UConn women’s basketball rolls past Temple, 83-54

In its final American Athletic Conference opener, UConn women’s basketball moved past the Temple Owls, 83-54. With the win, the Huskies improved to 121-0 all-time in the conference.

Both teams pushed the pace early and weren’t shy about putting up threes. Through one quarter, each side took 10 shots from behind the arc but UConn made twice as many (6) as the Owls and held a 32-21 lead.

The scoring cooled off after the pace slowed down in the middle periods as the Huskies — like the first two games — maintained a comfortable lead without pulling away. At one point in the third quarter they went up by 19, though Temple cut it down to just 12 entering the final period.

However, UConn put the game away for good with a 10-2 run to start the fourth quarter. The last ten minutes were the Huskies’ best as they out-scored the Owls 26-9 in the period.

Anna Makurat got the start for the second-straight game, though the freshman continued to struggle to get shots to fall as she went just one-of-seven on the day. However, she still found other ways to contribute in her 25 minutes of play by handing out seven assists and grabbing four rebounds.

Speaking of freshmen, Aubrey Griffin had the best game of her young career. She was active on the glass with eight rebounds — three of which came on the offensive end — and finished with nine points.

Christyn Williams led the team in scoring with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Fellow sophomore Olivia Nelson-Ododa dominated on the boards, grabbing seven offense rebounds and 10 total. She finished with 15 points and has a double-double in every game this season. Crystal Dangerfield (14) and Megan Walker (15) both finished in double-figures as well.

The game also served as a de-facto homecoming for senior Kyla Irwin. The State College, Pennsylvania native had a strong contingent of friends and family on hand and scored seven points in five minutes of action.

Next, UConn returns home for its first regular season game at the XL Center against Virginia on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.