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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (January 19, 2009) - The No. 1/1 University of Connecticut women's basketball team left no room for debate in a match-up of the top two teams in the nation as it used a total team effort en route to a convincing 88-58 road win at No. 2/2 North Carolina on Monday night.   Renee Montgomery (St. Albans, W. Va.) led a group of five Huskies in double-figure points as UConn used a balanced offensive attack to open a lead as large as 18 in the opening half before cruising to the 30-point victory.

With the win, UConn ups its record to a perfect 18-0, while the Tar Heels slip to 17-1.

The Huskies' victory snapped the Tar Heels 31-game winning streak in Chapel Hill and also marked North Carolina's first home loss against a non-conference opponent in 76 games.

Maya Moore (Lawrenceville, Ga.) scored all six of her first-half points in the opening 4:14 of the game as the Huskies ran out to an early 15-4 run. The Tar Heels answered back after a timeout with a 6-0 run of their own in a span of 2:26 as the Huskies missed six scoring opportunities in that span.

But Montgomery took control of the tempo of the game and broke the Tar Heels' scoring sequence by banking a three-pointer near the North Carolina bench to put UConn up 18-12. With 6:26 left in the half, the senior guard picked up her 531st career assist as Lorin Dixon (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) took her pass in the lane for a layup to put the Huskies up 35-23.

Dixon, who made her first start of the season and 12th of her career, netted eight points in the first frame on 3-of-3 shooting as Montgomery led all scorers with 14. Before the break, UConn shot .439 (18-of-41) from the field, including three three-pointers, all of which came from Montgomery. The Tar Heels shot just .382 (13-of-34) in the half as UConn held them scoreless for 3:07 to go into the break with a 46-30 lead.

Rebounding was a key in tonight's game as the Huskies held a huge rebounding advantage in the first half at 30-15. UConn grabbed 13 offensive rebounds opposed to North Carolina's four off their own glass, helping the Huskies to their largest lead of the half at 18 (46-28).

Moore recorded a majority of her numbers in the second half as she picked up two fouls early in the first frame and played just 14 minutes. The sophomore earned her 20th double-double of her career and the ninth of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the Huskies' 18th victory of the season.

Dixon finished the night with a career-high in points and rebounds with 14 and eight, respectively, while picking up a season-high six assists. Junior Tina Charles (Jamaica, N.Y.) netted 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while Kalana Greene (Saint Stephen, S.C.) added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Montgomery's five assists tonight moved her past Laura Lishness into sixth place on UConn's all-time career assist list with 535.

After today’s win, UConn moves to 60-36 all-time vs. Top-10 opponents, while extending its winning streak in non-conference action to 29 games in the regular season.

Prior to tonight's contest UConn had not played in a No. 1-2 battle since posting a 77-65 victory at Duke on Feb. 1, 2003 as the Huskies improve to 8-2 all-time in games featuring the No.1 and No. 2 nationally ranked teams.

UConn will next travel to Cincinnati for a BIG EAST Conference match-up on Saturday, Jan. 24. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. (EST) on CPTV.

SCOREBOARD	1st	2nd		Final
1/1 Connecticut	46	42		88
2/2 North Carolina	30	28		58

 

Postgame Notes

- UConn opens a perfect 18-0 for the second straight season and the seventh time since 1994-95.

- North Carolina represented UConn’s third opponent from the ACC this season – following previous wins over Georgia Tech and Florida State.

- UConn now trails North Carolina in the all-time series 5-4 and has won each of the last two meetings.

- UConn improves to 9-2 all-time in games featuring the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams nationally.

 

- UConn is 6-1 all-time when playing as the No. 1 team in No. 1 vs. No. 2 match ups.

- UConn moves to 6-2 all-time when playing on ESPN’s “Big Monday”.

- UConn moves to 213-83 all-time in the month of January and has won each of its last 19 games played during the month.

- UConn extends its regular-season winning streak to 26 consecutive games.

- UConn moves to 81-9 in its last 90 road games dating back to Feb. 1, 2001.

- UConn improves to 2-0 vs. ranked opponents this season and 132-53 all-time.

- UConn boasts a 31-20 all-time record against ranked team on the road.

- UConn moves to 60-36 all-time vs. Top-10 opponents.

- UConn extends its winning streak in non-conference games to 29 in the regular season.

- UConn moves to 211-11 all-time when playing as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team.

 

- Renee Montgomery's first 3-pointer of the game marked the 200th of her career.

- Renee Montgomery's 21 points marked her 16th game in double-figure points this season and her 26th in the last 28 games overall.

- UConn's win snapped the Tar Heels 31-game winning streak in Chapel Hill.

- UConn's win snapped North Carolina's 76-game winning streak against non-conference opponents at home.

- Maya Moore's 19 points marked her 18th straight game with double-figure points and her 54th in 56 career games

- Tina Charles 12 rebounds represented her sixth game with double-figure rebounds this season and the 34th of her career.

- Lorin Dixon made her first start since Feb. 17, 2008 at Pittsburgh - a span of 28 games.

- Lorin Dixon's eight rebounds marked a career-best effort.

- Lorin Dixon's 34 minutes marked a season high.

- Tonight's attendance of 12,722 marked the largest crowd ever for a North Carolina women's basketball game played in Chapel Hill.

- Tina Charles' 17 points and 12 rebounds marked her fifth double-double this season and the 30th of her career.

- Kalana Greene's 15 points marked her fifth game with double-figure points this season and the 35th of her career.

- Renee Montgomery's 21 points marked her fourth game with 20 or more points over her last seven games and the 19th time on her career.

- Kalana Greene's 15 points marked a season-best effort.

- Maya Moore's 19 points and 12 rebounds marked her team-leading ninth double-double this season and the 20th of her career.

- Renee Montgomery's five assists Laura Lishness into sixth place on the UConn career assist list with her current total of 535. 

- UConn has won each of its 18 games this season by at least an 11-point margin.

- Lorin Dixon's 14 points marked a career high.

- UConn had at least five players register double-figure points for the eighth time in 18 games this season.