At one point in Sunday's first-round matchup between No. 16 Prairie View A&M and No. 1 UConn, the Huskies led 21-2. This development surprised absolutely no one because while A&M might have some success behind the arc, the reality is that they had absolutely no chance against the nation's best team playing on its home court.
By the time it was over, UConn had cruised to an 87-44 win and will face St. Joseph's Tuesday in the Round of 32.
Five Huskies scored in double figures, led by sophomore forward Breanna Stewart, who had 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 28 minutes of work. Bria Hartley (16), Moriah Jefferson (14), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (13) and Stefanie Dolson (11) followed on the scoring sheet, and Kiah Stokes came off the bench to add 10 rebounds.
"To be able to come into this game and have everyone contribute in some way is only going to help us going forward, it makes us hard to guard," said Stewart in what could be the understatement of the season.
After that 21-2 start, the Huskies began the second half on a 16-0 run and led 73-23 at one point.
"We really wanted to come out and we were excited to play so I think we really wanted to get out to a good start," Hartley said, giving Stewart competition for understatement of the season.
According to the Associated Press, the Huskies, making their 26th straight tournament appearance, have made the regional semifinals 20 consecutive times since losing to Louisville in the first round back in 1993. And coach Geno Auriemma's 92 tournament wins leaves him 20 behind Pat Summit for the most of any coach. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is third with 81.
