No. 1 UConn opens quest for 10th title with rout of St. Francis

STORRS, Conn. -- UConn forward Morgan Tuck missed last season's NCAA tournament with a knee injury. She didn't miss much of anything Saturday night.

Tuck had a career-high 26 points and eight assists, and No. 1 Connecticut opened its pursuit of a 10th national title and third in a row with an 89-33 rout of St. Francis (N.Y.) on Saturday night.

Tuck, who outscored the Terriers 20-14 in the first half, was 12-for-13 from the floor for the Huskies (33-1), who won their 32nd consecutive game.

"Just being able to contribute and be healthy on the court means a lot," she said. "I'm just taking it one game at a time and enjoying the moment."

Connecticut star Breanna Stewart finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Sarah Benedetti, who grew up about 40 miles away in Canton, had 13 points for St. Francis (15-19), which was making its first NCAA tournament appearance.

"Regardless of the outcome, I had such a great time and it was such an enjoyable experience that I will remember forever," she said.

The Huskies shot 70 percent from the floor and held the Terriers to just 22 percent and 13 baskets. UConn improved to 23-2 in the opening round, where it has not lost since 1993. The Huskies will face former Big East rival Rutgers in the second round Monday.

St. Francis stayed with the Huskies for the first few minutes, trailing just 16-11 after a Benedetti 3-pointer. But UConn scored the next 18 points.

The Huskies outscored St. Francis 68-6 in the paint and outrebounded the Terriers 44-21.

"We knew they were undersized," Stewart said. "And Morgan was being a monster in the paint. I was trying to look for her as often as I could, because she had such a mismatch inside."

Freshman Gabby Williams, who capped UConn's first big run with a pair of layups, finished with 15 points and six rebounds. She made each of her seven shots from the floor.

UConn led 47-14 at the half. Williams' layup with 12:26 left gave the Huskies their first 40-point lead at 64-24, and it was 76-26 about four minutes later.

Kia Nurse had 12 points, and Kiah Stokes had six of the Huskies' nine blocked shots. UConn improved to 98-17 in NCAA tournament play.

St. Francis had won eight of its previous nine games, including three consecutive road games to win its first NEC tournament championship.

TIP-INS

UConn: Point guard Moriah Jefferson had just five points. She needs 17 more to become the 40th UConn player to score 1,000 in her career. ... Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis came into the game needing 11 3-pointers to tie the NCAA career record of 392. She had just one basket, a layup with 18 minutes left in the game.

St. Francis: Jaymee Vaney had five points and finished six shy of becoming the seventh player in St. Francis history to score 500 points in a season. ... Benedetti finishes as St. Francis' career leader in made 3-pointers (280) and 3-pointers attempted (797).

UP NEXT

St. Francis' season is over.

UConn will play Rutgers in the second round Monday night. The Scarlet Knights beat Seton Hall 79-66 earlier Saturday.