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Chattanooga, TN -- It took the Huskies a few minutes to get comfortable at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, but once they did, it was over for the Mocs. The Huskies trailed for only one short minute in the first quarter, and that was it. Poor defense and too many turnovers by the Mocs led the Huskies to a 48-point win, 79-31.
Chattanooga came out strong and kept the game close for the first five minutes, but the Mocs defense just couldn't keep UConn from scoring. The Mocs had 20 turnovers which resulted in 24 points for the Huskies.
Moriah Jefferson scored 13 points in the first half that fueled the Huskies to a 14-point lead at halftime. Jefferson led the Huskies with 15 points. Senior Breanna Stewart added 14 points for UConn and Gabby Williams scored 14 points and had 12 rebounds.
After going on a 10-2 run in the second quarter, UConn really started to pull away with a 20-point lead. Chattanooga pulled within 11 points in the third quarter but couldn't catch up to the Huskies. UConn dominated both defensively and offensively in the second half, letting the Mocs score only eight points to end the game.
"When you play like we played defensively in that second half, it's hard to play against us no matter who it is," said Huskies Head Coach Geno Auriemma.
The Huskies go on to win their fourth game of the season and remain undefeated.
Jasmine Joyner and Keiana Gilbert led Chattanooga with eight points each followed by Queen Alford with five. Joyner broke the school's block record, setting the new one at 225.
"The first half I would say we kept up with them, it was a fun game first half. The second half, with this team, if we show our weakness and try to look for shortcuts, they will take advantage of it. That's what makes them a very great team, they took advantage of it," said Jasmine Joyner.
This loss snapped a 17 home game winning streak for Chattanooga.
"I thought we played hard, not necessarily smart, but I think we played hard, in the first half especially," said Mocs Head Coach Jim Foster. "The first half is something you dwell on and the second half is something you chew on."