Huskies hammer Pirates

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Tiffany Hayes and Caroline Doty had 15 points apiece to lead No. 2 Connecticut to a 70-37 rout of Seton Hall on Friday night in the Big East opener for both teams.

Next up for the Huskies will be a showdown with No. 1 Baylor on Dec. 18. The nation's top two teams met last season in Hartford, Conn., and the Huskies came away with a one-point victory.

On Friday, there was no such drama.

Connecticut (9-0) scored the first 20 points, quickly taking the spirited crowd out of the game. UConn hit four 3-pointers during the opening burst, and Kiah Stokes capped the run with a layup seven minutes into the game.

It took another minute before the Pirates (5-5) got their first points - two free throws by Alexis Brown. Seton Hall's first basket didn't come until its 14th shot with 8 minute, 27 seconds left in the first half when Brittany Morris converted a three-point play. That made it 30-5. The Pirates wouldn't get within 22 the rest of the game.

UConn opened the season with eight straight home games and ran through its opponents. The Huskies won their first eight games of the season by an average of 43 points, including a 30-point rout of No. 8 Texas A&M on Tuesday night.

Playing its first road game did give UConn a little second-half trouble. After Bria Hartley's layup with 15:34 left made it 55-23, the Huskies went more than nine minutes without a point as Seton Hall was able to cut the deficit to 23. Hartley finally ended the drought with a layin with 6:25 remaining and the Huskies cruised the rest of the way.

Jasmine Crew scored 12 points for Seton Hall.

The game featured the past two Olympic coaches. Anne Donovan led the U.S. team to gold in the 2008 Beijing Games, and Geno Auriemma will coach the Americans next year in London.