By John Altavilla, The Hartford Courant
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – If UConn never plays at the Rutgers Athletic Center again, and it may not for years, Sunday’s game ended a memorable era for the Huskies.
They don’t call this place The RAC for nothing, you know. And during the C. Vivian Stringer era, this place and her teams often inflicted medieval pain on UConn, stretching the eight-time national champion with its disciplined, methodical torture.
Thank you Cappie Pondexter and Linda Miles, among the other antagonists to took pleasure poking – sometimes literally – the UConn program.
However, the finale did not follow the usual script. UConn was not bumped as much as it ran during its 94-64 win.
And now, unless the Big 10 expands to Storrs, or the two reunite as non-conference partners, UConn has crossed the Raritan River to play basketball for the last time.
UConn (19-0, 6-0) has now won 26 straight games, the sixth longest winning streak in program history. It never trailed, was never really threatened and was led in scoring by senior Bria Hartley, who scored a career-high 30 points with five assists.
Hartley, who has suffered through a prolonged shooting slump, played flawlessly with her left jammed left thumb bandaged tightly from the wrist. She injured it in practice on Friday. But it was impossible to tell.
In fact, she had one of the best shooting days in weeks, beginning with a 5-for-5 performance in the first half. Hartley made 8 of her first 9 shots.