UConn Huskies at UC Davis Aggies

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scores 30 as No. 1 UConn wins 47th straight

"I mean at any level," the Connecticut coach insisted. "I get disappointed when she doesn't take open shots and I get disappointed when she passes up open shots, because when you're that gifted and that skilled, you should be looking, like tonight."

Mosqueda-Lewis knocked down a career-high 10 3-pointers on the way to 30 points, and No. 1 UConn cruised to its 47th straight win with a 102-43 rout of UC Davis in the season opener for both teams Friday night.

Breanna Stewart added 15 points, a career-best seven assists and six rebounds for the hot-shooting Huskies, and the two-time defending NCAA champions went on a 39-0 run spanning 15 minutes, 43 seconds from midway through the first half to Rachel Nagel's 3 at the 13:16 mark of the second for UC Davis. It is believed to be among the biggest runs in UConn program history.

Mosqueda-Lewis matched Maya Moore's record for most 3-pointers, which Moore did on Jan. 17, 2009, against Syracuse in Hartford. The Huskies' 18 total 3s tied the school record set in that same game.

Mosqueda-Lewis, playing in front of family and friends in her home state of California, sat out the final 11:31 on Friday.

"She came out and really put on a show for everyone," Stewart said. "I told her to do that. I'm glad she listened."

UConn faced the Aggies of the Big West Conference as a nice tuneup in Northern California ahead of a marquee matchup at sixth-ranked Stanford on Monday night in a rematch of the national semifinals last spring.

The Huskies held a 45-22 rebounding edge, too.

"It's a good way to go into Monday," Mosqueda-Lewis said.

Moriah Jefferson had 13 points and seven assists for UConn.

Auriemma's Huskies hit four straight 3-pointers to start the game and wound up shooting 64 percent from beyond the arc and 57 percent overall from the floor. UConn went 40-0 during its championship run last season, and sure seems poised to go for a three-peat.

UC Davis junior starting forward Celia Marfone went down beneath her own basket when her left knee buckled as she tried to stop with just more than a minute remaining in the first half. Marfone was helped off the court, fighting tears of pain.

The Huskies hit 11 of 16 first-half 3s for 69 percent, then seven more over the final 20 minutes.

UC Davis faced the top-ranked team in the nation for the third straight season and a top-five opponent for the fourth consecutive year. Coach Jennifer Gross focused on what her team could do.

"I didn't look at the scoreboard much," Gross said. "I was more worried about whether we were boxing out, running the offense and playing hard for 40 minutes."

WINE COUNTRY BREAK

Auriemma looked forward to a short respite Saturday before heading to Stanford. He will visit the Napa wine country.

"I've got some winemaker friends there I'll see," he said.

TIP-INS

The Huskies improved to 26-4 in regular-season openers under 30th-year coach Auriemma and own a 19-game winning streak in openers since losing 83-81 to Louisiana Tech on Nov. 19, 1995. ... UC Davis drew 4,712 fans to The Pavilion, a record for a women's basketball game. It topped 4,675 against Chico State in 1999.

"You know how I feel when we walk into buildings and that's the case, I think it's great for women's basketball, it's great for the home team," Auriemma said. "I just always wish they would play really, really well so a lot of these people would come back."

UP NEXT

UConn faces Stanford on Monday night in a rematch of last season's national semifinal.

UC Davis will play Sacramento State on Tuesday.

How can I watch Huskies vs. Aggies?

• TV Channel: Huskies vs Aggies 2021 College Basketball, week 1, is broadcasted on ESPN3.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Venue: University Credit Union Center

Location: Davis, CA
Attendance: 4,712 | Capacity: