Post-Season Central
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 23 points to lead his top-seeded UConn team to a 91-55 win over Rutgers Monday night at Gampel Pavilion. Moriah Jefferson added 19 points and Morgan Tuck had 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Huskies (34-1), who won their 33rd consecutive game and 79th in 80 tries.
UConn, which is trying to win its 10th national championship and third in row, is now 99-17 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Tyler Scaife had 16 points for eighth-seeded Rutgers (23-10), which was in its first NCAA Tournament since 2012.
The Huskies had a 20-point lead at the half and added to the lead after the Scarlet Knights lost guard Briyona Canty to a knee injury less than two minutes into the second half. The junior twisted her left knee while coming down from a layup attempt. She was starting in place of Big Ten defensive player of the year Syessence Davis, who tore her left MCL in the Big Ten Tournament. Mosqueda-Lewis hit one of her five 3-pointers to cap a 14-2 run over the first five minutes of the second half and put the game out of reach.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma (913) and Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer (952) have combined for 1865 wins, the most ever by two coaches sharing the floor in an NCAA Tournament game. Mosqueda-Lewis now needs just six 3-pointers to tie the NCAA Division I record of 392. She also needs just 11 points to pass Rebecca Lobo (2,133) and move into seventh place among program scorers. The senior also is just eight minutes shy of becoming the 11th UConn player to play 4,000 career minutes.
UConn faces No. 5 seed Texas on March 28 in the regional semifinal in Albany. The Longhorns beat fourth-seeded California 73-70.