PORTLAND, Ore. — Lou Lopez-Senechal scored 23 points and No. 3 UConn routed Duke 78-50 in the semifinal round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament on Friday.
Aaliyah Edwards added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Azzi Fudd scored 14 points to help the Huskies (4-0) remain undefeated on the season.
Shaeyann Day-Wilson led the Blue Devils (5-1) with 15 points, and Elizabeth Balogun contributed 14 off the bench.
The Huskies built up a 41-29 halftime lead behind 13 points from Lopez-Senechal, who knocked down three 3-pointers during the opening two periods.
“We knew coming in that it was going to be a hectic kind of a game,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “Defensively, Duke tries to get you to play a little faster and take you out of your rhythm. I thought the first half was played more the way they wanted to play, and the second half was played more the way we wanted to play.”
UConn only added to the lead in the second half, holding as much as a 30-point advantage over Duke as the half progressed.
“I think this is the first game I’ve been disappointed in my team overall,” said Duke head coach Kara Lawson. “I just didn’t think we played with the same competitiveness as our opponent did, and I felt like we got frustrated by the margin and allowed it to impact us.”
The Huskies shot the lights out from 3-point range, shooting 46.2% on 13 attempts. All six of their 3-point makes came from Lopez-Senechal, who made four, and Fudd, who hit two.
The Blue Devils shot just 33.3% from the field as a team on the night and turned the ball over 14 times while committing 18 personal fouls to UConn’s 11.
BIG PICTURE
UConn: With a dominant performance across the board, the Huskies remained undefeated and proved they’re more than worthy of their top-3 ranking as they advanced to the PKL championship game.
Duke: The Blue Devils picked up their first loss of the season in dispiriting fashion, unable to keep up with the Huskies’ shooting.
UP NEXT:
UConn: The Huskies face the winner of Friday’s Oregon State-Iowa game in the PKL championship game on Saturday.
Duke: The Blue Devils will play the loser of Friday’s Oregon State-Iowa game in a Sunday consolation game.
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