The last time UConn lost a second round game in the NCAA Tournament came in 1992 when the Huskies lost to Vanderbilt 75-47.

Sit tight Husky fans, this isn’t one of those stories.

The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team hasn’t lost an NCAA Tournament game to an ACC team since 1994, before the Huskies and the word “dynasty” were being thrown around in the same sentence.

This time around, UConn took care of business, holding on for a 70-52 victory against the Florida State Seminoles. It was a tale of two halves as the Huskies were dominating 40-19 at the intermission, but outscored 33-30 in the final 20 minutes.

“I thought there were two basketball games out there tonight,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said after the game.

It was déjà vu for Husky nation as the Seminoles, in similar fashion as fellow ACC team North Carolina State, had a senior named Hodge who gave UConn multitudes of problems on the floor. Just as Julius charged the Wolfpack to a victory over the UConn men’s basketball team, forward Roneeka was a handful as she scored 28 of her team’s 52 points in the final collegiate game of her career.

“(Hodges) is really hard to keep a lid on because she posts up smaller guards, and then she takes people outside and knocks down threes,” Auriemma said.

Auriemma joked during his press conference about using a Jordan rules-type of defense to contain her by letting her have her points and only guarding her teammates.

“I’m happy that we kept Roneeka under 50 (points),” Auriemma said. “That was our goal. If we could hold her under 50 we would think that was a good night.”

It did turn out to be a good night for the Huskies as they now advance to the round of 16 for the 12th straight year. They have earned a date in Kansas City with the second-seeded Cardinals from Stanford, who were voted as the no.1 team in the land before Tournament play began. Although the Huskies weren’t placed in the nearby Philadelphia region, nobody has any complaints about their next challenge.

“Easter in Kansas City,” UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway said to supporters immediately after the game. “It doesn’t get any better.”

It was defense that carried the Huskies the whole way, as no player reached the 20-point plateau. Junior guard Ann Strother led the Huskies with a Tournament career-high 19 and senior center Jessica Moore chipped in a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Huskies outrebounded the Seminoles 40-30. Four blocks and 11 steals also helped to power the Huskies to coast through another 2nd round match, which they haven’t lost since 1992.

“That’s one thing that we’ve been really consistent with, our defense,” Moore said. “That’s the one thing that we can really rely on.”

Notes:

It was the third meeting between the teams, with UConn winning both previous matchups by an average of 23.5 points per game. The Huskies have now won their last 20 Tournament games, and 30 of their last 31 dating back to 2000. UConn is 17-3 in their last 20 games.

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