CHAMP CENTRAL
BOX SCORE
NOTES
QUOTES
HIGHLIGHTS
PHOTO GALLERY
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Freshman Katie Lou Samuelson scored a game-high 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, as top-ranked and top-seeded UConn advanced to the American Athletic Conference Championship final for the third straight year with a 82-35 win against Tulane Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Huskies will face the winner of Sunday’s second semifinal between No. 2-seeded USF and No. 3-seeded Temple in Monday’s championship final. That game will be at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN2 as the Huskies look for their third straight American Athletic Conference title.
UConn (31-0) finished with a 41-17 rebounding advantage and committed only four fouls in holding Tulane to 35 points. The Huskies had a 10-0 scoring advantage at the free throw line on their way to their 68th consecutive victory. It was the second time in as many meetings with Tulane that the Huskies did not allow the Green Wave to attempt a free throw.
UConn was sharp from the outset Sunday as the Huskies scored the first 14 points of the game, built a 28-5 lead after the first quarter and led by 36 at halftime (50-14). Samuelson scored five of the first 10 points for UConn, and she set up Breanna Stewart’s layup with 5:10 left, which gave the Huskies a 14-0 lead.
Morgan Tuck finished with 15 points and five assists for UConn, while Kia Nurse added 12 points. Stewart, the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, had nine points with six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and three steals in 19 minutes.
Tulane, which fell to 21-11, was led by Courtnie Latham, who had 11 points and three assists. The Green Wave reached the semifinal round of The American Championship for the second straight year.