No. 1 Connecticut 87, Holy Cross 34
WORCESTER, Mass. -- Maya Moore scored 21 points, Tina Charles added 18 and top-ranked Connecticut coasted to its 42nd straight victory, beating Holy Cross 87-34 on Friday night.
It was the 117th win against unranked nonconference opponents for the Huskies (3-0), who have won their first three games by an average margin of 49.3 points after going undefeated last season.
During their run to their sixth national championship last season, the Huskies beat teams by an average of 30 points.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who captured his 699th career win, cleared the bench with 14:14 to play in the second half with the Huskies leading 67-24.
Caroline Doty added 11 points and seven assists for the Huskies. Moore was 9 of 12 from the floor and had seven rebounds.
Bethany O'Dell led Holy Cross (2-2) with 11 points.
The Huskies led 52-22 at halftime.
Playing at the DCU Center instead of on-campus offered UConn a "home" feel in its first true road game of the season with most of the crowd cheering for the Huskies.
UConn beat then-No. 10 Texas 83-58 in a neutral-court contest in San Antonio on Tuesday. The Huskies will have six days off before facing Hofstra on Nov. 27.
In the first half, UConn combined its height advantage and the superior play of Charles and Moore to dominate inside, opening a 16-3 lead 6:11 into the game.
The only thing UConn struggled with in the opening half was its 3-point shooting, hitting just 3 of 12. The Crusaders were 5 of 11 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, but scored just one basket in the lane.
Holy Cross, which committed 17 first-half turnovers, had trouble with the Huskies' 1-2-2 zone. At least a half dozen times in the half UConn tipped passes out high in the zone, leading to easy breakaway baskets.
After Holy Cross' Whitney Fremeau hit a 3 from the top, making it 29-14, UConn scored the next 17 points. Charles and Moore each had a basket in the spree. Doty capped it with a 3 from the top with 4:50 to play.
In the second half, UConn scored 15 of the first 17 points before Auriemma went to his bench early, resting his starters. Heather Buck's basket in the paint made it 83-31 with just under 6 minutes left.
It was the 20th meetings between the schools. UConn has won 18, including a 96-37 win at Storrs last season.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index
