Seniors Shine In 106-41 Win Over Providence

[box score]

STORRS, CT (Feb. 20, 2002) -- On Senior Night, the No. 1 University of Connecticut women’s basketball team claimed at least a share of its ninth consecutive BIG EAST regular season championship with an 106-41 victory over Providence Wednesday night at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies are now 28-0 overall, 14-0 in the BIG EAST, while the Friars fall to 11-14, 5-9 in the conference.

Ironically, UConn’s lone underclassmen starter sophomore Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA) got the Huskies off to a hot start, recording eight points as UConn opened a 14-0 lead in the game’s first five minutes.

The Friars would cut the Husky advantage to 18-9 on a three-point play by Keisha Blackwell, but UConn again extended the lead to double-digits with a 14-2 run to bring the score to 32-11 at the 6:19 mark.

Providence made another push, narrowing the lead to 16 points with 5:01 remaining, but UConn responded by reeling off 16 unanswered points in a 20-2 run to close the half.

The halftime score was 54-20, as UConn shot an impressive 61.1 percent from the floor in the first stanza. Three Huskies posted double-digit points, led by Taurasi with 13.

Although UConn’s field goal percentage cooled to 51.7 in the second half, the Huskies maintained their large advantage, eventually opening up a 50-point lead with more than eight minutes remaining before rolling to the 106-41 victory, UConn’s second largest margin of victory against a BIG EAST opponent this season.

While the Huskies dominated with a 56.9 field goal percentage in the game, the Friars struggled on offense with a 24.0 field goal percentage and 27 turnovers. UConn also owned the boards with a 50-24 rebounding margin.

Taurasi finished with another solid all-round game of 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds while senior Swin Cash (McKeesport, PA) had 19 points. Senior Asjha Jones (Piscataway, NJ) and redshirt freshman Ashley Battle (Pittsburgh, PA) added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Senior Sue Bird (Syosset, NY) also had 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.

UConn wraps up its regular season on the road, traveling to Rutgers and West Virginia for its next two contests. The Huskies will face Rutgers at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, NJ.