Charde Houston led the team in rebounding against Notre Dame.

Huskies seeing red

By: Meagan Mackin

Posted: 2/3/05

If there was a time for win, that would be now for the Huskies. After a disappointing conference loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, UConn can redeem itself tonight against Rutgers.

Notre Dame beat the Huskies, 65-59, last Sunday night at Gampel Pavilion. UConn suffered throughout the first half with 16 turnovers and only 24 points. The Irish took control early in the game, leading by 10 points at halftime.

"The first mistake is when you catch the call and you immediately think to pass it," coach Geno Auriemma said about the turnovers. "You are already on the defensive. There's not one guy that caught the ball and was thinking score."

"There was nothing that we did well in the first half," Ann Strother said.
The second half seemed to pick up for the Huskies as they caught up with Notre Dame and made the score 36-34 within the first three and a half minutes. However, Courtney Lavere and the rest of the Irish had other plans for the Huskies as she led her team in scoring with 14 points. The Huskies limited themselves to four turnovers during the second half, but it was not enough to overcome the first half.

"If you take care of business in the first half, you don't have to go through such a tough stretch in the second half because that gives you momentum and confidence and everything that you need to go into the second half to come out with a victory," Charde Houston said. "Not taking care of the ball in the first half really got to us."

Strother had a season high 25 points, including another season high seven 3-pointers, while Houston had a double-double (10 points and 12 rebounds).

Rutgers (15-4, 6-1) is coming off a win against another Big East foe, West Virginia, 70-49. Leading scorer for the Knights was Maggie Campbell with 20 points and also contributed 11 rebounds.

Their only Big East loss was to Notre Dame on Jan. 23. The Irish won, 63-47.

Along with Campbell, the Huskies need to be aware of Matee Ajavon, who is averaging 13 points a game for the Scarlet Knights. Cappie Pondexter can be another threat, who is averaging 11.7 points per game off the bench.

UConn is 16-1 all-time against Rutgers.