HARTFORD, Conn. _ Prior to tipoff, Geno Auriemma scoffed at the prospect of his current UConn team beating the U.S. national team in Monday's exhibition. He even looked relatively subdued toward the beginning of the contest, when the Huskies fell behind early and looked like they might even get blown out.
But before anyone knew it, Auriemma was fired up on the sideline, arguing with the refs and all, as his team climbed out of an early double-digit deficit to take the lead over the group of players looking to make the 2020 Olympic team. Though the Huskies couldn't pull off the upset after being outscored 27-13 in the decisive fourth quarter, they hung around longer than most anticipated and saw players like Megan Walker (22 points) Anna Makurat (10 points) have little issue going head-to-head with the pros in what was ultimately a 79-64 loss.
UConn trailed by 14 midway through the first quarter and by 11 at the end of the first, before the Huskies finally settled into the game and took advantage of a USA slump. The Huskies outscored the U.S. national team 20-10 in the second, with 3s from Makurat and Walker helping UConn get within striking distance, and a layup from Evelyn Adebayo giving UConn its first lead of the game.
A jump shot from Kayla McBride tied it going into the break.
After a slow start to the second half, UConn used a 10-0 run to regain the advantage, capped by a 3 from Makurat. The teams traded baskets before the U.S. entered the final frame up one thanks to a 3-pointer from McBride.
Aubrey Griffin and Christyn Williams regained the lead for UConn on respective takes to the hoop before Kelsey Plum's 8-0 personal run helped the U.S. start to break away.
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UConn hung within single digits until Nneka Ogwumike sank a pair of free throws with under two minutes to play.
