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  Friday, Feb. 18 7:30pm ET
Huskies have senior night to remember
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut paid tribute to seniors Stacy Hansmeyer and Paige Sauer before they played their last regular-season game at Gampel Pavilion.

Hansmeyer pulled double duty, singing the national anthem before the top-ranked Huskies beat Syracuse 100-74 Friday night.

Svetlana Abrosimova
Svetlana Abrosimova, left, had 24 points, and Shea Ralph added 18 for the Huskies.
"Singing is something my family has done for a long time," said Hansmeyer. "I was a little nervous. I wanted to do it for my teammates and my family. I was happy I didn't mess up."

On that note, neither did her teammates.

All-American junior Svetlana Abrosimova scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds.

Shea Ralph was 7-for-7 and finished with 18 points, as she and Abrosimova combined for 17 of UConn's 31 assists. It was Abrosimova's third straight double-double.

"We just have so much offense when the two of them are on the floor," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma. "When they're playing the way they are, it's just very difficult to defend them."

It was the fifth time this season Connecticut (24-1, 13-0 Big East) reached 100 points.

The Orangewomen (10-13, 3-9) built an 8-7 lead on Beth Record's opening basket and two 3-pointers by Jaime James.

Abrosimova hit a 3-pointer with 16:01 left to start a 26-8 run. Swin Cash added eight points and Tamika Williams had seven.

Abrosimova had 16 points in the first half, including the final five of the period as Connecticut took a 50-30 lead. She scored six points in a 14-5 run to open the second half.

The 6-foot-2 Abrosimova finished with a career-high seven offensive rebounds. But it was her defensive boards that helped fuel UConn's speedy transition game.

"It gets the break off off faster because she comes out of there with the ball," said Auriemma. "She has such a knack for not only rebounding, but then (after) a couple dribbles and looking up the floor we end up with a layup. Usually when Svet rebounds the ball we end up with a layup."

Connecticut overpowered the undersized Orangewomen inside, outscoring them 58-22 and outrebounding them 43-29.

"We started out fairly well," said Syracuse coach Marianna Freeman. "At the 10-minute mark, their press affected us and we started to lose composure."

Record led Syracuse with a career-high 35 points, hitting 5-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc, the most points scored this season against Connecticut by an opposing player.

"Our offense is designed to Beth and Jaime (James) gets shots. Tonight (Beth) had the opportunity to show what she can do," said Freeman.

The Huskies have a home game remaining at the Hartford Civic Center against Notre Dame, which also is unbeaten in conference play. The game on Feb. 26 may decide first place in the Big East and the top seed in the conference tournament.

 


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