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Saturday, Jan. 15 7:30pm ET
Huskies cruise to 14th straight win | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- A bad week in practice for top-ranked Connecticut turned into a dominating defensive effort against Pittsburgh. Shea Ralph, who led UConn with six steals Saturday night, called the 88-36 rout "a confidence booster." "We needed to play well. Since the Tennessee game, our practices have gone downhill," Ralph said. "We took this game very seriously." Connecticut has beaten six ranked opponents, including a 74-67 win over No. 2 Tennessee on Jan. 8. What the Huskies tried to accomplish in recent practices was more ball pressure and cutting off the passing lanes. It all came together against the Panthers. UConn had 21 steals, scored 47 points off 32 Panthers turnovers and denied Pittsburgh a field goal during a nearly 18-minute stretch in the first half. "For us to see that we could do that against some competition for the entire 40 minutes was really a confidence booster," said Ralph, whose six steals was one short of her career best. The Panthers (11-5, 2-3 Big East) managed just three field goals in the first half as Ralph had five of her steals and 10 of her 12 points. A basket by Nickeia Morris and a free throw by Monique Toney put the Panthers up 3-0 in the first minute. It was all Connecticut from that point. The Huskies (14-0, 4-0) went on a 26-4 run in the next 12 minutes, getting five points each from Ralph and Kennitra Johnson. In that stretch, the Panthers had 13 turnovers and managed just six shots. The Huskies took a 43-11 lead at the half. "It's awfully difficult to beat us when the talent gap is already wide and we're going to play defense like we played tonight," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "It makes it very, very difficult for the other team to get anything going." He didn't have to convince Pittsburgh coach Traci Waites. "Hats off to UConn," Waites said. "They obviously played like the No. 1 team in the country. We just couldn't put the ball in the basket." The Huskies had four of their seven blocks in the first half. Reserves Kelly Schumacher and Asjha Jones each had two. Johnson led UConn with a game-high 18 points, hitting 4-of-6 3-pointers. Autumn Alexander led the Panthers with seven points, including five from the free-throw line. The Panthers entered their game with their best start since the 1994-95 season. UConn leads the series 26-9. Displeased with the recent practices, Auriemma finally had something to smile about. "I have a lot of fun watching them play when there's no hesitation," he said. "We got a lot of things right tonight. It wasn't perfect. It never will be." | ALSO SEE Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
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