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UConn women’s basketball put a wrap on 2019 with a convincing 97-53 win over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Oklahoma had no answers for Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who put together the most dominant performance of her career. The sophomore finished with a career-high 27 points on 13-of-18 shooting, with 15 rebounds and seven blocks — tied for the most of her career.
The first half was a game of runs for both sides. UConn opened with seven straight points and built its lead up to 11 at one point, but Oklahoma closed the quarter on a 7-0 run of its own to get within four.
The Huskies’ defense made life miserable for the Sooners, holding the visitors to just 1-of-11 shooting to open the game and an 0-for-9 stretch to open the second quarter. Overall, UConn held Oklahoma scoreless for eight of the ten minutes in the second period. The Huskies sandwiched those two minutes with an 8-0 run and a 7-0 run to take a 13-point lead into the break.
After scoring just six points in the first half, Megan Walker exploded out of halftime with nine points in the first five minutes. Her play ignited the entire offense, which dropped 28 points in the third quarter alone after scoring 34 total points in the first half.
Despite building a comfortable lead entering the final 10 minutes, UConn didn’t take its foot off the gas. The Huskies outscored Oklahoma 21-6 in the final five minutes to turn a big win into a blowout.
Walker finished with a career-best 15 rebounds to go with 17 points and five assists. For the second game in a row, Crystal Dangerfield shouldered a large part of the scoring load with 19 points along with a game-high six assists. Aubrey Griffin had a strong game off the bench with 14 points and five rebounds — three of which were offensive.
As a team, UConn’s 97 points represented a season-high to this point. The Huskies also commanded the post with 62 points in the paint and a 53-33 rebounding margin.
UConn goes into the holiday break with a 10-0 record and will return to action on Jan. 2, 2020 against Wichita State at the XL Center.