Maya Moore has been watching the Connecticut women\u2019s basketball team intently, cheering for it to keep winning.
The former Huskies great, who was instrumental in the previous 90-game winning streak, hopes that this team can keep its record run going and shatter the mark her group set a few years ago.
\u201cI don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s their streak and we have our streak. We all kind of share everything this school accomplishes,\u201d Moore said.
\u201cI\u2019ve watched them play a couple of times. They are the same UConn, same unselfish passing. I\u2019m proud of who they are and who they can be. That\u2019s why I want them to succeed. If they were doing things differently, things might be different.\u201d
Moore remembered the buildup when her Huskies were chasing the UCLA men\u2019s record of 88 consecutive wins in 2010. There was so much more \u201coutside noise\u201d as they approached the vaunted mark with comparisons between men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball, and questions whether the Huskies were good for the sport.
Moore said Coach Geno Auriemma did a tremendous job keeping the team focused on the task at hand \u2013 winning the next game \u2013 instead of focusing on the bigger picture or paying any attention to those outside the team\u2019s inner circle.
\u201cThe coaches did such a good job of shielding us from it,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing undefeated and the streak weren\u2019t our main focus. We didn\u2019t want to get swayed from the ultimate goal of playing great basketball. At the same time you knew what was there. You wanted to win and I think for us, it really brought out the best in us. We wanted to play well; our freshmen had to grow up fast.\u201d
The Huskies, led by Moore, didn\u2019t see their streak last much longer after topping UCLA\u2019s mark against Florida State. They lost to Stanford nine days later.
\u201cIt was such a big deal to us when we did it,\u201d Moore said. \u201cMaybe not in the moment but looking back, it\u2019s such a legacy-defining accomplishment. The first to win 90 games in a row. Big picture, no one can take away from that streak, that time together, the uniqueness of that group we had over those games.\u201d
This current run that UConn is on should go a lot longer. The team equaled the record mark Tuesday night in a rout of No. 20 South Florida. That game was over nearly as quickly as it started. UConn scored the first nine points and rolled to a 102-37 victory \u2013 the biggest victory over a ranked opponent in school history. While Auriemma and his players have been reticent to talk about the streak, they did celebrate the accomplishment after the game.
\u201cSome things you just can\u2019t really explain, you just have to enjoy it,\u201d Auriemma said. \u201cWe don\u2019t set out to do these kinds of things. We don\u2019t set out to set records, break records or keep track of records. We set out to play as hard as we can, play with as much energy as we can.\u201d
With about two minutes left in the game, fans were given signs that read \u201c90 and counting\u201d on one side. On the other was: \u201cThe Two longest win streaks in college basketball.\u201d
When the final buzzer sounded, the players put on T-shirts celebrating the accomplishment. A video played with well wishes from former players, including Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck, who were key for the first 75 wins of the current run.
\u201cI thought our record was safe,\u201d Moore said. \u201cBut then as I saw the last graduating class, as well as how the current players continued to develop, I thought they had a good chance to catch us.\u201d
The Huskies should break their record Saturday at SMU. They haven\u2019t lost an American Athletic Conference game since joining the new league in 2013-14. So the only real potential obstacle before the NCAA tournament is a home game against No. 5 South Carolina on Feb. 13. That would be the school\u2019s 100th consecutive victory.
Auriemma has said repeatedly that the streak will end sometime. He set up the schedule this year with test after test for his young squad. Seven of UConn\u2019s first 12 games featured opponents ranked in the Top 25, including at No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Baylor and at No. 4 Maryland. The Huskies passed all of those exams to keep the run going.
\u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t sit here and figure out how many games we\u2019re going to win in a row,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done it before.\u201d
Before the 90-game run that Moore helped accomplish from 2008-10, UConn ran off 70 straight from 2001-03. Who\u2019s to say there won\u2019t be another one when this streak ends?
\u201cAs long as Coach Auriemma is there,\u201d Moore said, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised by anything they do.\u201d
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