Injured Dangerfield out as No. 4 UConn beats Dayton 75-37

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Megan Walker scored 23 points and matched her career high with 12 rebounds Tuesday night, and No. 4 UConn beat Dayton 75-37 without injured point guard Crystal Dangerfield.

The Huskies (6-0) took control with their outside shooting in their first visit to University of Dayton Arena, completing a two-game trip to Ohio that sapped their depth.

Dangerfield had a season-high 23 points during a 73-62 win at Ohio State on Sunday but was sidelined against the Flyers because of back spasms. Senior guard Molly Bent got her first career start and had four points with two assists.

Adding to the Huskies’ concerns, guard Anna Makurat went down hard in the second quarter and limped off. She returned for the start of the third quarter and finished with six points in 11 minutes.

Walker hit three 3s in the third quarter as the Huskies pulled ahead by 31 points. Her four 3s also tied her career high.

Dayton (3-3) lost to a Top 10 team at home for the second straight game. The Flyers also fell behind early and never recovered during a 75-49 loss to No. 6 South Carolina on Nov. 13. Jayla Scaife led Dayton with 12 points.

UConn has relied on the quartet of Dangerfield, Walker, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Christyn Williams for the bulk of their points. With two of them hurt, the Huskies had to use their bench more than they had all season.

The Huskies took control with a13-0 run that highlighted their versatility and prompted a Dayton timeout.

Nelson-Ododa had a put-back basket, and the Huskies got consecutive 3s from three different players — Walker, Makaurat and Williams — before Nelson-Ododa completed the rally with a fade-away jumper that made it 24-9. Nelson-Ododa finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.

The Huskies were 5 of 7 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, when they led by as many as 18 points. They pushed it to 23 in the second quarter before Makurat limped off. Dayton never got closer than 19 points.

BIG PICTURE

UConn: The Huskies have an eight-day break before their next game, giving them a chance to get healthy.

Dayton: The Flyers couldn’t overcome a poor first quarter in their loss to South Carolina, and had the same issues again Tuesday, going 4 of 20 as UConn pulled into the comfortable lead. Dayton shot 20.6% from the field overall.

UP NEXT

UConn plays at Seton Hall on Dec. 5, completing a stretch of three road games.

Dayton plays No. 23 Gonzaga on Friday in the Gulf Coast Showcase.