Eagles can't measure up

The Boston College-University of Connecticut matchup was supposed to be a highlight on the Eagles' women's basketball schedule. Not only would it be in front of a raucous home crowd, but the Eagles were buoyed by the fact they had "only" lost to the Huskies by 8 points in their game last month.

But in the end it turned into just another display of UConn domination, as the Huskies raced to an early lead, led by 15 points at the half, and stayed in control the rest of the way. UConn, ranked second in the nation, defeated No. 23 BC, 81-60, before a sellout crowd of 8,606 at Conte Forum. The Huskies have now defeated their opponents by an average of 24.1 points this season.

It was the 11th straight win for UConn (22-2, 12-1 Big East), and the fourth game in a row in which four Huskies scored in double figures, led by center Jessica Moore's season-high 21 points. It was the Eagles' most lopsided defeat since they lost to -- who else? -- the Huskies, 78-53, Feb. 11, 2001.

BC coach Cathy Inglese said it's never easy facing the two-time defending national champions, although it went worse than she ever expected.

"It's tough to stop both their inside and their outside game," Inglese said. "They were hitting some open threes, and then getting the ball inside, so I think it's tough to contain both ends. But that's who they are. They have outside shooters and an inside game, and we were hoping they'd be off one of them."

The Eagles (18-6, 8-5) scored the game's first 5 points, on a 3-pointer by Clare Droesch (11 points) and a layup by center Kathrin Ress, but after a missed shot by Brooke Queenan, the Eagles never led again. With the score tied, 5-5, UConn went on a 15-2 run as BC was 1 for 9 from the floor over the next 5 minutes 27 seconds.

"They have to keep their heads up, and if [Queenan] missed, you've got to forget about it and continue to play," Inglese said. Queenan finished the game scoreless as she was 0 for 6 from the floor. "I think that threw her off a little bit."

The Eagles trimmed the deficit to 10 points, 22-12, with 10:55 remaining in the first half on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Sarah Marshall, but never got closer. The Huskies took a 15-point lead to the locker room and expanded it to 20 points, 56-36, with 15:37 to go.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said he was worried, if only slightly, about facing BC.

"Last year we came in here and were up by 15, then all of a sudden, bang, bang, they tied the score," he said. "But I think our [post players] did a great job today, and I can't say enough about our defense."

Senior point guard Diana Taurasi, who finished with 13 points and six assists, moved ahead of Sue Bird for second on the UConn career assists list with 587, behind Jennifer Rizzotti's 637.

Not only did the Huskies score 44 points in the paint (compared with BC's 14), but UConn shot 31 for 58 from the floor (53.4 percent).

Still, Inglese said she was heartened by the Eagles' 16 turnovers to the Huskies' 17, and the fact BC outrebounded UConn, 32-30. And she's already looking ahead to the final three regular-season games.

"You're excited if you win it, but this game isn't as important as the next three," she said. "Obviously you want to beat UConn, but we want to get one of those top four spots in the Big East tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament."

Senior point guard Amber Jacobs led BC with 15 points, while Jessalyn Deveny scored all of her 13 points in the second half. Droesch and Marshall each had 11.

Marshall, whose 11 points tied a career high and who had never played UConn at home, said, "It was definitely an awesome athmosphere," while Jacobs bemoaned that in her four years, the Eagles have always come up empty against the Huskies.

"We've always battled Connecticut, but never beaten them, and I really wanted go out on a good note," Jacobs said.