UConn Women Head to AAC Championship Game, Beat ECU 106-56

JESSICA HILL — AP Photo

UNCASVILLE — The UConn women’s basketball team completed another rout over a fellow American Athletic Conference team, beating East Carolina University 106-56.

They also set a record in the process for most points ever in the conference tournament.

Behind a game-high 21 points from Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and a 20 point, 6 assist, 5 steal effort from Moriah Jefferson, the Huskies rolled to another conference championship game.

Mosqueda-Lewis kept up her sharp shooting from three, and put herself in the record books along the way as she broke into the top-10 list of made three-pointers in NCAA basketball history.

“I think that I just felt like I was open,” said Mosqueda-Lewis. “The guards on our team did a great job of making sure they were making penetration and finding the open man.”

The UConn starting five propelled the team to a 62-22 lead at the end of the first half. The typically aggressive and athletic Panthers got beat at their own game as the Huskies came out to match their dynamic pace.

“When we play a team that is athletic like this team and is physical like this team, because our guys kick it into another gear, it almost looks like they’re not nearly as athletic as they looked last night,” head coach Geno Auriemma said.

However, the Panthers applied the pressure despite the 40-point deficit and started off the second half by outscoring the Huskies, which included a 7-0 run until Kia Nurse broke it with an and-one move to the basket.

According to ECU head coach Heather Macy, she told the team at halftime to treat the rest of the game as a practice: Work on closeouts, perfect their press, defensive box-outs. The players responded, but it was not enough to quell the UConn offense, which went on to score the most points it had all season.

“Each game we try to make sure we’re doing things better and better so whether it’s defensively, offensively, we definitely try to build on that,” said Mosqueda-Lewis.

UConn got contributions across the board including 16 points and 9 rebounds from Breanna Stewart, 15 points from Morgan Tuck and 12 points from freshman Gabby Williams.

The Huskies will make their second consecutive appearance in the American Athletic Conference championship game Monday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena.