UConn beats Syracuse 87-66 for 67th straight win behind Moore’s 38 points and 20 rebounds

Moore leads UConn over SU 87-66

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Maya Moore had a season-high 38 points and a career-high 20 rebounds to help top-ranked Connecticut beat Syracuse 87-66 on Wednesday night for its 67th straight victory.

Tiffany Hayes added 22 points for the Huskies (28-0, 14-0 Big East), who have beaten Syracuse (19-8, 6-8) 18 straight times and are within three of tying their own NCAA record for consecutive wins at 70. UConn, which has won every game by double digits during its remarkable run, also is within two games of its sixth undefeated regular season. The Huskies finish against two ranked teams: No. 13 Georgetown at home and at No. 7 Notre Dame. They have won all 20 of their games against ranked opponents during the streak by an average of 26 points.

Moore became just the second Connecticut player to reach the 30-point, 20-rebound threshold in a single game. Rebecca Lobo had 32 points and 21 rebounds against Boston College on Feb. 16, 1994.

Erica Morrow, the Orange’s second-leading scorer, was ejected for fighting with 12:00 left after colliding with Hayes and taking a swing during a scramble for a loose ball. NCAA rules state that a player ejected for fighting will serve a one-game suspension.

The Huskies are so powerful they didn’t even need much of a contribution from their leading scorer. Tina Charles had a season-low three points, getting her only basket of the game with 13:30 remaining. That moved her into a tie with Lobo for fifth place on the school’s all-time scoring list at 2,133 points.

Morrow, Juanita Ward, and Elashier Hall each had 11 points to lead Syracuse. Nicole Michael, who was riding a streak of three straight double-doubles and had averaged 19.1 points and 10.6 rebounds in the Orange’s previous seven games, had just nine points and four rebounds.

Hayes and Moore combined for 37 points in the first half to help the Huskies pull away from the overmatched Orange.

Hayes scored 10 straight points to put UConn up by double digits in less than 7 minutes of play. She completed her personal streak with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and a fastbreak layup to give the Huskies a 19-9 lead at 13:21.

Syracuse rallied with a 10-4 run, and Michael’s 3 from the top of the key had the Orange back within 23-19 midway through the period.

That’s as close as Syracuse would get the remainder of the game. Hayes and Moore combined for 10 points as Connecticut closed the half with a 15-6 spurt and led 49-33 at the break.

In the opening period, UConn limited Syracuse to 36.4 percent shooting (12 of 33), held a 24-10 edge in the paint, and did not allow any second-chance points in dominating the boards 30-11, 10-2 on the offensive end.

That was enough for Syracuse men’s coach Jim Boeheim, who was seated at one end of the Carrier Dome court that bears his name. He left at halftime.

In their previous meeting a year ago, Moore hit 10 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points as UConn beat Syracuse 107-53 in Hartford.

Afterward, Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma had to be pulled away from Michael by assistant coach Shea Ralph, and when Auriemma went back through the line to leave the court, Michael appeared to step in his direction, and he tripped over her foot. Auriemma was then led away by his players.

Auriemma also received a technical foul with just over 6 minutes left and his team up 56 points for screaming about Syracuse’s physical play. The Huskies tied a Big East record with 18 3-pointers in that game.