Connecticut Runs Over Pepperdine

The No. 1-ranked Connecticut Huskies rolled into Malibu Friday to play Pepperdine, and easily rolled past the Waves, 84-53.

Senior star forward Diana Taurasi, who grew up in Chino and played high school basketball at Don Lugo, had an enjoyable homecoming with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes before leaving the game because of leg cramps. Barbara Turner added 16 points as Connecticut, which faces USC on Sunday, improved to 5-0.

“I thought it was a great atmosphere out there -- kind of like a high school environment,” Taurasi said.

Shanell Law had 14 to lead the Waves.

Pepperdine Coach Mark Trakh wanted Friday’s game to be a learning experience for the Waves (2-3) as well as a basketball game. Judging by the drawn expressions on the Waves’ bench, it was a difficult education to digest.

It was also hard on the home fans. At the start of the game the Firestone Fieldhouse crowd -- at 3,121, the largest crowd to see a Pepperdine women’s home game -- seemed evenly split between Waves and Huskies fans. In time, it was the Connecticut side that made most of the noise.

In the opening seven minutes, Pepperdine was content to attack the Connecticut zone with three-point shooting. The Waves’ first five field goals came from beyond the arc and helped them build a 15-9 lead.

But the Huskies’ relentless and precise motion offense got inside the Wave defense at will. Five of Connecticut’s first six baskets were layups, as the Huskies waited out Pepperdine’s long-distance success.

The turnaround happened quickly. The Waves stopped scoring, missing 12 consecutive shots, two free throws and going 8:33 without a point. Connecticut ran off 25 consecutive points to assume control.

Kelsey Ball finally ended Pepperdine’s drought with a free throw at 6:05. By then, the Huskies seemingly had a big enough cushion to withstand any Pepperdine strategy.

“I guess that’s how we play,” Taurasi said. “We were playing a little quick the first few minutes, but as we settled down defensively we got some stops.”

By halftime Connecticut had settled into a 46-30 lead. With 12 minutes left to play, Taurasi was the only Huskie starter still on the floor, Connecticut was ahead, 64-40.

Mike Terry

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No. 4 Duke 88, Wake Forest 55 -- Iciss Tillis scored 17 points at Winston-Salem, N.C., and the Blue Devils (5-1) defeated the Demon Deacons (3-3) in an Atlantic Coast Conference opener.

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No. 12 Kansas State 94, Cal State Sacramento 31 -- Kendra Wecker and Laurie Koehn each scored 20 points as the Wildcats (4-2) beat the Hornets (0-6) in the first round of the Wildcat Classic at Manhattan, Kan.

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No. 13 North Carolina 90, South Carolina State 51 -- La’Tangela Atkinson scored 17 points at Chapel Hill, N.C., to lead the Tar Heels (6-0), who outrebounded the Bulldogs (1-3), 50-31.

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No. 25 Auburn 89, North Carolina A&T; 54 -- Le’Coe Willingham had a career-high 27 points at Auburn, Ala., to lead the Tigers (4-2), who scored 24 points off 24 turnovers by the Aggies (1-3).