By John Altavilla, The Hartford Courant
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – There are times when UConn glides. But there are times when UConn grinds. Yes, the champ does have imperfections and on Saturday it was called for a 10-second backcourt violation in the first half that may lead the highlight reel.
But the beauty of this program truly lies in the moments it crosses the threshold from slow to slick. An opponent can just shake its head at the sheer swiftness of the shake down. And it happens, eventually, just about every game.
Example: Down by three points after the first six minutes Saturday, the Huskies used to the final 14 to show Memphis who the boss was, outscoring it by 30.
When it was over, and it certainly was by then, No. 1 UConn had its 90-49 win over Memphis at the before 6,783 at the FedEx Forum.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis led the Huskies (15-0, 3-0 in The American) with 21 points fueled by 5-for-10 from three-point range. Breanna Stewart had 17 points and eight rebounds. Bria Hartley added 13 points. Stefanie Dolson added her seventh double-double of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
And walk-on Tierney Lawlor canned another three-pointer. She is 7 of 15 from three this season.
Guard Ariel Hearn led the Tigers with 20 points, the second straight guard to hit that figure against UConn.