It was another dominant performance for the UConn Huskies Saturday afternoon as they beat the Memphis Tigers, 83-40, to secure their 56th consecutive win going back to last season. The Huskies have a 20-0 record on the season, 10-0 in the American. Morgan Tuck did not dress for the fourth straight game.
UConn started the game strong as Moriah Jefferson and freshman Katie Lou Samuelson led the way with five points each in the first quarter. Jefferson and Breanna Stewart added three assists each and Stewart had already grabbed five rebounds after the first quarter. The Huskies forced 11 turnovers in the first ten minutes thanks to some very intense defense, building a lead as big as 16.
There would be no looking back from there as Breanna Stewart began to score in bunches, starting the second quarter with two consecutive field goals. Stewart finished with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.
The defensive pressure continued as the Huskies held Memphis to just 6-20 shooting from the field in the first half. While Breanna Stewart took over for most of the second quarter, Kia Nurse, Natalie Butler, Gabby Williams, and Moriah Jefferson all added baskets of their own to help build a 38-16 halftime lead.
The starters stayed in the game for the majority of the third quarter, allowing Samuelson to add another eight points to her total. She finished with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Most of the starters made their way to the bench by the fourth quarter, due to the dominance we have become so accustomed to here at UConn.
Natalie Butler once again made the most out of their time to shine in the fourth quarter, where she scored eight points on her way to a 10-point performance. Butler appears to really be finding her way as a dominant force down low on both sides of the ball, pulling down five rebounds and rejecting a shot.
The Huskies were a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line as they captured the victory in their last game at the XL Center this season. UConn will travel to Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans to take on the Tulane Green Wave in their next game on February 3rd before returning home to Gampel Pavilion on Saturday, February 6th to face East Carolina. All home games will be at Gampel from here on out.
Photo gallery credits: Ian Bethune/The UConn Blog