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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

UConn crushes Irish

Associated Press

STORRS, Conn. – Connecticut got off to a near-perfect start, showing there is a chasm between it and the rest of women’s basketball.

Tina Charles scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help the top-ranked Huskies rout No. 3 Notre Dame 70-46 on Saturday night for their 56th straight victory.

UConn scored 24 of the game’s first 28 points to take control, delivering an early knockout.

“That first 15 minutes of basketball was pretty amazing,” Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. “That was as good a 15 minutes of basketball you could hope to play on a day like today against a team like that.”

Maya Moore added 20 points for the Huskies, who have the second-longest winning streak in women’s basketball history. They’re 14 short of their NCAA and school record set from 2001-03.

UConn (17-0, 5-0 Big East) has been at its best against top-10 teams during the streak, winning those 10 games by nearly 27 points a game.

“The gap is huge,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. “I think that they are on a mission to prove that gap is wider and wider with every game. They’ve had their way with the top 10. Even Stanford. They are the best team in the country, no question about it.”

Devereaux Peters scored 12 for ND (15-1, 2-1).