Charles leads No. 1 UConn to 56th straight win with rout of No. 3 Notre Dame

UConn wins 56th straight with rout of Notre Dame

STORRS, Conn. — Tina Charles scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help top-ranked Connecticut rout No. 3 Notre Dame 70-46 on Saturday night for its 56th straight victory.

Maya Moore added 20 points for the Huskies, who have the second longest winning streak in women’s basketball history. They’re 14 short of the NCAA and school record set from 2001-03.

UConn (17-0, 5-0 Big East) has been at its best against top-10 teams during the streak, winning those 10 games by an eye-popping average of 27.1 points.

Devereaux Peters scored 12 to lead the Irish (15-1, 2-1), who had been off to the second best start in school history. Notre Dame started 23-0 en route to the 2001 national title.

The Irish wore their alternate green road jerseys for a little extra luck, but they needed a lot more to beat UConn. Before the sellout crowd could settle into its seats, the Huskies were up 17-2 as four different players scored.

Ashley Barlow finally hit a jumper to end the 5-minute scoreless drought for the Irish, but it wasn’t nearly enough to stop the onslaught.

Charles scored the Huskies’ next nine points on a dazzling array of post moves much to the delight of the Connecticut Sun coaching staff, which had a front-row view. Earlier this week, the Sun traded for the top pick in April’s WNBA draft with Charles most likely the prize.

By the time Notre Dame scored consecutive baskets for the first time with 2:53 left in the half, the Irish trailed 36-14. UConn led 42-19 at the break with Charles scoring 17 points.

Notre Dame, which came into the game averaging 82.4 points, got no closer than 20 in the second half. The Irish shot only 27 percent (18-for-67) from the field for the game, including going 3-for-19 from behind the arc.

The Huskies and Irish were two of four unbeaten teams left in Division I basketball heading into Saturday. Wisconsin-Green Bay (16-0) won earlier in the day, while Nebraska (15-0) plays at Baylor on Sunday.

Connecticut improved to 150-2 in its last 152 Big East home games, including winning the last 37 straight at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies don’t have much time to rest, though, with a trip to No. 7 Duke scheduled for Monday night.

Irish coach Muffet McGraw failed in her first attempt to become the 19th coach in Division I basketball to win 600 games.

Notre Dame has a history of ending notable winning streaks. The Irish stopped Oklahoma’s 47-game winning streak in football in the 1950s, UCLA’s 88-game winning streak in men’s basketball in the 1970s and North Carolina’s 92-game winning streak in women’s soccer in the 1990s.

The Irish will get at least one more chance at UConn when the teams close out the regular season March 1. They could also meet in the Big East and NCAA tournaments.

ESPN brought its “College Gameday” show to Storrs, broadcasting at the site of a women’s basketball game for the first time. More than 3,000 fans showed up Saturday morning to partake in the festivities, including the Huskies’ players — who were holding up signs in the stands with fellow students.

“It’s really unbelievable to think that they would be here at a women’s basketball game,” Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. “It shows how far we’ve come.”