UConn fit in?

We'll see. All they can do is play each team as they are put in front of them. If they can play the type of defense like they did last night in the tournament, they have as good a chance as anyone else. Xavier is 4-6, and not a good measuring tool. But if UConn can play them as they played St. John's, and hold them under 45 points, and keep their leading scorer way under her season average, that will be a very positive sign, and something to build on. The best teams in the BIG East (DePaul and Marquette) will play UConn in the conference tournament, helping them to prepare for the NCAA Tournament.

Take nothing or any team for granted!! Win and advance. All of the usual top 6 "suspects" (Baylor, Maryland, Louisville, Stanford, South Carolina, Oregon) will be there including some that are just outside the top 5. Texas A&M, NC State, UCLA, Arizona, Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana. And then there's that "dark horse." Washington and Oregon State were dark horses 4 years ago. The year that UConn was the only 1 seed to make it to the final four. They'll all be there.

So I guess the only question now is how far can this team go into the tournament? Everyone expects them to get to game 3. That's when the fun really starts. The sweet 16. All of the wannabes, pretenders and at-large invitees that are just glad to be in the tournament are gone at that point. Because the tournament was canceled last year, and we were denied the pleasure and excitement of watching the season come to a climatic end, this year's tournament will be one of the most watched ever. Like Bart Scott said.....................can't wait.