UConn wins NCAA record 71st straight game, surpassing own record with 59-44 victory over ND

UConn wins NCAA record 71st straight game

HARTFORD, Conn. — The Connecticut Huskies didn’t celebrate after the game. Just another night’s work for coach Geno Auriemma’s latest dynasty.

After their ho-hum 59-44 win over Notre Dame put them in the championship of the Big East tournament on Monday night, the Huskies just shook hands with the Irish — same as they have after pretty much every other game during their incredible streak.

No, the Huskies weren’t all that excited about their record-setting 71st straight victory. Even though they broke an NCAA mark held by a previous UConn dynasty for most consecutive victories in women’s college basketball.

Now if UConn can extend that streak to 72 on Tuesday night against No. 9 West Virginia in the title game, maybe then Tina Charles, Maya Moore and the rest of the Huskies will get excited.

“I can’t think anything is more important than winning and playing in the Big East championship for these kids,” Auriemma said.

Auriemma conceded that his team may reflect a little bit between the Big East tournament and the NCAAs.

“I want to keep the focus where it is,” Auriemma said. “Wednesday, Thursday, Friday — probably until we get to the NCAA tournament may be a little bit of a look back for everybody. But then you’ve got to get back to focusing on the things that are important.”

UConn surpassed its own mark set from Nov. 9, 2001, to March 11, 2003. Unlike that amazing run, which ended in a loss in the Big East conference tournament semifinals to Villanova, this Huskies team has thoroughly dominated its opponents in every game, winning all of them by double digits.

“After the season, the last game we play we can look back and see what we’ve done,” said Kalana Greene, who scored 15 points. “You don’t want to celebrate about wins. We don’t plan on our season being over any time soon.”

The Huskies (32-0) are just seven wins away from a seventh national championship and becoming the first team to have back-to-back undefeated seasons.

Even top teams haven’t posed much of a challenge for the Huskies since they beat Georgia Tech to start this run on Nov. 16, 2008.

With Monday’s win over Notre Dame (27-5), UConn improved to 13-0 against top-10 opponents, winning by an average of 26.2 points. Even second-ranked Stanford lost by 12 when the teams met in late December.

UConn has rarely even trailed during its streak. The Huskies have been behind for a total 86 minutes in the 71 games. It’s been even more uncommon for UConn to be down in the second half — only facing a deficit three times after intermission. None of those scares lasted long. There hasn’t been a need for any late-game rallies or last-second shots by the Huskies.

Notre Dame kept this one close for a half.

UConn only led 25-22 at the break — its lowest scoring output in nearly three years. The Huskies then asserted themselves, led be Greene.

The senior hit just one of eight shots in the first 20 minutes, but scored the first four points of a decisive 13-4 run that gave UConn a 49-35 lead with 9:00 left. Moore’s deep 3-pointer capped the spurt.

Notre Dame, which was led by Skylar Diggins’ 10 points, was only able to close to 10.

Even with the incredible numbers that this team has put up, Auriemma is still partial to the 2002 team that started its previous record streak. Those Huskies, led by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, featured four of the first six picks in the WNBA draft.

“I think that group would beat this group,” he said. “But that’s not important because they’ll never have to play each other.”

Bird and Ashja Jones, who also played on the 2002 team, were in the XL Center for the quarterfinals on Sunday.

The mood Monday was tempered when Huskies guard Caroline Doty caught an elbow from Ashley Barlow in the head with a minute left. She was on the ground with the training staff huddled around her for a few minutes before she woozily got up.

“She may have a concussion, we’re not sure,” Auriemma said. “We’ll evaluate her. If she has a concussion she’s not playing tomorrow.”

Connecticut had already beaten Notre Dame twice during the regular season — including a 25-point win in South Bend seven days ago. But the Irish have a history of ending notable winning streaks.

Notre Dame 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.

For 20 minutes it looked as if Notre Dame might have some of that luck. It was a sloppy first half as neither team could put together a sustained run. The Huskies took their biggest lead of the half on Doty’s 3-pointer with 8:37 left that made it 19-14. Notre Dame answered scoring six of the next eight points to close within one.

They had plenty of chances to take the lead, but couldn’t get over the hump.

“We got embarrassed the first two games and wanted to play to our potential today,” said Diggins, who scored all her points in the first half. “We had little lapses. They are a great team and we know that.”

Three of the Irish’s five losses this season have come to UConn.