STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut toppled in the polls, but
righted itself against Miami.
Forward Swin Cash had 13 points as second-ranked Connecticut
beat Miami 81-45 Tuesday night in the Huskies' first game since
falling to No. 2.
|  | | Connecticut's Tamika Williams goes up against Miami's Alicia Hurtlaub. |
Cash and Tamika Williams each had nine rebounds as the Huskies
outrebounded the Hurricanes 49-33 and capitalized on 30 Miami
turnovers.
Top-ranked Notre Dame beat UConn on Jan. 15 to snap the Huskies' 30-game winning streak and knock the defending national champions from the top spot, a ranking they held for 30 weeks. The switch in the
poll marks the first time in Big East women's basketball history
that the top two spots are held by Big East schools.
"Our game plan went out the window tonight," said Miami coach
Fern Labati. "We really wanted to put them in the position to get
some outside shots going and get the rebounds, but they did a great
job on the boards."
UConn (16-1, 6-1 Big East) opened with an 11-4 run, getting the
first eight points inside and four points from Cash. Shea Ralph
capped the run with a 3-pointer, one of five UConn 3-pointers in
the first half.
UConn closed out the half with a 14-3 run over the final seven
minutes for a 41-20 lead at halftime.
"We know we have to be aggressive inside. We just can't sit in
the post and let people push us around," said Cash.
Miami (9-8, 2-4) sputtered offensively, shooting just 33
percent.
The game bore little resemblance to the teams' Dec. 5 meeting.
UConn won that game 77-53, but outscored the Hurricanes by only
four points in the second half. The Huskies opened the second half
Tuesday with a 19-9 run and shot 50 percent in the period.
The UConn bench outscored Miami, 40-19, as 12 out of 13 players scored.
"Our goal tonight was to get a lot of people into the mix, to
rest some people, to kind of shake everybody out of the little bit
of a funk we've been in," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "I
thought we did that. I thought we accomplished an awful lot."
UConn outscored Miami 48-26 in the paint and had 34 points off
Miami's 30 turnovers. Sue Bird had seven of UConn's 24 assists on
35 baskets and four of UConn's 18 steals.
Chanivia Broussard led Miami with 10 points and had her team's
first eight points. Meghan Saake and Alicia Hartlaub each had six
rebounds.
"When you turn the ball over and take bad shots, a team like
Connecticut can do anything they want," said Labati.
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ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Miami Clubhouse
Connecticut Clubhouse
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