PHILADELPHIA (AP) Jermaine Samuels scored 19 points and made the decisive three-point play that put No. 14 Villanova ahead for good in a 61-55 win over Connecticut on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Samuels converted a three-point play with 2:51 left for a 52-51 lead and then buried a 3 with 31 seconds remaining for a four-point lead that clinched another tight one for the Wildcats (14-3).

The Huskies (10-7) kept it close against their pending Big East rival and attacked the paint with authority to offset a miserable effort from 3-point range (2 of 15). Christian Vital fought through the lane and tossed in a layup that brought the Huskies within two with 24 seconds left. But a full-court press on Villanova came up empty and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl sank two free throws to secure the Wildcats' 10th win in 11 games.

UConn improved to 6-0 in the American Athletic and 15-1 overall after their 59-52 win over UCF on Thursday night.

Sophomore forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa had nine points and 12 rebounds in the win. Afterwards, she knew what the team has to improve on going forward.

"Personally, just finishing better inside, posting up stronger, working on that," Nelson-Ododa said. "As a team, we can take from this, we have to continue to be the aggressor. We get everybody's best game, and that's evident the past couple games, and so we just have to learn to work through that."

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Megan Walker scored 19 points and Crystal Dangerfield sparked a big first-half rally, leading No. 4 Connecticut to a 59-52 win over Central Florida on Thursday night.

It was only the second single-digit win for the Huskies (15-1, 6-0 American Athletic) , who are 126-0 in conference games, including tournaments.

Dangerfield finished with 13 points, five assists and three steals, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa had nine points and 12 rebounds.

UConn defeated Memphis, 68-56, in a tough road matchup on Tuesday, and while the Huskies played a strong game defensively, holding the Tigers to just 33.3 percent shooting, they struggled to move the ball on offense.

After the game, head coach Geno Auriemma was not pleased with his team's offensive effort.

"We started getting some stops down the other end," Auriemma said. "I think they scored (23 points) in the second half, so our defense was a lot better in the second half. Our offense was terrible the whole game but we made a couple of really big shots when we had to.

"I can't explain it, we just had no, absolutely zero any kind of continuity on offense, so we grinded it out. We got a win that the way we shot it and the way they were playing, it just as easily could have been a loss, so I'll take it and get out of here."

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Crystal Dangerfield scored 24 and fourth-ranked UConn used a late run to pull away from Memphis in a 68-56 on Tuesday night.

The Huskies (14-1, 5-0 American Athletic Conference) escaped in the final quarter to remain undefeated in league play.. They have not lost a conference game since joining AAC in the 2013-14 season and are 11-0 all-time against Memphis.

Megan Walker added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies and Christyn Williams scored 16 points.

Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu led the Tigers (9-8, 0-4) with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Madison Griggs scored 12.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Wichita State gave up a nine-point point lead in just over a minute at the end of regulation and had two key players foul out during two overtimes.

But the Shockers found a way to get their ninth consecutive win, and eighth straight on the road dating to last season, as they held off UConn 89-86 on Sunday.

"I thought we were tremendously tough and ratty, pursuing balls and getting stops," coach Gregg Marshall said. "Both teams just fought like crazy and left it all out there."

The UConn men's basketball team has lost F Tyler Polley for the rest of the season, as the university said he tore his ACL and meniscus in his left knee during practice on Friday. 

A starter for the Huskies, Polley was coming off his best game of the season against Tulane, where he totaled a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds on 7-of-15 shooting.

Overall, Polley is averaging 9.5 points and 3.2 rebounds this season, while shooting 42 percent from the field. 

Alterique Gilbert will likely take over for Polley in the starting rotation when they take on No. 23 Wichita State on Sunday at 12 p.m.

The UConn Huskies are hoping to have a Hockey East playoff spot, but this season's second half will give them a new beginning for a push behind their young talent.

In 2012, UConn announced it would be moving from Atlantic Hockey to Hockey East beginning in the 2014-15 season. UConn started its new era with a new coach, Mike Cavanaugh. Since the move, UConn has yet to win a conference playoff game, with its best season under Cavanaugh coming in 2017-18 when it tied for fifth in the conference.

UConn showed promise last year when it knocked off No. 2 UMass in the season finale, and that was the highest-ranked opponent UConn has defeated.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma received some criticism from the media and online after he called a few of his players "dummies" coming off the Huskies' loss to Baylor on Thursday, which ended their 98 game home win streak.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Megan Walker scored 22 points and Christyn Williams had 21 as top-ranked UConn responded to its first loss of the season with a 91-51 rout of Houston on Saturday.

Crystal Dangerfield (17 points) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (13) also hit double figures for the Huskies (13-1, 4-0 American), who have gone 975 games over 27 years without losing twice in a row.

Dorian Branch scored 13 points to lead Houston (8-9, 1-2), which has lost three of its last four games.

Jim Calhoun left coaching in 2012 after a legendary career that saw him win 873 career games between UConn and Northeastern. 

But he returned to the coaching ranks in 2018 at a much lower-profile program, D-III University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Conn. 

On Friday, his Blue Jays defeated Pratt Institute by a score of 105-61, giving Calhoun his 900th NCAA win. He joins Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Bob Knight as the only coaches to coach at least 10 seasons in Division I and reach 900 victories.

In a battle of two top-10 teams, UConn and Baylor went back and forth for most of the night on Thursday, but the Lady Bears eventually pulled away in the fourth quarter, handing UConn their first home loss since March 2013.

Following the 74-58 loss, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma explained that the first four minutes of the final quarter really made the difference in the game. 

"I was telling them that I thought for about 30 minutes, I thought we battled pretty good," Auriemma said. "Our offense was good, we were getting good shots, we weren't making a bunch of them, but we were putting enough pressure on them.

"And then in that fourth quarter, those first five minutes we got a bunch of stops, we got a bunch of stops, we got a bunch of stops, but then we came down and we didn't get anything to go. We couldn't get a shot to drop. I think those five minutes kind of demoralized our team." 

SNY's Jeane Coakley and Meghan Culmo discussed UConn's first home loss since 2013, after the Huskies fell to Baylor 74-58.

"UConn stayed with Baylor for three quarters," Culmo said. "And then, you can't go for five minutes without scoring. You can't score six points in the fourth quarter, 24 points in the second half alone, and expect to win."

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Tea Cooper scored 27 points and No. 6 Baylor used a dominant fourth quarter to beat top-ranked UConn 74-58 on Thursday night, ending the Huskies' 98-game home winning streak.

UConn fell one victory short of tying its own NCAA record of 99 in a row at home. The Huskies previous loss at home came in the Big East final against Notre Dame on March 12, 2013.

Baylor (12-1) led by three going into the fourth quarter and neither team could get much going on offense in the first few minutes of the final period. The Huskies cut the deficit to one on Christyn Williams' jumper with 6:36 left. Then the defending national champions took over.

STORRS, Conn. (AP) Tyler Polley had 19 points and a career high 11 rebounds to lead UConn to a 67-61 win over Tulane Wednesday night, giving the Huskies their first conference win this season.

Christian Vital (14 points), Alterique Gilbert (11) and Josh Carlton (10), also reached double figures for the Huskies (10-5, 1-2 American), who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Connecticut dominated underneath, outrebounding Tulane 46-29 and scoring 19 second-chance points.

We're getting to know players from UConn, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Yale ahead of SNY's Connecticut Ice tournament on Jan. 25-26.

Name: Adam Karashik

School: UConn

UConn improved to 12-0 on the season after beating SMU 80-42 on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Kyla Irwin has started the past seven games for the Huskies, and scored a career-high 14 points and added in seven assists in the win. Afterwards, head coach Geno Auriemma was proud of the way Irwin has played.

"Kyla spent the first few years at Connecticut trying to be somebody else and prove that she belonged there, and that just kept backfiring on her," Auriemma said. "Now she's finally realized `I'm just going to do what I do well and stick with that.' "

DALLAS (AP) Christyn Williams scored 21 points and Megan Walker added 15 as top-ranked UConn eased past SMU 80-42 on Sunday to remain undefeated heading into Thursday's showdown against No. 6 Baylor.

The Huskies (12-0, 3-0 American) never trailed and led by as many as 40 points.

SMU (6-7, 0-1) faced its first ranked opponent this season.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Laquincy Rideau had 17 points and six assists, David Collins scored 15 points, and South Florida beat UConn 75-60 on Saturday.

The Bulls (8-7, 1-1 American) also got 12 points and nine rebounds from Michael Durr.

UConn led Wichita State by 19 points at the half on Thursday night, and though they held on to win 83-55, the Shockers were able to cut the Huskies' lead to just 10 points in the third quarter.

The Huskies closed the game on a 20-2 run, but head coach Geno Auriemma, who returned to the bench following a brief hospitalization for a minor medical procedure, knows his team has plenty to work on moving forward. 

"Yeah, a lot of struggles in the second half. I should have stayed in the hospital and let (assistant Chris Dailey) coach," Auriemma said. "They were better when she was coaching. Maybe some of it was the layoff, maybe some of it was you get a big lead and you get a little bit complacent, but that whole third quarter and most of the second half actually was not exactly the way I would want to play basketball.

"We've got to build back up to where we were. We did a lot of really good things the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, and we'll take it and build on that."

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Crystal Dangerfield scored 22 points and Megan Walker added 21 to lead top-ranked UConn to an 83-55 win over Wichita State Thursday night, giving the Huskies their 122nd win without a loss in American Athletic Conference play.

Christyn Williams had 19 points for the Huskies (11-0, 2-0 American), who have won all 104 regular-season games since the conference was formed and all six AAC tournaments.

It took some time for the Huskies to get back into the flow of their offense after a 10-day holiday break.

CINCINNATI (AP) Tre Scott scored 10 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds to carry Cincinnati to a 67-51 win over UConn in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Wednesday night.

Chris Vogt had 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting for the Bearcats, (8-5), who beat UConn for the eighth-straight time. Jarron Cumberland added 15 points.

Cincinnati shot 50% in the first half and held the Huskies to 26% to open a 35-19 lead. UConn made 3 of 9 shots from 3-point range but just 4 of 18 inside the arc for a season-low opening half.

Led by senior guard Christian Vital's game-high 23 points, the UConn men's basketball team improved to 9-3 on the 2019-20 season with Sunday's 69-47 win over NJIT.

Before the home crowd of 10,507 at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, Vital went 8 for 15 from the field -- making 5 of 8 three-point tries -- while grabbings five rebounds and four steals.

After the game, Vital and head coach Dan Hurley put UConn's third straight victory into perspective as the calendar flips to 2020 with Wednesday's 7 p.m. contest at Cincinnati (7-5).

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Christian Vital scored 23 points and UConn ended the 2019 portion of its season with a 69-47 rout of NJIT.

Vital hit eight of his 15 shots and was 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

Brendan Adams added 12 points for the Huskies (9-3), who have won six of their last seven heading into conference play. Akok Akok chipped in with seven points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

UConn got a game-high 21 points from Alterique Gilbert in Sunday's 88-62 rout of New Hampshire at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, but the junior guard was quick to deflect the reasons behind the team's dominance.

"I just think my coaches and my teammates put me in great positions to make plays, and shots were falling tonight," Gilbert told SNY's Chris Williamson after the game. "We're just looking to move forward."

Gilbert made 3 of 5 triples to highlight the spike from three-point range for the Huskies (8-3), who burned the Wildcats (6-6) by shooting 45.8 percent behind the arc.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Chris Dailey remained perfect filling in for Geno Auriemma as head coach as No. 2 UConn stated its case to move up to the top of the poll.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 27 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks and the Huskies - without Auriemma - routed Oklahoma 97-53 on Sunday in the Hall of Fame Women's Basketball Showcase.

The 65-year-old Auriemma missed the game after surgery Wednesday to relieve symptoms of diverticulitis, a condition where the colon develops small bulges that can sometimes become infected.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Point guard Alterique Gilbert scored 21 points to lead UConn over the University of New Hampshire 88-62 on Sunday.

Gilbert, who had scored a combined nine points over the previous two games, took over early in the second half with his own 9-0 run to make it 52-37 with 15:57 remaining.

The red-shirt junior shot 6-for-12 from the field, 3-for-5 on 3-pointers and 6 of 6 at the foul line. He finished three points shy of his career high (24), which came against Florida State last season.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma will not coach the team against Oklahoma on Sunday after undergoing a minimally invasive procedure to alleviate symptoms caused by diverticulitis, the school said Thursday in a press release.

According to the team, Auriemma is "in good spirits and is resting comfortably" and will remain at UConn John Dempsey hospital for the next two-to-three days before heading home to continue recuperating.

In Auriemma's absence, associate head coach Chris Dailey will serve as head coach against Oklahoma.

UConn is 9-0 this season, including 1-0 in conference play.

The UConn Huskies defeated St. Peter's, 66-56, on Tuesday night. Though they had a commanding lead for the majority of the night, head coach Dan Hurley wants to see his team improve their ball security, as the Huskies turned the ball over 26 times.

"A lot of work to do with our ball security right now," Hurley said, "The last two games, it's been a really poor reflection of my ability to get my team to be strong with the ball and make good decisions."

Hurley did praise his group's defense, though, as the Huskies held the Peacocks to just 38.6 percent shooting from the floor.

"Defensively, we were really good for the most part, and we have to be a top-30, top-35 team to have a surprisingly good season because offensively we've got a ways to go down on that end of the court," said Hurley.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Tyler Polley paced a balanced UConn offense with 12 points in a 66-56 victory over Saint Peter's on Wednesday.
Nine of the 10 Huskies who played finished with at least a basket. 

Freshman Jalen Gaffney added 10 points and five assists, while Akok Akok had seven points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
Polley was 4 of 6 on 3-pointers and UConn (7-3) shot 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from the perimeter.

Aaron Estrada had 12 points and Daryl Banks III scored 10 to lead the Peacocks (2-5), who shot 62.5 percent (5-for-8) on 3s. 

The two teams combined for 51 turnovers, with UConn scoring 22 points on 25 mistakes by Saint Peter's. The Peacocks scored 19 points on UConn's season-high 26.

CHICAGO (AP) - Megan Walker had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Crystal Dangerfield also scored 22 and No. 2 UConn held off No. 16 DePaul 84-74 on Monday night.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 19 points for the Huskies (9-0), who dominated in the first half and won their 17th straight over the Blue Demons (10-2), whose seven-game winning streak ended. Connecticut led 55-29 at the half before DePaul began a furious comeback.

Chante Stonewall led DePaul with 21 points. Sonya Morris had 20 points, Dee Bekelja has 12 and Lexi Held added 11 for the Blue Demons, whose other loss was to No. 4 Oregon State on Nov. 14.

NEW YORK (AP) Indiana failed to have a double-digit scorer and still rebounded from its first loss of the season to beat UConn 57-54 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Hoosiers (9-1) won their first eight games under coach Archie Miller and were on the brink of cracking the Top 25 until a 20-point loss at Wisconsin earned them only a few votes.

Beating a so-so UConn team may not earn IU any style points but it gutted out a win down the stretch in front of a wild Huskies crowd. UConn gave the Garden an old Big East feel in the Jimmy V Classic.

STORRS, Conn. (AP) Megan Walker scored 26 points and pulled down 13 rebounds Sunday to lead No. 4 UConn to an 81-57 rout of rival Notre Dame.

Walker hit 10 of her 18 shots for the Huskies (8-0) .

Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Christyn Williams had 12 points and Crystal Dangerfield, who returned to the Huskies starting lineup after missing two games with back spasms, chipped in with 10.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) Megan Walker scored 29 points and Aubrey Griffin added 25 as No. 4 UConn recovered from a slow start to defeat Seton Hall 92-78 on Thursday night.

The Huskies (7-0) trailed 28-19 after a fast-paced first quarter. They bounced back to beat the Pirates (5-4) for the 31st straight time dating to 1995.

UConn also got 12 points from Christyn Williams and 10 from Molly Bent.

UConn led Iona by just one point at halftime on Wednesday night, but the Huskies dominated in the second half en route to an 80-62 victory over the Gaels.

Forward Josh Carlton led the way for the Huskies, finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks.

After the game, Carlton, and UConn head coach Dan Hurley, spoke about the way he was able to play with force.

STORRS, Conn (AP) Josh Carlton scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, both season highs, to lead UConn over Iona 80-62 on Wednesday night.

Christian Vital had 16 points and Tyler Polley added 14 for the Huskies (6-2), who have won three straight and five of their last six.

Alterique Gilbert scored 12 points and had 10 of UConn's 18 assists. That trio of guards combined to hit eight of their 15 attempts from 3-point range.

Second-year head coach Dan Hurley sounded impressed with what he saw from his bench Sunday in UConn's 64-40 win over Maine.

As the Huskies (5-2) ran away from the Black Bears (2-5) before 7,129 at XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, they did so behind their second unit, headlined by the backup guard duo sophomore Brendan Adams and freshman James Bouknight.

The two combined for 26 of UConn's 29 bench points, splitting the total between Bouknight's team-high 15 and Adams' 11 to fuel the Huskies' 33-16 rout in the second half.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Freshman James Bouknight, playing his first home game, scored 15 points and UConn pulled away in the second half to beat Maine 64-40 on Sunday.

Alterique Gilbert added 13 points and Tyler Polley had 12 for the Huskies (5-2), who were playing in Connecticut for the first time in two weeks.

Andrew Fleming led all scorers with 16 points for Maine (2-5), which shot just 35% from the floor and made just six baskets in the second half.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) Megan Walker scored 23 points and matched her career high with 12 rebounds Tuesday night, and No. 4 UConn beat Dayton 75-37 without injured point guard Crystal Dangerfield.

The Huskies (6-0) took control with their outside shooting in their first visit to University of Dayton Arena, completing a two-game trip to Ohio that sapped their depth.

Dangerfield had a season-high 23 points during a 73-62 win at Ohio State on Sunday but was sidelined against the Flyers because of back spasms. Senior guard Molly Bent got her first career start and had four points with two assists.

After the UConn women's basketball team remained undefeated on the 2019-20 season with Sunday's 73-62 win over Ohio State, head coach Geno Auriemma was honest about how the Huskies are still finding an identity.

To beat the physical Buckeyes (3-2), UConn needed a variety of production over the fourth quarters before 8,909 on hand at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

The Huskies (5-0) got what they needed from three of their top players as senior guard Crystal Dangerfield (23), sophomore guard Cristyn Williams (20) and junior forward Megan Walker (19) stepped up to combine for 62 points.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Crystal Dangerfield scored 23 points and Christyn Williams added 20 to lead No. 4 UConn over Ohio State 73-62 on Sunday. 

Megan Walker added 19 for the Huskies (5-0), who had a rare tight game with the Buckeyes.

No team led by more than single digits for the first 36:47 of the game, but UConn went on a 9-4 run to go up 67-56 with 2:53 to go. A Kierstan Bell 3, quick steal and layup by Jacy Sheldon made it a six-point game with 2:20 to play.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) Brendan Adams had a career-high 20 points and Christian Vital added 16 points and 10 rebounds as UConn held off Buffalo 79-68 at the Charleston Classic on Thursday night.

The win by the Huskies (3-1) sets up a Big East past, present and future matchup with No. 18 Xavier on Friday night as former league heavyweight UConn faces current Big East beast in the Musketeers with the winner advancing the tournament finals.

The schools will soon be league rivals as UConn has announced a return to the Big East.

Headlined by the No. 1 overall prospect in the cycle, the UConn women's basketball team signed five members for the Huskies' 2020 recruiting class Wednesday.

UConn announced letters of intent from Minnetonka (Minn.) Hopkins five-star point guard Paige Bueckers (No. 1 overall, No. 1 point guard), Baltimore Roland Park Country five-star wing Mir McLean (No. 21 overall, No. 3 wing), Ontario (Canada) Crestwood Secondary five-star wing Aaliyah Edwards (No. 26 overall, No. 4 wing), Haverhill (Mass.) Bradford Christian Academy three-star forward Piath Gabriel and Zagreb, Croatia, three-star point guard Nika Muhl.

Prospect rankings are from the 2020 HoopGurlz espnW 100 recruiting rankings, prepared by Dan Olson of Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Megan Walker scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half and No. 4 UConn blew out Virginia 83-44 on Tuesday night.

Christyn Williams added 17 points for the Huskies (4-0), who extended their home winning streak to 96 games.

Kyla Irwin had a career-high 13 points and freshman Anna Makarut had her best game as a Husky with 10.

UConn sophomore forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa talked to SNY's Maria Marino after the Huskies beat Temple 83-54.

"I'm just happy that we were able to come out and play more of our UConn style of basketball this game, and we were able to show that," Nelson-Ododa said.

She led the team with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists in the win. Despite her strong stats, Nelson-Ododa knows how she can still improve.

STORRS, Conn. (AP) Christian Vital scored 15 points and made a key steal at the end of the game as UConn upset No. 15 Florida 62-59 on Sunday.

Tyler Polley also scored 15 points and Josh Carlton added 13 for the Huskies (2-1) who led by five points at halftime and never trailed after intermission.

A layup by Florida's Keyontae Johnson with just over a minute to go cut the lead to 60-59, but those would be the last points the Gators scored.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Olivia Nelson-Ododa had a career-high 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks to lead No. 4 UConn to an 83-54 win over Temple on Sunday in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Christyn Williams scored 19 points and Megan Walker added 15 for the Huskies.

The game was being played so early in the schedule because UConn has four non-conference games against No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Baylor, No. 6 South Carolina and Tennessee after Jan. 1 as well as an exhibition game against the U.S. national team on Jan.27. That made finding dates to play during the normal part of the conference schedule difficult. >> Read More

Before the Lady Huskies took on Vanderbilt on the road Wednesday, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma didn't hold back his feelings about the failed transfer waiver of Evina Westbrook. 

Up until this point, Auriemma has been quiet on the subject, as the NCAA was still doing work to see if the Tennessee transfer was allowed immediate eligibility for this season. But, after the NCAA rejected the appeal from the Huskies, Auriemma let it all out.

He claimed that Westbrook's situation -- one he couldn't get into details on -- should have shown the NCAA that a transfer was needed when she joined the school last offseason. However, the NCAA didn't view things that why, and Auriemma cant' see why. 

STORRS, Conn. (AP) Ryan Daly scored 30 points as Saint Joseph's held off UConn 96-87 on Wednesday night.

Rahim Moore added 22 points and Myles Douglas had 18 for the Hawks (2-1), who led by as many as 27-points in the first half and never trailed.

Christian Vital had 26 points for UConn (1-1) and Alterique Gilbert added 22 for the Huskies, who cut the deficit to three points in the second half before running out of gas.