Champ Central
 
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Top-seeded UConn led by as many as 28 points, as the Huskies defeated No. 2-seed UCF 66-45 to win their sixth-straight American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball title at Mohegan Sun Arena Monday night. The starting five for UConn combined to score all its points, as senior forward Napheesa Collier registered her third double-double of the tournament and 20th of the season with a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds.
 
The Huskies remain undefeated in American tournament play with an 18-0 all-time record. UConn will head to the NCAA Tournament for the 31st-straight year, as the Huskies captured their 47th overall conference title. UConn has advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the past 11 seasons, having accounted for 11 national titles in program history. UCF awaits an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, as the Knights likely secured a berth with Monday’s appearance in the championship game.
 
Collier was named the Most Outstanding Player of The American tournament by a unanimous vote, averaging 28 points and 13 rebounds. She ended the championship with the most points (85), rebounds (39) and free throws (15-15) in a single conference tournament. In her career, she recorded the most points (201), field goals (79) and rebounds (87) in tournament history. Teammates Crystal Dangerfield, Megan Walker and Christyn Williams were each named to the All-Tournament team. UCF’s Kay Kay Wright and USF’s Enna Pehadzic joined them in earning All-Tournament honors.
 
Today’s final marked the second time the Huskies and Knights met in The American’s tournament, but it was UCF’s first appearance in the conference’s title game. The Knights own a program-record of 26 wins this season and received their highest seed in tournament history.
 
UConn’s Williams (13 points) and Dangerfield (12 points) joined Collier in double-digit scoring. The Huskies won the battle down low, leading 39-29 in rebounds and scoring 32 points in the paint. UConn shot 42 percent from the field, while holding UCF to shooting 35 percent in the game.
 
UCF had a strong second half, outscoring UConn 30-27 and shooting 50 percent from the floor. The Knights held the Huskies to shooting below 40 percent through the final 20 minutes. The scoring was spread for the Knights, with 32 points off the bench, as nine different players registered at least one point. Lawriell Wilson tallied 12 points (5-8) off the bench to lead UCF. Masseny Kaba chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds.
 
UConn grabbed four offensive boards, using a 7-0 run en route to jumping out to an early 11-3 lead during the first 4:29 of the game. All five starters scored a bucket during the Huskies’ opening spurt. The Knights closed the gap to four points (13-9) after Kayla Thigpen got to the line and made a pair of free throws. Collier then tallied four points in the final 44 seconds of the first quarter to give the Huskies a 17-9 cushion heading into the next frame.
 
UConn shot 60 percent in the second quarter, while holding UCF to six points. Collier powered a 10-3 run, registering six points, to start the second frame, extending UConn to a 15-point lead (27-12). The Knights got no closer than 14, as UConn used a 12-2 run to close the first half, capped by Dangerfield’s third triple of the night. The Huskies took a 39-15 lead into the locker room, leading 27-12 in first-half rebounds and scoring 20 points the paint.
 
UCF came out firing in the second half, outscoring UConn 14-9 in the third quarter on 43 percent shooting during that frame. The Knights held UConn to shooting 27 percent and used an 11-2 run with Wilson scoring seven points to fuel UCF’s rally. Despite being held to one field goal through the final 5:53 of the third frame, UConn entered the fourth quarter with a 19-point lead (48-29).
 
Walker got the Huskies back on track in the final frame, draining a corner three-pointer on UConn’s first possession. However, with seven minutes left to play, Wilson hit her second trey of the night, sparking another 10-2 run for UCF.
 
Collier broke a two-minute scoring drought for the Huskies, tallying five on the next seven points to bring UConn back to a comfortable 20-point lead (63-43) with 2:24 left to play in the game. The Knights held UConn to scoring its fewest points in American Athletic Conference Championship history, but the Huskies secured their sixth league title with a 66-45 final score.
 
For more information on and continuing coverage of the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/wbb.