2019 Women's Basketball Championship Highlights - #1 UConn 92, #8 ECU 65

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – UConn forward Napheesa Collier registered a double-double of 37 points (15-20) and 13 rebounds to power the top-seeded Huskies past No. 8-seed ECU 92-65 in Saturday’s quarterfinals of the 2019 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championships at Mohegan Sun Arena. UConn, which has won every American women’s basketball title, will take on No. 5-seed USF in the semifinals Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2. UConn and USF have previously squared off in the past four conference championship games. Olivia Nelson-Ododa tied The American’s tournament record with 17 rebounds, while Collier’s 15 field goals bested the conference’s championship mark set by Tulsa’s Crystal Polk in 2018. The Huskies’ 51 rebounds are the second-most registered in conference history. Along with Collier, Crystal Dangerfield (16 points), Christyn Williams (16 points) and Megan Walker (14 points) each reached double figures in points. Walker also had 10 rebounds to join Collier in earning a double-double. Shooting 53 percent in the game, UConn led 51-26 in rebounds and tallied 52 points in the paint. Lashonda Monk led ECU with 20 points. Collier reached double-digits in the opening quarter, scoring 13 points (4-5) to fuel UConn’s 47 percent shooting percentage. Leading 15-13, Collier tallied seven-straight points to hand the Huskies a 22-13 lead. However, ECU used a 9-2 run through the final two minutes of the first quarter, capped by Monk’s buzzer-beater layup to make it a one-possession game (24-22). The Pirates shot 48 percent in the opening frame. UConn responded with an 11-0 run to open the second quarter with Collier accounting for nine points during that surge. ECU scored the next six points, including a trey from Monk, to close the gap to six (35-28). The Pirates got within five points before Nelson-Ododa beat the buzzer inside for two in the paint to give UConn a 46-39 edge at halftime. Collier finished the half with a double-double of 29 points (11-13) and 10 rebounds. Monk led the Pirates with 15 points at the break. UConn ended the half with 24 points in the paint and a 28-14 rebounding advantage. Dangerfield, Walker and Collier each scored a layup to start the second half, expanding the Huskies’ lead to 52-39. Nelson-Ododa registered four blocks in the third frame to help hold the Pirates to shooting 28 percent in the third quarter. UConn shot 43-percent from the floor in the frame, outscoring ECU 21-11 in to enter the fourth quarter with a 67-50 lead, matching their largest lead of the game so far. The Huskies carried the energy into the final frame scoring their first eight field goals to jump out to an 83-63 lead. UConn shot 75 percent (12-16) in the fourth quarter ending the game on a 9-0 run, while holding ECU without a point through the final 3:42. Fans can watch the entire tournament on ESPN platforms, including ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPN2. For more information on and continuing coverage of the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/wbb.