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UConn Takes Care of Towson

UConn women’s basketball made quick work of the 15-seeded Towson Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, winning 110-61. The opening game of the tournament is always an unique challenge for the AAC champion, regardless of the opponent, because teams have to sit for two weeks after the end of the conference tournament.

Two years ago, the Huskies struggled coming off a long break. But this year -—the first minute or two notwithstanding — UConn was ready.

“We haven’t played in a while, so to come out and play the way we played, in the first half especially, and shot the ball the way we shot it, it’s a great way to start the tournament,” head coach Geno Auriemma said at his postgame presser.

Here are a few takeaways from the Huskies' opener.


Samuelson Makes Solid Return

After missing the last three weeks due to a back injury, Katie Lou Samuelson returned to action against Towson. She started and played 22 minutes, sitting out the final 3:25 of the first half and halftime before heading to the bench for good with 4:51 left in the third quarter. Overall, Samuelson was happy with not only her performance, but how her back responded to real-game action.

“I felt pretty good,” she said. “I was happy with the minutes I got and getting this game to back into the swing of things.”

The back was certainly tested throughout the game. On the opening possession, Samuelson posted up, although she didn't get the ball. She hit the floor more than a few times and got up, seemingly without any issue. She also got through her time on the bench and halftime without her back tightening up. At this point, Samuelson says the injury is more of a mental hurtle than anything physical.

“Mentally you can do a lot of things to overcome stuff so for me, not focusing on it and focusing on what was going on during the game was what helped me,” she said.

While Auriemma didn’t want Samuelson to miss any time, he feels that her absence helped the team develop quicker than they would’ve without her in the lineup.

“I like that Christyn [Williams] and Megan [Walker] were able to play a lot of meaningful minutes under pressure last weekend and I like that now they don’t feel like they have to stop being like that now that Lou’s back because a lot of times what happens when you have young players, they tend to pick at the leftovers of what the other guys are going to leave them,” he said. “Instead, I thought Megan and Christyn both today were pretty assertive right from the beginning. I’m glad to see they didn’t revert back to their old selves. They brought their new selves.”

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“Squeaks” Doesn’t Shy Away From Spotlight

The freshman Williams was particularly impressive in the win, finishing second on the team with 21 points — just her second team she’s reached the 20-point mark in her career. While the idea of playing in the NCAA Tournament may be daunting to some freshmen, Williams didn’t see it that way.

“I wasn’t really nervous, I was excited to play more than anything,” she said. “It’s just crazy, last year at this time I was at home watching all the games on TV so to actually be here, I was really excited to play today.”

For much of the season, Auriemma has been on Williams about being aggressive on offense and making things happen instead of sitting back and letting the game come to her. From the opening tip, Williams attacked with the ball in her hands, whether it was driving to the rim for a layup or dishing it outside.

“She made a lot of open shots, she was really aggressive,” Walker said of the freshman. “We need that from her going into the tournament. Just having five scorers out on the court at all times helps us be a better team.”

Williams seems to have a knack for the big moment. Her first 20-point game came at Notre Dame when she dropped 29. Friday, she lit it up in her first NCAA Tournament game.

“I live for those games. That’s why I came here,” Williams said. “I love playing in those games, so I’m not surprised at myself.”

However, Samuelson sees it differently. It’s not that Williams gets up for big games, it’s that all the games are the same to her. She doesn’t get nervous over big games because she treats them the same as the non-marquee matchups.

“Christyn doesn’t even understand the difference between this game, the first game we played, the time we played Notre Dame,” Samuelson said. “She’s just going out there and playing as hard as she can no matter what and playing with confidence.”


Huskies Killed on Offensive Glass

While it’s hard to be critical in a 49-point win, UConn struggled on the boards against the Tigers. Towson grabbed 21 offensive rebounds which they turned into 10 second-chance points. That fact certainly wasn’t lost on the Huskies after the game.

“They were just out-hustling us to the ball,” Dangerfield said. “That really came down to it, they were long rebounds, getting tips on it, we weren’t getting two hands on the ball.”

However, it is concerning that UConn was dominated as much as they were by a 15-seed. The Huskies’ rebounding and lack of size has been a weak point for them all season. If they hope to have any chance of beating the likes of Louisville or Baylor, UConn will need to improve on the boards.

“The one thing we do need to get better at is rebounding, it’s been a point of emphasis for us all season and as coach said in the locker room, it’s only going to get harder from here on out,” Collier said. “Every game is going to be harder...that’s something we really need to focus on and make sure we lock down on.”

Part of it could be that Samuelson wasn’t necessarily going all-in for every rebound with her back and the fact that the lead was well in-hand from early in the game. So if she can get healthy and become more of a factor in the post, that could be a difference-maker. But against teams with more potency than Towson, this could present a bigger problem down the road.


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