SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Tiffany Hayes and Caroline Doty had 15 points apiece to lead No. 2 Connecticut to a 70-37 rout of Seton Hall on Friday night in the Big East opener for both teams.
Next up for the Huskies is a showdown with No. 1 Baylor on Dec. 18. The nation's top two teams met last season in Hartford and UConn came away with a one-point victory.
On Friday, there was no such drama.
The Huskies (9-0) scored the first 20 points, quickly taking the spirited crowd out of the game. UConn hit four 3-pointers during the opening burst, and Kiah Stokes capped the run with a layup 7 minutes into the game.
It took another minute before the Pirates (5-5) got their first points — two free throws by Alexis Brown. Seton Hall's first basket didn't come until its 14th shot with 8:27 left in the first half when Brittany Morris converted a three-point play. That made it 30-5. The Pirates wouldn't get within 22 the rest of the game.
UConn opened the season with eight straight home games and ran through its opponents. The Huskies won by an average of 43 points, including a 30-point rout of No. 8 Texas A&M on Tuesday night.
Playing its first road game did give UConn a little trouble in the second half. After Bria Hartley's layup with 15:34 left made it 55-23, the Huskies went more than 9 minutes without a point as Seton Hall was able to cut the deficit to 23. Hartley finally ended the drought with a lay-in with 6:25 remaining and the Huskies cruised the rest of the way.
After taking a few days off for exams, the Huskies will travel to Waco to face the Lady Bears before heading to the College of Charleston.
The Huskies have won 56 straight Big East regular-season games. It's the fourth longest conference streak ever, trailing Texas, which won 124 consecutive games in the Southwest Conference from 1981-1990. The Huskies have dominated the Pirates over the last 18 years, winning 43 of the last 44 meetings. The lone loss came on Jan. 5, 1994.
Jasmine Crew scored 12 points for Seton Hall.
The game featured the last two Olympic coaches. Anne Donovan led the U.S. team to gold in the 2008 Beijing Games, while Geno Auriemma will coach the Americans next year in London.
___
Follow Doug at http://twitter.com/dougfeinberg
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.