The UConn women began their chase for the eighth national championship in program history by beating the player who helped deliver the first.
UConn, the top seed in the Philadelphia regional, dispatched No. 16 Hartford 75-39 yesterday at Gampel Pavilion, setting up a second-round matchup tomorrow with No. 9 Purdue.
The Boilermakers defeated No. 8 Kansas State, 53-45.
Hartford is coached by former Huskies point guard Jennifer Rizzotti, who helped lead UConn to a 35-0 season in 1995. But Rizzotti’s Hawks were no match against her alma mater yesterday.
Senior forward Maya Moore was one of four Huskies with 12 points.
UConn led 40-17 at the half and was up as many as 41 with seven minutes remaining.
“I like what we did and I liked the way we did it,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “Teams that have been where we’ve been have a tendency to go, ‘Let’s hurry up and get this one over with and plan the parade.’ You have to make sure you take it one step at a time and try to be as good as we can that day.”
