UConn set a tournament record for points in a game and overall records for points in a period (55 in the first) and a half (94 in the first).
The Connecticut women’s team was in an online group chat while watching the Maryland-Baltimore County men upset top-seeded Virginia on Friday night in the first round of the N. C. A. tournament.
The players assured one another that they were not going to let anything similar happen to them. All upset hopes ended in the first few minutes on Saturday in Storrs, Conn.
Azura Stevens scored 26 points to lead six UConn players in double figures, and the No. 1 Huskies opened their tournament with a record-setting 140-52 rout of 16th-seeded St. Francis of Pennsylvania.
“Watching a No. 1 go down kind of motivated us to kind of come out from the start to be ready to go,” said Stevens, who also had 10 rebounds.
UConn (33-0) set a tournament record for points in a game and overall records for points in a period (55 in the first) and a half (94 in the first). The 88-point margin of victory, however, was only the second-biggest in tournament history: Baylor beat Texas Southern by 89 in 2017.
The previous record for points in a tournament game was 121.
Kia Nurse finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies, who shot 65 percent from the field (73.6 percent in the first half) and outscored St. Francis by 96-10 in the paint. Napheesa Collier had 25 points and 9 assists.
Haley Thomas scored 12 points for the Red Flash (24-10), who fell to 0-12 in the N. C. A. tournament, including three losses to UConn. Jessica Kovatch, who came in as the nation’s second-leading scorer at just under 25 points per game, finished with 9, all in the second half.
“There was only one chance that we would have had to come close in this game, and that was going to be to shoot a million 3s and hope that they go in,” St. Francis Coach Joe Haigh said. “So we shot a million 3s, and we didn’t make them.”
The Red Flash attempted 57 shots from behind the arc, making just 10.
UConn is looking for its 12th national title and fifth in six years. The Huskies have not lost in the opening round since 1993.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in anything quite like that,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said. He added, “I thought we just took advantage of all the things that were available to us the entire game.”
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 78, L. S. U. 69 Tinara Moore scored 25 points to help 11th-seeded Central Michigan beat sixth-seeded Louisiana State in Columbus, Ohio, for its first win in the women’s N. C. A. tournament.
The Chippewas (29-4), who had lost in their first three trips to the tournament, dominated inside, outrebounding the Tigers, 40-27, and creating more second chances. Reyna Frost finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Central Michigan.
Chloe Jackson scored 24 points for L. S. U. (19-10), which was making its 26th appearance in the tournament.
BUFFALO 102, SOUTH FLORIDA 79 Cierra Dillard scored a career-high 36 points, and 11th-seeded Buffalo got its first victory in the women’s N. C. A. tournament as it defeated sixth-seeded South Florida in Tallahassee, Fla.
Buffalo (28-5), making its second tournament appearance, was 14 of 27 from the 3-point line, including 7 of 13 by Dillard.
Kitija Laksa led South Florida (26-8) with 28 points.
DUKE 72, BELMONT 58 Leaonna Odom scored a career-high 25 points, including 9 in Duke’s dominant third period, and the fifth-seeded Blue Devils defeated 12th-seeded Belmont in Athens, Ga., for their 24th consecutive first-round victory.
Duke (23-8) led by only 32-31 at halftime but outscored Belmont, 21-9, in the third period. Rebecca Greenwell, who had 18 points, opened the third with a layup and closed the quarter by sinking a 3-pointer to give Duke a 53-40 lead.
Kylie Smith scored 20 points to lead the Bruins (31-4), whose 22-game winning streak ended as they were denied in their bid for their first N. C. A. tournament win.
QUINNIPIAC 86, MIAMI 72 Jen Fay led a balanced Quinnipiac offense with 19 points, and the ninth-seeded Bobcats beat eighth-seeded Miami in Storrs, Conn., eliminating the Hurricanes from the tournament for the second consecutive season.
Paula Strautmane added 15 points and Edel Thornton and Carly Fabbri each had 14 for Quinnipiac (28-5), which extended its winning streak to 23 games, a team record.
Next up for Quinnipiac is a game against its in-state neighbor UConn, in the first meeting between the teams in 20 years.
Erykah Davenport led all scorers with 21 points for Miami (21-11), which lost to Quinnipiac in the second round last year.
OHIO ST. 87, GEORGE WASHINGTON 45 Stephanie Mavunga scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as third-seeded Ohio State routed No. 14 George Washington.
Alexa Hart had 12 points and Kelsey Mitchell added 11 points and 7 rebounds as the Buckeyes (28-6), playing at home in Columbus, never trailed, took off in the second half and overwhelmed the Colonials (19-14), who had earned a tournament bid by winning the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Ohio State will play Central Michigan on Monday.
Briana Cummings led George Washington with 14 points, and Neila Luma had 12 before fouling out late in the game. The Colonials shot only 27.3 percent, compared with Ohio State’s 56 percent.
FLORIDA STATE 91, LITTLE ROCK 49 Shakayla Thomas scored 26 points as third-seeded Florida State, playing in front of a home crowd in Tallahassee, routed 14th-seeded Little Rock.
Thomas, a senior forward playing in her 12th N. C. A. tournament game, was 11 of 15 from the field in 19 minutes as she surpassed her previous tournament high of 23 points. She scored Florida State’s first 6 points and had 16 in the first half as the Seminoles took a 53-30 lead.
The Seminoles (26-6), who were 35 of 60 from the field, put the game out of reach by going on a 23-0 run during an eight-minute stretch in the second and third quarters.
The Trojans (23-10) allowed a season high in points. They had entered the game sixth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 52.
