Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Connecticut
Women's Basketball Falls To Top-Ranked Connecticut, 79-56
January 26, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Jan 26, 2002
By DONNA TOMMELLEO
AP Sports Writer
STORRS, Conn. - Sue Bird had 23 points and Asjha Jones matched her career high with 21 points Saturday night to lead top-ranked Connecticut to a 79-56 victory over Boston College.
The pair helped UConn (22-0, 8-0 Big East) recover from one of its worst shooting halves of the season. The Huskies shot 38 percent from the floor on 12-of-31 shooting and held an eight-point lead at the break.
Jones scored nine points in the Huskies' 18-6 run to open the second half and UConn cruised the rest of the way. Bird had four points in the spurt, including a layup off her own steal. UConn led by as much as 26 down the stretch.
The Huskies dominated inside with a 43-37 rebounding edge over the Eagles (15-4, 6-2). Jones led the Huskies with 13 rebounds had three of UConn's nine blocks.
UConn leads the series 30-12, and has lost just twice to BC in the last 12 years.
UConn leaned on its inside game to build a 13-5 lead, getting four points from Jones and outrebounded the Eagles 8-1 in the first five minutes.
Boston College countered with a 7-0 run over the next 60 seconds. Amber Jacobs hit a 3-pointer and made a backdoor cut for layup in the spurt to push the Eagles to within a point.
A physical game, UConn got to the line 18 times in the first half, hitting 14 free throws. BC was just 2-of-4 from the line the opening period. The Huskies hit six straight free throws during a 2{ minute stretch. Bird was fouled on a layup with 5:47 remaining and converted the 3-point play to give UConn its biggest lead of the half at 32-22.
Clare Droesch brought the Eagles back quickly with back-to-back 3s. The Huskies outscored the Eagles 8-4 the final four minutes of the half for a 40-32 lead at the break.
BC's leading scorer, Brianne Stepherson finished with 12 points, but scored only two in the second half. Droesch led the Eagles with 13 points and teammate Rachel Byars had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
