Sarah Strong scored 21 points and Azzi Fudd added 18 to help No. 2 UConn rout No. 22 Louisville 85-52 on Saturday night as part of the Women’s Champions Classic.
The Huskies (8-0) took control early and never looked back.
Louisville (5-4) trailed by 18 after one and got within 12 early in the second quarter before Strong, the latest Huskies freshman star, got UConn back on track. She was hitting both from the inside and out.
The Huskies led 49-24 at the half and that was with All-American Paige Bueckers scoring just three points while missing all six of her field goal attempts. She had her first point of the game with 6:38 left in the half on a free throw and hit her first basket early in the third quarter.
Bueckers, who came into the game averaging 20.4 points, finished with eight. She also had 10 rebounds and six assists.
Tennessee beat No. 17 Iowa 78-68 in the opener of the doubleheader at Barclays Center.
Takeaways
UConn: This was the first of a stretch of four games against ranked teams in the next five contests. The Huskies head to No. 10 Notre Dame next Thursday and play No. 20 Iowa State and No. 6 USC later this month in Connecticut.
Louisville: The Cardinals’ four losses have all come against ranked teams, with Jeff Walz’s squad also falling to UCLA, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
Key moment
It was 8-5 early before the Huskies outscored the Cardinals 20-5 for the remainder of the quarter to take command of the game. Ashlynn Shade had seven points during that burst.
Key stat
UConn outrebounded Louisville 52-28.
Up next
Louisville hosts Grambling State on Thursday, while UConn visits No. 10 Notre Dame the same night.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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