Samuelson scores 27, UConn women’s basketball beats Temple

Both times Temple played Connecticut, the Owls allowed more than 100 points. The Owls held Connecticut to seven fewer points on Sunday than they did on Jan. 21, but Temple also scored fewer points than it did the last time the teams played.

The Owls lost, 106-45, to the Huskies, who are ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, in Hartford, Connecticut. The loss is Temple’s fourth in a row.

Temple (10-16, 2-11 American Athletic Conference) struggled to score, especially early. The Huskies opened the game with a 15-3 run. By the end of the first quarter, UConn had added 17 more points to make it 32-13.

Six Huskies scored in double figures led by junior guard and forward Katie Lou Samuelson’s 27 points. Samuelson, who shot 9-for-11 from the field on Sunday, didn’t play against the Owls on Jan. 21 due to an ankle injury.

The Owls shot just 23.8 percent and had only one player, freshman guard Emani Mayo, finish in double digits. Mayo was Temple’s leading scorer on Sunday with 17 points. She shot 5-for-10 from 3-point range. Her five 3-pointers marked a career-high. She also led the team in steals with two.

Scoring in the paint proved difficult for Temple, as the team recorded 10 points in the paint to Connecticut’s 60.

Temple’s leading scorer, senior guard Tanaya Atkinson, scored only five points. She entered the game with an average of 22 points per game.

Atkinson is also commonly a presence on the boards. She averages nine rebounds per game, but she tallied two in 32 minutes against the Huskies.

The Owls were heavily out-rebounded by a tall Connecticut team. The Huskies recorded 49 rebounds to Temple’s 24.

Freshman forward Mia Davis led Temple in rebounds with six and added eight points and three assists. Davis fouled out with two minutes, 37 seconds left in the game. Freshman forward Breanna Perry added four rebounds and five points.

The Owls will face conference opponent Cincinnati at the Liacouras Center on Wednesday. Temple has three games remaining until The American’s postseason tournament.