No. 2 UConn Women Rout UCLA 86-50
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (CBSLA.com/AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 22 points to lead a balanced offense and No. 2 UConn beat UCLA 86-50 on Sunday in the Naismith Hall of Fame women's holiday showcase at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Gabby Williams added 12 points and Kia Nurse had 11 for the Huskies (8-1).
UConn, who went up against UCLA for just the third time, led 24-18 with 7 minutes left in the first half before going on a 16-2 run over the next 6:30 to take a 20-point lead. Five Huskies scored during the burst that was capped by Stewart's layup with 33 seconds left.
UCLA (4-6) scored the final five points of the half to close to 40-25 at the break.
Jordin Canada tried to keep the Bruins in the game, scoring seven straight points during one stretch. Her layup made it 50-37, but it wasn't enough.
UConn scored 13 of the next 15, including an acrobatic putback by Williams, to put the game away.
This was the latest double-digit win for the Huskies since losing to Stanford in early November. UConn has won its seven games since by an average of 37 points.
UCLA coach Cori Close has challenged her young team, which had the consensus No. 1 freshmen class coming in this season. The Bruins have already played Top 25 teams North Carolina, Texas and Nebraska. UCLA return home for a game against No. 5 Notre Dame next Sunday.
Close hopes that playing such a tough nonconference schedule will prepare her team for the rigorous Pac-12 schedule and hopefully a run in the NCAA tournament.
Kari Korver had 14 points to lead the Bruins.
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