Huskies Win Big in Big East Quarterfinals

Kalana Greene scored a season-high 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and top-ranked Connecticut rolled over South Florida 79-42 Sunday in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

Greene, whose previous high was 17 against Rutgers on Monday, had 18 by halftime when UConn led 47-10. She hit nine of her 10 shots from the field.

Maya Moore, the conference player of the year, had a double-double in the first half and finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds in 27 minutes. Tina Charles added 15 points and Kaili McLaren had 13 for the Huskies (31-0), who are seeking their 15th conference tournament title and second in a row.

Janai Stokes led eighth-seeded South Florida (22-10) with 15. Jazmine Sepulveda, who tied a tournament record with eight 3-pointers in the Bulls' second-round win over Cincinnati, attempted just two shots and didn't score on Sunday.

Connecticut started fast, and a lob pass from McLaren to Moore made it 20-1 with just over 12 minutes left in the first half.

South Florida didn't get a field goal until Porche Grant hit a layup with just over 9 minutes left in first half to make it 25-5. The Bulls were just 3-of-24 from the field in the first half, while the Huskies had runs of 10-0, 10-0 and 13-0 before halftime.

The 10 points were the fewest the Huskies had ever allowed in one half of a Big East tournament game.

UConn, which beat South Florida 83-37 in Tampa on Jan. 6, held South Florida to 29 percent shooting and improved to 8-0 against the Bulls. The Huskies shot 50 percent, and outrebounded South Florida 51-19.

They earned their 21st consecutive trip to the semifinals, where they will play Villanova. The Wildcats beat No. 20 Notre Dame 58-47 earlier Sunday.

UConn won it Big East regular season games by an average of 29 points, prompting Villanova coach Harry Perretta to joke Sunday that he had given the Huskies permission to "kick the crap out of us" on Monday.

UConn is now 41-4 in Big East tournament play, and has not lost an opening game since being beaten by Boston College in the 1988 quarterfinals.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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