Top-ranked UConn women win in 1st visit to Xavier 83-32
CINCINNATI (AP) — Christyn Williams scored 22 points and No. 1 Connecticut breezed in its first visit to Xavier, 83-32 on Saturday for its eighth straight win.
High-scoring Paige Bueckers and Olivia Nelson-Odoba each added 11 points for the Huskies (18-1, 15-0 Big East).
UConn led 42-13 at halftime and Bueckers didn’t score after the break. She had seven assists.
Aaliyah Edwards had 16 points for the Huskies, whose only loss was to then-No. 19 Arkansas 90-87 on Jan. 28.
The win was Connecticut’s second over Xavier (4-7, 1-6) this season. Connecticut, which returned to the top ranking earlier this week, cruised past the Musketeers 106-59 on Dec. 19.
Carrie Gross scored 10 points to lead Xavier, which set a season low in scoring.
As coach Geno Auriemma watched with his arms folded across his chest most of the time, the Huskies never trailed. The game was tied at 2 for little over a minute in the first quarter before UConn ran off 12 straight points.
Connecticut’s active man-to-man defense forced Xavier into a season-high 18 turnovers, and the Huskies enjoyed huge advantages of 29-2 in points off turnovers and 28-9 in fast-break points.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Xavier: Senior forward A’riana Gray was attended by trainers and led off the floor after suffering a head injury in a collision with a teammate with 7:26 left in the third quarter. She returned with 1:04 left in the quarter.
UP NEXT
Connecticut: The Huskies’ road trip is scheduled to continue on Thursday at Creighton.
Xavier: The Musketeers are scheduled to play at Butler on Monday.
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More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
