No. 1 Huskies ink 99th straight win

STORRS, Connecticut – Geno Auriemma took a moment to enjoy his UConn Huskies’ 99th straight victory – then turned his attention to No. 100 and South Carolina on Monday night.

“We’re not where I want to be right now,” the Hall of Fame coach said after the Huskies’ 83-41 victory over SMU on Saturday. “A game like Monday night comes at a perfect time for us. Maybe it’s exactly the game we need at exactly the right time.”

Katie Lou Samuelson scored 19 of her 22 points in the first half and the top-ranked Huskies extended their NCAA record winning streak.

Samuelson shook off an illness that caused her to miss practice Thursday and Friday and hit eight of her 13 shots from the floor.

“You don’t want your teammates to ever worry that if Lou’s not feeling that great, what are we going to get from her?” she said. “I wanted to show them that no matter what’s going on, I’m still going to be able to be out there and give 100 percent and do something to contribute to the team.”

Napheesa Collier had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Huskies (24-0, 12-0 American). They will try to make it 100 straight against No. 6 South Carolina on Monday night.

Kia Nurse and Saniya Chong each scored 13 points, and Gabby Williams had 11 points and nine rebounds.

The win was UConn’s 126th straight against unranked opponents and its 75th in a row in the American Athletic Conference, where the Huskies have never lost.

Williams hit a jumper from the foul line to open the contest and for the 14th time this season, the Huskies never trailed.

Kiara Perry had 11 points to lead SMU (13-11, 4-7), which made just 15 of its 61 shots from the floor (24.6 percent).

SMU kept it close in the first quarter, trailing 9-8 before Samuelson hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key.