Friday, Nov. 26 4:00pm ET
Huskies run away from Monarchs
 
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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- She was perfect in the first half, nearly flawless in the second, and according to at least one teammate, Connecticut's Shea Ralph is "contagious."

From Old Dominion's vantage point, however, there was no catching her on Friday when thetop-ranked Huskies routed the Lady Monarchs (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) 109-66. Ralph led all scorers with 23 points, getting most of them in the Huskies' speedy transition game.

"I noticed they weren't getting back a lot and I would release early," Ralph said. "I had confidence in our guys that they would hit the boards. I want my team to be able to depend on me to be a solid player."

Teammate Sue Bird, who had a game-high 10 assists, said Ralph sets the standard for rest of the team.

"We kind of just feed off that," Bird said. "When you play with great players, you just have to get the ball to them."

Ralph was 6-for-6 shooting in the first half and had eight points in a 20-4 spurt as the Huskies (3-0) raced to a 21-6 lead. The Lady Monarchs (2-1) never recovered, going 12 for 34 in the first half and missing all three attempts from the free throw line.

The 43-point losing margin was the worst in ODU history and the most ever scored against the Lady Monarchs.

UConn led by as many as 35 points with 4:21 left in the half and took a 62-32 lead at the break after shooting nearly 68 percent. Not much changed in the second half, when the Huskies kept up a blistering offensive pace.

They shot 64 percent for the game, getting 38 points off the fastbreak.

"I feel like I know how Atlanta felt when Sherman went through," said ODU coach Wendy Larry. "(UConn) had intensity, focus, finish. The way they played in the first half, I've seen very few teams like that."

Ralph didn't miss a shot until 12:16 in the second half and was 8-for-8 to that point. Her first eight points of the second half fueled an 18-8 run as the Huskies extended the lead to 80-41.

She said the team was still on an emotional high after beating Kentucky on Wednesday. The Huskies shot 38 percent and trailed early in that game.

"After Kentucky, our confidence level went throughout the roof," Ralph said.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said he expected the Huskies to score as early as possible on Friday.

"I told them if (ODU) presses, we were going to try and score within 10 seconds off the shot clock," he said. "We're such a pass-oriented team. We're unselfish, but we have some gifted players that have to take advantage of that more often. Today they did. We walked through their press."

Kennitra Johnson finished with 17 points for UConn. Lucienne Berthieu led the Lady Monarchs with 14 points. UConn outrebounded ODU 49-58, led by seven boards each from Asjha Jones and Svetlana Abrosimova.

UConn leads the series 2-1. Both teams have been ranked in the top 25 for each meeting.

Friday's win was for the title in the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge. Clemson won the consolation game, beating Kentucky 70-65. Ralph was voted tournament MVP.

The Huskies last scored 100 points or more last February in a 105-43 romp over Syracuse.

 


ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard

Old Dominion Clubhouse

Connecticut Clubhouse


AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Tamika Williams leads the break for the Huskies.
avi: 800 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 UConn's Shea Ralph draws the charge on the baseline.
avi: 628 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1