UConn women’s basketball destroys Cincinnati, 105-58

UConn women’s basketball put on an offensive clinic at Cincinnati, taking down the No. 2 team in the AAC, 105-58. The Huskies had their best offensive game of the season, hitting the 100 point mark for the first time all year and shooting 56.5 percent from the floor. UConn was unstoppable from beyond the arc, hitting 16 3-pointers on 70 percent shooting from deep.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa was under the weather and recovering from a nose injury and played just 12 minutes. With Nelson-Ododa out, Anna Makurat stepped up to make up for the gap in the ‘core four’ tonight.

Makurat, Megan Walker, and Christyn Williams all scored 20 or more points and had four threes apiece. Crystal Dangerfield also added 14 points.

The Huskies started out strong defensively, forcing three-straight turnovers early on in the first but struggled to capitalize on the offensive end at the beginning. After a slow start, they were able to get it going, ending the quarter up eight.

UConn then opened it up in the second, going on a 10-0 run, and extending their lead to a comfortable 19 points. The Huskies kept it going, finishing the quarter with 27 points on 68.8 percent shooting to head into halftime up 46-18.

Walker and Williams led the way in the first half with 12 points and 11 points, respectively. Walker also added seven rebounds and two blocks, while Williams added five boards.

While UConn’s offense was really strong in the first half, their defense was even better. Cincinnati shot under 18 percent from the floor, making just seven field goals. The Huskies had 6 blocks and kept the Bearcats off the offensive glass for the most part.

Even head coach Geno Auriemma was happy, telling SNY, “I loved everything we did that half,” before heading to the locked room.

Makurat put on a shooting clinic to open up the second half, hitting a long two followed by a pair of 3-pointers to raise her tally to 17 points. The Huskies lit it up from beyond the arc, going 7-10 from three and shot 60 percent from the floor again in third quarter.

Williams, who has been in a bit of a slump with under 10 points in each of the last four games, finished with a team high 26 points. She shot 57 percent from the floor and was 4-6 from deep. Williams also added eight boards and three assists.

UConn also got great production from their bench, with Kyla Irwin and Aubrey Griffin each scoring eight points apiece. Irwin was perfect from the floor and also had five assists while Griffin added seven rebounds.

The Huskies will now head to Houston to finish out the regular season. They play the Cougars Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.