Huskies Defeat Fairfield, 93-50, in Season Opener
UConn Advances to Second Round of WNIT

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STORRS, CT (Nov. 9, 2001) -- Senior Sue Bird (Syosset, NY) notched her first career double-double as the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team defeated Fairfield, 93-50, in the first round of the WNIT. UConn will advance to play Florida International, who downed Stephen F. Austin, 74-57.

The teams opened the game by trading baskets until UConn ran ahead to a 16-8 lead at the 15:16 mark. Fairfield fought back with four consecutive points before Bird keyed a UConn run on an assist to redshirt freshman Jessica Moore (Palmer, AK) with 11:31 left in the half. The Huskies closed the first half with a 31-15 run to make the halftime score 47-27. Bird contributed 12 points and four assists in the run and finished with 21 points and a career-high 12 assists.

UConn picked up where it left off in the second half, as sophomore Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA) nailed three three-pointers to lead a 11-2 Connecticut run. The Huskies opened up a 31-point lead on a Bird jumper at the 14:47 mark, and the Stags never got within 30 points again.

The final score was 93-50 and was UConn’s sixth consecutive victory in a season opener. Head coach Geno Auriemma is now 13-4 in season-opening contests.

Senior Swin Cash (McKeesport, PA) registered 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies, the 15th double-double of her career. Cash also posted a double-double in last season’s opener vs. Georgia with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 99-70 victory. Taurasi added 16 points while senior Tamika Williams (Dayton, OH) had 12 points to round out the Huskies with double-figure points.

UConn recorded a scorching 62.1 field goal percentage while limiting Fairfield to a 32.0 percentage. The Stags were led by Cathy Dash and Schrene Isidora, who had 13 and 12 points, respectively.

UConn will face Florida International at Gampel Pavilion Sunday afternoon in the second round of the WNIT. Gametime is 2 p.m.