COLUMBIA, S.C. _ Stepping into the thick of an intense moment Thursday night, the UConn women's basketball team took the court in front of about 18,000 wildly loud fans, essentially embarrassed the defending national champions on their own turn and sucked the life right out of the building.
And it didn't take very long. Nor did it look very difficult. Or seem to have any chance of playing out differently once the ball was in the air.
The top-ranked Huskies built a 30-point lead in the second quarter, creating near silence in a building that had been shaking not a half-hour earlier, and defeated No. 7 South Carolina, 83-58, at Colonial Life Arena.
So the Huskies, emphatically, owned the moment. They often do.
That's what these seasons are about, or at least what they become about. The calendar turns to the short month of February and the emphasis shifts away from incremental progress, improvement over the long haul, learning curves _ to the moments.
UConn (21-0) kept alive its quest for a seventh perfect season. South Carolina fell to 18-4.
Kia Nurse had 23 points and Katie Lou Samuelson 20 for the Huskies, who have won a record 48 consecutive road games.
UConn led by as many 33, when Nurse made a 3-pointer to make it 59-26 early in the third. South Carolina scored the next 12 points and, yes, the building became loud once again, the lead trimmed to 21. But Samuelson answered with a 3-pointer, and the Huskies were just fine, leading by 30 again down the stretch.
Outside the arena, scalpers lined Lincoln Street before the game. Inside hangs a banner celebrating the fact that the Gamecocks have led the nation in average attendance each of the past three seasons. Colonial Life was sold out and rocking, not quite the "white out" it was designed to be but an impressive atmosphere nonetheless.
And UConn was oblivious. The Huskies led 10-4 after consecutive 3-pointers by Nurse, the second coming after an offensive rebound and assist by Gabby Williams. UConn made seven of its first 11 shots, four early 3's, and built a 10-point lead. It was 24-16 after the first quarter.
It was 30-16 after a particularly impressive basket early in the second, with Napheesa Collier passing to Samuelson and then darting toward the basket for a return pass and layup.
It looked like that at times _ a clinic, almost. South Carolina battled like heck to get A'Ja Wilson the ball within a few feet of the basket but lacked diversity on offense. This was a game that highlighted just how well UConn moves without the ball, and plays defense. Williams led the effort against Wilson, who finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds but made just 4 of 18 shots.
Collier sank a 3-pointer to make it 35-16, then 37-16 with a Samuelson basketball. The arena was almost totally quiet at that point. Williams created a turnover and tossed ahead of the pack to Samuelson for an uncontested layup, making it 41-18 with just over four minutes left in the half.
It was 51-23 after a Nurse 3-pointer, 53-23 after the Williams layup that followed.
