Moore leads No. 1 UConn to 47th consecutive win, beats former player Rizzotti and Hartford

No. 1 UConn wins 47th in a row, beats Hartford

STORRS, Conn. — Maya Moore scored 22 points and top-ranked Connecticut cruised to an 80-45 victory over Hartford on Thursday, extending its winning streak to 47 games.

The junior passed Swin Cash into 12th place on the school’s scoring list with a 3-pointer 6 minutes into the second half. She also had eight rebounds, six assists and four steals while playing just 25 minutes.

Caroline Doty had 13 points, Tiffany Hayes had 12 and Tina Charles added 10 points for the Huskies (8-0).

Diana Delva led Hartford with 13 points. The Hawks, (5-2) coached by former UConn point guard Jen Rizzotti, beat a ranked Louisville team earlier this season and its only other loss came to Providence.

The Huskies are 11-0 against the Hawks and have beaten them by an average of 26 points in each game.

Auriemma’s teams are 25-0 against in-state competition.

The Huskies used a stifling defense to jump out to a 19-4 lead. Hartford had seven shots from the floor in the first 7 minutes and missed them all. The Hawks also had seven early turnovers, while UConn had six offensive rebounds.

Ruthanne Doherty made Hartford’s first field goal almost 7½ minutes into the game. The Hawks shot just 35 percent from the floor.

Moore, who played center at times against the undersized Hawks, had 15 points and six rebounds at halftime, and UConn led 44-16.

UConn scored the first seven points of the second half, and Rizzotti picked up a technical foul.

The Hawks responded with an 11-4 run, but never challenged the Huskies, who quickly built the lead back to 30 at 59-29.

UConn has not won a game this season by fewer than 25 points. Its 47 game winning streak is the third longest in the history of Division I women’s basketball.

Erica Beverly had four rebounds for Hartford, becoming the school’s all-time leading rebounder.

Charles left the game 3½ minutes into the second half when Beverly blocked a shot that hit her in the mouth. She did not return.

This was the fifth game of a seven-game homestand, and plays Iona on Dec. 20, before a much anticipated showdown with No. 2 Stanford on Dec. 23.