TAMPA, Fla.- Geno Auriemma’s 12-time national champion UConn Huskies visited the Yuengling Center on Tuesday evening for the first time since February 2020. The difference is that Michelle Woods-Baxter, and not Jose Fernandez, who was saluted for his 25 years at USF before tipoff, paced in front of the home bench. The outcome, though, was pretty much the same as the Bulls fell 85-51 in front of an announced 5,863.
UConn hit its first four shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, to take a 10-0 lead. The Bulls (5-4) then went on a 6-0 run to come within four, which was as close as they got against the No. 1 Huskies, who closed out the opening quarter on a 19-4 run to take a 29-10 lead. The Bulls shot only 22 percent in the first half (6-for-27), at which they trailed 48-16.
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L’or Mputu led the Bulls with 12 points. Sarah Strong’s 14 points led four Huskies in double figures. The 2024-25 Big East freshman of the year also had a game-high 10 rebounds and four assists.
The Bulls are now 22-105 against ranked opponents and have lost all 35 meetings to UConn, including 13 at the Yuengling Center. The Huskies moved to 143-0 versus teams from the American Conference, which they were a member of from 2013-14 through 2019-20 before returning to the Big East where they have since won every regular season and tournament title.
The Bulls have four non-conference games remaining beginning with a visit from Houston Christian on Friday morning (11 a.m.) and begin conference play December 30 against Rice at the Yuengling Center.
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