NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ It wasn't a typical early season UConn blowout over an unranked non-conference opponent, but No. 4 UConn did just enough to get the job done, and showed signs of improvement from the game before, in a 64-51 win over Vanderbilt. The Huskies earned their first road win of the season in what was senior point guard Crystal Dangerfield's homecoming game.
Megan Walker led the team with 25 points on 10-for-20 shooting (3 for 8 from 3-point range), while Olivia Nelson-Ododa notched a double-double with 14 point and 12 rebounds (along with dishing out four assists and blocking five shots).
The 'core four' of Walker, Nelson-Ododa, Christyn Williams (13 points), and Dangerfield (eight points) accounted for 60 of UConn's 64 points, while Aubrey Griffin added four points of her own.
After a sloppy first half that ended in a 10-point UConn lead, the Huskies put together arguably their most complete quarter so far this season: With much improved ball movement and stingy defense, they jumped out ahead for good thanks to a 20-4 run to start the third and led by as many as 26 points. Walker alone accounted for nine points alone in that quarter.
Though Vanderbilt scored the last seven points of the quarter to bring the deficit under 20 and outscored the Huskies 17-11 in the fourth, the Commodores didn't close within 13 until the final basket of the game, with 25 seconds remaining in the game.
The program announced less than an hour before tip off that transfer Evina Westbrook will sit out the 2019-20 season after the appeal of her transfer waiver was also denied.
UConn next heads to Philadelphia, where the Huskies will play in an unusually early conference matchup against Temple on Sunday at 1 p.m.
