Thursday, Dec. 23 2:00pm ET
Abrosimova leads UConn rout of UCLA
 
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STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- For the second straight year, UCLA had no answers for Connecticut's Svetlana Abrosimova.

Abrosimova had 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists Thursday to lead the No. 1 Huskies to a 106-64 rout of the Bruins (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 6 AP).

"Right now I'm trying to do everything on the court, not only scoring. I'm rebounding the ball well and try to pass the ball," said Abrosimova, who scored 39 points in a 113-102 win over UCLA last season. "Every aspect of the game, I'm trying to do the best I can."

Her coach definitely noticed.

"The way she played is what an All-American is supposed to play like," coach Geno Auriemma said. "She was involved in every play on both ends of the floor."

The victory was the fourth 100-point game this season for the Huskies (8-0) and the 200th home win for Auriemma. It was also the second straight lopsided loss for UCLA (5-4).

The Bruins couldn't even take advantage of a gift basket from the Huskies. UConn forward Swin Cash ran down a UCLA rebound, squared up and swished a two-pointer in the Bruins' basket, bringing chuckles and disbelief from both sides.

"I couldn't take it out of bounds, I was laughing so hard," UConn center Paige Sauer said. "(Cash) had the follow-through and all. She thought she looked good."

Freshman Kennitra Johnson was five of five from 3-point range to finish with 17 points.

UConn opened the game with a 13-2 run over the first seven minutes, holding the Bruins to 23 percent shooting in the half.

Johnson hit four 3-pointers in the first half. Her first two-point bucket, on a steal and a length-of-the-court driving layup gave the Huskies a 22-point lead, their largest of the half.

Maylana Martin, who needed just five points to move into fourth place on the Bruins career scoring list only got two -- a single free throw in both halves. Martin said the Bruins' last two games were embarrassing.

Rutgers (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) beat UCLA 72-46 two days ago.

"I kind of want to apologize to the two teams because I feel like we could have given a better showing and tried to get them ready for conference (play)," Martin said.

Marie Philman and Janae Hubbard led UCLA with 13 points each.

The Huskies went on a 27-14 run in the first seven minutes of the second half to put the game away and shot 75 percent in the half.

" couldn't be happier," Auriemma said. "For me to find fault today, it would be ludicrous."

 


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