American Conference/ Ben Solomon

Women's Basketball

No. 1 UConn Advances To Fifth-Straight American Athletic Conference Championship Game In Record-Setting Win Over No. 4 Cincinnati

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 1 seed UConn will compete in its fifth consecutive American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship game and meet No. 2 seed USF for the fourth-straight year after a 75-21 Semifinals win over No. 4 seed Cincinnati at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Huskies are the four-time defending conference champion and have won 45 overall league titles, advancing to the NCAA Final Four for 10 straight years, winning the national championship 11 times.


 
UConn and USF will battle for The American title on Tuesday, March 6 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The championship game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
 
The Huskies held the Bearcats to scoring the fewest points, field goals and shooting the lowest field goal percentage in American Athletic Conference Championship history. UConn shot 48 percent from the floor, as Azurá Stevens led UConn with a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds. Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson and Crystal Dangerfield joined her in double-digit scoring.
 
The Huskies shot 44 percent from the field in the opening quarter, while holding the Bearcats to just two field goals. Cincinnati went scoreless for the final 4:39 of the quarter, as the Huskies jumped out to an early 17-5 lead.
 
UConn leveraged its strong defensive presence into the second quarter and became the first team in conference history to hold an opponent scoreless through an entire frame. The Huskies continued a 34-0 run from the first quarter to enter the locker room with a 43-5 lead. Cincinnati’s five points are the fewest allowed in American Athletic Conference Championship history.
 
Stevens and Samuelson combined for 25 points at the break, as UConn led 29-9 in rebounds and had 17 points off 11 forced turnovers in the first half.
 
UConn expanded its scoring run to 38-0 in the third quarter with field goals from Dangerfield and    Collier. Cincinnati’s Shanice Johnson made a 3-pointer at the 8:37 mark to break the 16-minute drought. The Huskies allowed only 12 more points for the rest of the contest, as they shot 43 percent from the floor and led by at least 39 points until the final buzzer.