Dayton (3-3), which trailed 47-16 at halftime, got eight points each from Fairmont High School product Cassie Sant and De’Sarae Chambers as the Flyers suffered 23 turnovers and a 39-26 rebounding disadvantage.
Five UConn players scored in double figures, led by 23 points from freshman forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.
The win was UConn’s 89th straight at home, which extended the Huskies Division I record home winning streak and set a new all-time NCAA mark, passing Division III Rust (Miss.) College, which won 88 straight at home from 1982-89. The Huskies set the mark for consecutive wins last year at 90, before being beaten on the road at Stanford.
Nobody has beaten UConn at home since Rutgers won the Big East tournament final in 2007. The NCAA counts UConn’s postseason games in Hartford and Storrs as home games.
Connecticut also has won 161 consecutive games against teams outside the Top 25.
Connecticut scored the first 10 points of the game and held Dayton to just three free throws and three shots over five minutes to start the game. Olivia Applewhite broke the drought and cut UConn’s lead to 17-5 with a layup.
This was UConn’s first meeting with Dayton. But Flyers coach Jim Jabir is very familiar with UConn, and was 0-8 against the Huskies during his six years as head coach at Providence.
“I just spent 20 minutes telling our kids that what we saw is what we want to be,” Jabir said. “How hard they play, the cuts they make, everything they do, they are in pursuit of excellence every single possession.”
About the Author