Prior to yesterday’s tip-off, Tiffany Hayes could only beam at the unveiling of the 2010 national championship banner. It signified her second title in two years and the seventh in program history. So to follow that up, Hayes decided to do something never before seen at Gampel Pavilion.
Pouring in 30 points over the first half of a 117-37 Holy Cross rout, Hayes led the Huskies to their first victory of the 2010-2011 regular season. It was UConn’s 79th win in a row, a streak dating back two seasons ago. She scored the most points scored since the streak started. Hayes finished with 32 and eclipsed Kerry Bascom’s previous UConn record of 29 points in a single half.
“It was just great screens by my teammates and hard cuts,” Hayes said. “It was all whoever was passing me the ball and able to find me so it was really a team effort. We work on that in practice and we got it done in the end.”
In the end, the story had become not only Hayes’ record-setting performance, but also the complete lockdown by the UConn defense in the final 20 minutes. The Huskies allowed just seven points in the second half, led by Kelly Faris who notched 15 points alongside nine rebounds and three blocks.
“We came in at halftime and were pretty frustrated with how we played defensively,” Faris said. “We talked really about… how we didn’t get stops and weren’t talking. Those were the points we wanted to try to step up and I think we did that.”
Senior forward Maya Moore finished her final home opener at Gampel with 21 points and a team high seven assists. In the process, Moore also passed Bascom and Nykesha Sales on the Huskies’ all-time leaderboard for points, up to second place just behind Tina Charles.
After getting hit with two fouls and sluggish offensive play early on, Moore would not get whistled again on her way to fourteen extra points.
“The way we run our offense and the way we work, its not designed for a certain position,” Moore said. “As long as you’re moving or making a cut, that’s when the offense works and gets into a flow.”
Holy Cross was in quite the flow with their offensive game plan early on, knocking in four three pointers to keep the game in reach. The Huskies of course stretched their lead to an inaccessible point with a 63-30 advantage at half, where there key defensive adjustments came into play.
Though, they were far from the adjustments head coach Bill Gibbons expected. One perfect example of this came in the third minute of the second half when UConn forced back-to-back turnovers. This gave way to a quick 53 second 8-0 run consisting of free throws or easy lay ups.
“I spent the whole halftime telling them that they were going to play zone in the second half,” Gibbons said. “Because he always plays zone in the second half and he (Auriemma) came out and went man-to-man. So it was the same defense but we lost our composure.”
Up next for the Huskies is a matchup between No. 1 and No. 2 on Tuesday, when they host the Baylor Bears at the XL Center. UConn defeated Baylor by the score of 70-50 in last year’s Final Four, but the centerpiece of the Bears, 6′ 8″ center Brittany Griner, remains. Defending her will be top priority and the Huskies’ most difficult individual challenge of their season.
“A lot of people outside of the game don’t realize that a lot of the defense on a certain player is greatly effected by the other people on the court,” Moore said. “By making it hard on the guards to get to where they want, you help your people in the post. Same as if your post guys can get a block and get a drive out going the other way for your guards. Its all about how you play as a team.”