No. 3 Stanford Women Fall to No. 2 UConn
HARTFORD, Conn. (CBS / AP) -- Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 25 points and Bria Hartley added 19 to help No. 2 Connecticut beat third-ranked Stanford 68-58 on Monday night.
The pair carried the Huskies (3-0) for the first 25 minutes as the rest of UConn couldn't make a shot.
Trailing by six at the half, Stanford (3-1) went on a 10-2 run to start the second half, led by Nnemkadi Ogwumike. Her layup gave Stanford a 36-34 lead. UConn answered as Stefanie Dolson hit a layup—ending an 0-for-24 drought by the other Huskies to start the game—that began a 15-6 burst.
After Dolson's jumper, Hayes, who missed her first 10 shots, made a layup and a 3-pointer. Hartley's layup capped the run and made it 51-42 with 9:19 left. Stanford could only get within six the rest of the game.
Ogwumike scored 22 points and freshman Jasmine Camp added a career-best 14 to lead the Cardinal.
These two teams have developed a vigorous rivalry over the past few years. Before Monday, they had played five times in the last three seasons with three of those meetings coming in the Final Four. UConn beat Stanford for the 2010 national championship and the Cardinal ended the Huskies' NCAA record 90-game winning streak last December.
Stanford had a chance to end another streak as the Huskies had won NCAA record 85 straight home games, including 41 in a row at the XL Center. The Huskies, who last lost at home in the 2007 Big East championship game, wouldn't let that one end spurred on by the 13,771 fans, which included UConn great Sue Bird.
This is the earliest these two powerhouses have met on the schedule and it was a chance for UConn to see where it stood against a top opponent. After two easy victories to start the season, this was UConn's first test since Maya Moore graduated. The four-time All-America and two-time player of year, who helped lead the Minnesota Lynx to a WNBA title this past summer, was at the game, shadowing ESPN commentator Rebecca Lobo.
Without their all-time leading scorer, UConn got off to a slow start. The Huskies missed their first 10 shots and trailed Stanford 5-2 before freshman Mosqueda-Lewis took over. She made a driving layup 6 minutes into the game for UConn's first basket.
She followed that up with a 3-pointer as UConn went on an 8-0 run over the next 5 minutes.
After Stanford took a 21-19 lead on Camp's jumper, Lewis and Hartley combined for all the points during a 13-2 burst. Lewis capped the run with a 3-pointer. UConn led 32-26 at the break.
She finished with 19 points at the half and Hartley had 11. The two were 12 for 18 while the rest of the Huskies were 0 for 17. Lewis had 25 points in UConn's win over Pacific.
Ogwumike picked up two quick fouls and played just six minutes in the first half.
Both teams honored Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke and his assistant Miranda Serna who were killed in a plane crash Thursday night. UConn players wore an Oklahoma State logo above the Nike swoosh on their jersey and Stanford players wore orange shoelaces and ribbons in their hair. Both coaching staffs also had orange ribbons on in support. There was a moment of silence before the game.
Stanford freshman Alex Green will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured left Achilles tendon. She was injured late Friday during practice and didn't travel to Connecticut. The Cardinal were also missing junior Mikaela Ruef, who was sidelined with quad injury.
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