BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — It took 3 minutes, 14 seconds for Vic Schaefer and the Mississippi State women’s basketball team to realize it wasn’t their day.
A 3-pointer and pull-up jump shot by Breanna Stewart, a layup by Morgan Tuck, a layup by Katie Lou Samuelson on a runout, and another layup by Tuck forced Schaefer to call a 30-second timeout.
The veteran coach didn’t rant and rave about his team’s start. He merely used the back of his hand and the underside of his jaw to encourage his players to keep their chins up.
On this day, that was a monumental task, nearly as big as the one No. 5 seed MSU had in mind when it started the day against No. 1 seed and three-time reigning national champion Connecticut in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament at Webster Bank Arena.
But after a Friday night of upsets that saw No. 1 seeds South Carolina and Notre Dame and No. 3 seeds Ohio State and Kentucky lose, UConn eliminated any thought of an upset with an assassin’s coolness.
Stewart had 22 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocked shots to lead three players in double figures Saturday in UConn’s 98-38 victory.
Samuelson added 21 points, while Tuck had 19 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals to help UConn (35-0) extends its winning streak to 72 games.
UConn will play Texas, which beat UCLA 72-64, at 6 p.m. Monday for a chance to go to the Final Four in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Teaira McCowan (109 points) was the only player in double figures for MSU, which ended its season at 28-8. The Bulldogs set a single-season for wins in reaching the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history.
But the 60-point loss, which was UConn’s biggest margin of victory in a Sweet 16 game, was a sobering way for MSU to end a season that saw it match a program record with 11 Southeastern Conference regular-season wins and reach the SEC tournament title game for the second time in program history.
“Well, obviously, we didn’t play very well, and I think you got to give Connecticut all the credit for that,” Schaefer said. “They played extremely well today, and I’m disappointed we didn’t play better. I’ll take full responsibility for that. At the end of the day, it is my job to have our team ready and, obviously, we probably weren’t ready.”
UConn raced to a 32-4 lead after the first quarter. It built its lead to as many as 68 (88-20) with 7:02 remaining. Eleven of the 12 Huskies who played scored.
“I’ve known Vic for a long time, and he does a fabulous job,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “I know where the program was before he took over and where it is today and in a real short period of time, so I have a lot of respect for him and the way he coaches. His guys play really hard, so after the game — obviously he’s disappointed at the way they played, and I said, ‘Honestly, Vic, when we play like this, I don’t think there’s anything anybody can do, so it’s no reflection on your team or anybody else on your team.’ When we do what we did today, that’s not a true reflection of Mississippi State. That’s just a reflection of how good we were today.”
UConn made MSU pay for missing its first seven shots from the field. The Bulldogs scored their first points on a jump shot by Morgan William at the 5:28 mark, but the Huskies continued to click. They moved the ball with lightning precision in transition and beat the Bulldogs down court numerous times for easy baskets to the tune of 62.7-percent shooting from the field. UConn had 26 assists on 37 baskets and a 24-4 edge in points off turnovers.
“I think just we were turning the ball over, and they were getting easy fast break layups, so I think everything started to pile up,” MSU junior guard Dominique Dillingham said. “It kind of got away from us, and we did start missing shots, so that kind of led to that, too.”
MSU shot 28.6 percent (18 of 63) from the field, its third-lowest mark of the season. Leading scorer Victoria Vivians, who entered the game averaging 17.4 points per game, was 3 of 15 from the field and finished with six points in 27 minutes. Breanna Richardson and LaKaris Salter were the Bulldogs’ second-leading scorers with six points.
Vivians credited UConn for its defense, and said the Huskies were active in the passing lanes and had a lot of deflections. In addition to their nine blocked shots, the Huskies had 12 steals.
“I feel like we were rushing — well, I was rushing my shot when we first started, so it consisted of the shots not falling and yeah, their defense,” Vivians said. “They’re very long and that kind of messed us up, too.”
The 60-point differential was the largest margin of defeat in Schaefer’s four seasons in Starkville. It is the fourth-largest margin of defeat in program history.
On the flip side, UConn’s field goal percentage was its best of the season. The shooting effort left the Huskies three wins shy of a record 11th national title. Another championship would help the senior trio of Stewart, Jefferson, and Tuck finish their careers with 151 wins, which would be a NCAA record.
On Saturday, UConn played like it was on a mission and remained unbeaten against first-time opponents.
“You got to take your hat off to Connecticut,” Schaefer said. “They are really, really good. They’re well coached. As I told you all yesterday, defensively, they should get a lot more credit for how good they are defensively, because they are really, really tough in that area.
“I thought we got some good looks early, and what happens against them is if you don’t make those shots early, you get a little dejected, and then it affects you on the defensive end and the next thing you know it’s getting away from you. But I thought we had good looks early, they just didn’t fall. I’m proud of our team. I’m proud of these girls. I love them to death. I’m not trading them for anybody and, you know what? We’ll be back.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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