UConn Huskies at East Carolina Pirates

No. 1 UConn women stay perfect, rout ECU, 96-35

When she wasn't making shots, she passed to teammates who did.

Samuelson scored 19 points and had a season-best nine of the Huskies' 31 assists in their 96-35 victory over the Pirates on Wednesday.

"It's hard for us sometimes to run offense without (Samuelson) on the floor because she makes the most shots, and she's our best passer," coach Geno Auriemma said.

Gabby Williams added 18 points, Napheesa Collier had 14 points and Azura Stevens matched a season high with 16 rebounds for the Huskies (12-0, 2-0 American Athletic Conference).

They shot 53 percent, had a 52-38 edge on the boards, and scored 31 points off the Pirates' 20 turnovers while extending their Division I-record road winning streak to 42 and winning their 142nd in a row against unranked opponents.

"UConn dominated every facet of the game tonight," ECU coach Heather Macy said.

Alex Frazier and Destiny Campbell had eight points apiece to lead East Carolina (8-7, 0-2), which fell to 0-9 in the series and has never kept it closer than 41 points.

Megan Walker and Crystal Dangerfield each had 10 points for UConn.

BIG PICTURE

East Carolina: Macy's bid for school history will have to wait a few more days. She entered tied with her predecessor Sharon Baldwin-Tener for the most coaching victories in program history. Nobody expected win No. 127 to come against the mighty Huskies.

WEATHER REPORT

Tip-off time was moved up five hours to 2 p.m. in an attempt to finish the game before a winter storm was expected to dump snow, sleet and freezing rain on the Southeast seaboard.

Auriemma appreciated the change because "that gives us a chance to get out of here at a decent time" but added that "the people that were here, I think they got to see a pretty good game by us."

KEY STAT

HOMECOMING

This was as close to a homecoming as Stevens will have. The UConn forward grew up in Raleigh, attended high school in the suburb of Cary and was an all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection during two seasons at Duke before transferring following a disappointing 2015-16 season with the Blue Devils.

"She's so much different than anybody else we have on our team," Auriemma said. "She's got a dimension that's hard to find anywhere in the country, actually, someone with that length that has those kinds of skills."

UP NEXT

UConn: Plays at South Florida on Saturday night.

East Carolina: Travels to Memphis for a Saturday game.

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How can I watch Huskies vs. Pirates?

• TV Channel: Huskies vs Pirates 2021 College Basketball, week 9, is broadcasted on ESPN3.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Venue: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum

Location: Greenville, NC
Attendance: 1,823 | Capacity: