Nov. 16, 2008
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STORRS, Conn. (AP) – Maya Moore had 20 points and 14 rebounds to help top-ranked Connecticut pull away from Georgia Tech on Sunday and come away with a 82-71 season-opening win.
It was the 12th double-double of the sophomore’s career and the 37th time she’s reached double figures in her 39 games.
Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles each added 15 points for the Huskies, who won their 13 straight season opener. The victory also extended the Huskies regular-season winning streak to 25 games.
Georgia Tech kept the game close by hitting 10-of-15 3-point shots. Mo Bennett, who had three of those, scored 19 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (1-1). Jacqua Williams had 14 and Alex Montgomery added 12.
The teams were tied at 34 at the half, and it was 65-62 before UConn closed the game on a 17-9 run.
Two consecutive steals by Montgomery in the final 2 minutes led to easy layups for Moore and Caroline Doty that put the game out of reach. Doty had 13 points in her first collegiate game.
Charles scored her 1,000th career point on a layup with 11:15 left in the first half that gave the Huskies a 19-10 lead. But she picked up her second foul a short time later and played just four points in 11 minutes before intermission.
The Huskies could not shake the Yellow Jackets, who pressed on defense and hit 4-of-5 from behind the arc before intermission. UConn hit just 4-of-19 from 3-point range, just 2-of-12 in the first half.
Bennett’s steal and driving layup just before the halftime buzzer tied the game at 34.
The Huskies had built a 59-46 lead midway through the second half, before the Yellow Jackets came roaring back with a 16-6 run. A Bennett layup cut the lead to 65-62, but the Yellow Jackets could not get any closer.
Georgia Tech won its opener on Friday night, 73-49 over Troy, but was picked to finish sixth in the ACC and was not expected to challenge the Huskies. UConn returned four starters from a team that lost just two games a year ago and made it to the Final Four.
At halftime, Connecticut honored the members of the 1995 team, which went 35-0 and won the first of the school’s five national titles.
