UNCASVILLE, Conn. _ As Napheesa Collier drove to the basket time and time again, one thing became very clear _ she wasn't going to let UConn lose.
With Katie Lou Samuelson on the bench with an injury, Collier knew what was expected of her, and she delivered. She knocked down midrange jumpers, drew fouls and created her own shots. She grabbed steals, hustled down the court on every play and played nearly every second of the top-seeded Huskies' 92-65 win over No. 8 East Carolina in the AAC Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
No one in the nation does more for her team than Collier, coach Geno Auriemma has said multiple times this season. Against the Pirates, onlookers saw exactly what he meant. The forward scored a season-high 37 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for her 18th double-double of the season. With Saturday's win, UConn (29-2, 16-0) moves on to the semifinals on Sunday and a meeting with No. 5 USF at 4 p.m. ECU is 16-15 and 6-11.
Four of UConn's five starters scored in double digits, with Crystal Dangerfield finishing with 16 points and six assists. Megan Walker had 14 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth career double-double, and Christyn Williams ended with 16 points and six assists. Olivia Nelson-Ododa had six points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
While Collier's dominant performance was somewhat expected, the emergence of Nelson-Ododa was a pleasant surprise for UConn. The freshman averaged 12.8 minutes prior to Saturday's game, which was just the second start of her collegiate career. Her length was a big advantage for the Huskies, helping her swat passes away and block shots.
While Collier and Nelson-Ododa were impressive, it was a win full of frustrated exclamations from Auriemma. Much like the first game they played without Samuelson this season, UConn didn't get out to a great start against ECU. The defense wasn't at its best, and as a result the Pirates were able to get plenty of open looks.
Collier was the only Husky able to get into a rhythm early and, combined with the problems on defense, this allowed ECU to keep things close the entire first half. Auriemma tried various lineups to improve the defense, including putting Mikayla Coombs in, but ECU continued to knock in open shots.
By the end of the first half, the Huskies were up just 46-39. Collier did a majority of the scoring for the Huskies, going into halftime with 29 points, while Nelson-Ododa already had 11 rebounds.
UConn came out of halftime with more physicality on defense, especially from Nelson-Ododa. She blocked multiple shots in the opening minutes of the third, helping UConn get out to a 15-point lead five minutes into the quarter. It wasn't a pretty quarter, but it was an effective one that helped UConn distance themselves from ECU.
With shots not falling as easily in the first half, the Huskies found ways to get to the line to start the second half and help Collier with scoring. The offense was otherwise quiet, with UConn going through a three-minute scoring drought toward the end of the quarter. Dangerfield was eventually able to drain a 3-pointer. By the end of the quarter, UConn was up 67-50.
Already holding a decent lead, things seemed to click a little more for the Huskies in the final quarter. Williams came alive, helping Collier score in the fourth, and getting more active on defense. Collier continued to score with ease, checking out with five minutes to go in the game.
