Marquette University Athletics
Marquette University
Connecticut
Marquette Falls to UConn, 83-49
2/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2009
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MILWAUKEE (AP) - It's an over-the-top request, even when it's being made of the best player on the best team in the country: a double-double every night.
But Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma is asking for it, and Maya Moore is delivering.
Moore scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season and No. 1 Connecticut remained perfect with an 83-49 victory at Marquette on Saturday.
"She's able to give me that kind of performance every single night, so I'm not surprised," Auriemma said. "I kind of expect that from her every night, even though that's a lot to expect. She's just playing at a really high level right now."
With her third double-double in the past four games, Moore made sure the Huskies (23-0, 9-0 Big East) had another relatively drama-free step in what has been a perfect season -- their best start since 2002-03.
Connecticut came into Saturday's game beating opponents by an average margin of 32.7 points per game. Still, Auriemma insists that the Huskies will be tested at some point.
"I know we're not going to go through every game the rest of the season (untested)," he said. "If we do, great. But I'm not planning on it."
It just wasn't going to happen Saturday, as Marquette couldn't duplicate its effort in an upset of then-No. 10 Notre Dame last month.
"They're the best team in this nation, hands down," Marquette coach Terri Mitchell said.
Krystal Ellis was held to eight points for the Golden Eagles (13-10, 4-5), who were smothered by the Huskies' defense. Connecticut held Marquette to a season-low 21.9 percent from the field and forced 22 turnovers.
"They help a lot," Ellis said of the Huskies' defenders. "They don't want any open shots."
The Golden Eagles held an early 18-17 lead after a 3-pointer by Ellis, and were tied 20-20 with 10:27 left in the first half. But Connecticut didn't need much longer to take over, as the Golden Eagles would be held to a single point for nearly nine minutes as the Huskies went on a 17-1 run.
"We know that we need to get a push going, and go on a run," Moore said.
The Huskies' defense forced the Golden Eagles into another extended scoreless streak to begin the second half. Connecticut got a pair of quick baskets from Moore and Tina Charles to start a 14-0 run, and the Golden Eagles failed to score until Janelle Harris' running layup with 12:56 left in the game.
Moore, a sophomore who became the fastest player to surpass the 1,000-point mark in school history, was coming off a 24-point, 10-rebound game in the Huskies' 75-56 victory over Rutgers on Tuesday. She scored 27 and grabbed 11 rebounds against Louisville Jan. 26. She has 23 career double-doubles.
Auriemma praised Moore's consistent effort in practice, an intensity that recently has carried over from scoring to rebounding to take up some slack from Connecticut's inside players.
Saturday's performance was Moore's third double-double in the past four games.
But even in praising his go-to player, Auriema couldn't resist taking a good-natured jab because of her turnover near the end of the first half: "She even contributed to a couple of Marquette's points by giving the kid the ball at the end of the half. She's just a nice kid all the way around."
Kalana Greene scored 16 and Renee Montgomery added 15 for the Huskies, whose players applauded as Marquette honored Ellis before the game after she became Marquette's all-time leading scorer in the Golden Eagles' victory at South Florida.
