Breanna Stewart had 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to help UConn rout Texas 105-54 Saturday in the Sweet 16, earning coach Geno Auriemma his 100th NCAA Tournament win.
Auriemma became the second coach to reach the century mark, joining Pat Summitt, who finished with 112 victories in her career. They are the only two coaches in men's or women's basketball to reach that milestone.
The Huskies shot a blistering 56 percent from the field and became the eighth team to put up more than 100 points in the regionals. UConn also broke the record for biggest margin of victory in regionals, surpassing the previous mark of 44.
UConn (35-1) led 26-19 midway through the first half before blowing the game open with a 44-9 run spanning the half. The burst started with 13 straight points by the Huskies.
UConn led 52-24 at the half and scored 18 points in the first 3:30 of the second half to finish off the spurt.
Stewart surpassed her previous NCAA Tournament best of 29 points before leaving the game for good with just over 9 minutes left.
Moriah Jefferson added a career-high 25 points -- hitting 10 of her 12 shots -- for the Huskies, who have advanced to the regional final for 10 straight seasons. They have been to the Final Four a record seven straight years.
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Texas was making its first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2004. Coach Karen Aston has a young roster and the Longhorns may not have to wait long to get back. Ariel Atkins scored 11 to lead Texas (24-11). The Longhorns tried to slow the Huskies down with their big lineup of 6-foot-7 Imani Stafford-McGee and 6-5 Kelsey Lang. Aston went with the pair at the first media timeout and her team still in the game.
It wasn't too effective as the Longhorns couldn't match the Huskies' speed. UConn will face either Dayton or Louisville in the regional finals.
TIP-INS
Texas: The Longhorns haven't beaten UConn in the six meetings, including three games in the NCAA Tournament. ... With the early season injury to McGee-Stafford and the loss of Nneka Enemkpali midway through the year, Texas hasn't had been at full strength all season.
UConn: Stewart has already had success in Albany, winning the New York State title her senior season in high school at the Times Union Center, which is hosting the NCAA Tournament. ... In the past 20 years, only two teams have beaten the Huskies with no players on their roster with any experience playing UConn. Michigan State did it in December of 2004 and Iowa State in 1999. ... Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis is now just six 3-point shots away from the NCAA career record held by Laurie Koehn of Kansas State and Heather Butler of UT-Martin. They both hit 392. ... This was seventh time UConn has broken 100-point in NCAA Tournament.
CLOSE CALLS
Texas won its first two games by a combined five points. That's the smallest margin of victory for teams that made the Sweet 16. By contrast, UConn won its two contests by 92 points.
RECORD BREAKERS
Notre Dame and Louisiana Tech held the previous record for margin of victory in the regionals and beyond. Both teams won by 44 points, Louisiana Tech in 1990 and the Irish in 2012.
