HARTFORD, Conn. -- All season, the Connecticut women's basketball team has been painted in doubt because it lacks the consistent standout star of Huskies teams of the past.
As such, it was fitting for UConn to make history Tuesday by dominating No. 20 South Florida 102-37 in what was the embodiment of a team win.
In matching the program's previous 90-game win streak, the Huskies scored the largest margin of victory against a ranked team in school history.
From the opening tip, UConn was able to quickly move the ball with efficiency that kept USF on its heels the entire night -- in a game that seemed decided five minutes into the first quarter. UConn totaled a season-high 31 assists against the Bulls, its first 30-plus assist performance in nearly two years. The Huskies tied a season low for turnovers, giving the ball away just nine times.
Just how good was UConn's ball movement Tuesday? At halftime, the Huskies had tallied more assists (21) than the Bulls had scored points (19).
"That's as good of 20 minutes of basketball as any of them have been a part of," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who added that he was speechless through the first quarter. "There were some great plays out there."
The Bulls constantly scrambled and were late on rotations, which often led to wide-open shots or uncontested layups for the Huskies. UConn outscored the Bulls 48-14 in the paint.
Much of the Huskies' success came from the combination of baseline penetration and court vision. On multiple occasions, UConn was able to draw in Bulls defenders, leaving them susceptible to UConn players kicking the ball out to open teammates on the wing or elbow. UConn capitalized by shooting 60.3 percent from the field, which included 10 3-pointers en route to the Huskies' highest scoring total of the season.
"I think we really focused on our scout today, and I think that kind of threw them off and allowed us to make really good plays," said junior Kia Nurse, who finished the night with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. "Once we threw them off, we didn't stop."
Senior guard Saniya Chong led the Huskies and matched her career highs with 20 points and eight assists. Auriemma said Chong -- one of just four players to experience all 90 wins of UConn's streak -- played the most complete game of her UConn career.
"You could tell she was in a good place where she expected great things to happen," Auriemma said.
Five Huskies had at least three assists Tuesday, and nine of the 10 Huskies who played recorded at least one assist (Tierney Lawlor, who played just three minutes, was the lone exception).
UConn's success in running the fast break in the open court helped fuel its dominant ball movement. The Huskies outscored the Bulls 18-5 in fast-break points Tuesday. No sequence better illustrated UConn's dominance than an emphatic block by junior Gabby Williams with three minutes left in the first quarter, which led to a layup on the offensive end courtesy of a tap-pass from Katie Lou Samuelson.
"I think that that is something this team is going to be great at: getting out in transition," said Williams, who finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in 21 minutes. "We're all so fast, we're all so athletic, and everyone distributes the ball really well, so I think the transition game is going to be the biggest key for our success."
Instead of a superstar carrying the team night in and night out, Auriemma has sophomores Samuelson and Napheesa Collier and juniors Nurse and Williams to rely on. While each player has the expectation to be at her best every game, none feels the pressure to have a standout performance every game.
Moving forward, Auriemma said the Huskies will keep to the identity they have created through the first 15 games of the season: winning games as a team.
"None of them has to be superhuman. They just have to do their part," he said. "So far, it's been fun to watch."