Women's basketball team of the week: UConn Huskies

Three-time defending national champion and No. 1 ranked UConn continues to meet every challenge this season. The latest Huskies victory came on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in New York, with UConn scoring a hard-fought 83-73 win over Maryland in the Maggie Dixon Classic game. Breanna Stewart scored 23 points and Moriah Jefferson added 17 to help the Huskies beat the sixth-ranked Terrapins for the 47th consecutive victory for UConn, all by double digits.

The 23 points by Stewart on Monday moved the three-time All-America forward past Diana Taurasi on the school’s scoring list and into sixth place all-time. Stewart, who missed the LSU game last week with an ankle injury, leads UConn with an average of 22.9 points per game. She is one of four Huskies averaging in double figures this season, with Morgan Tuck (15.5), Jefferson (13.5) and Kia Nurse (10.2) supplying additional firepower.

UConn (10-0) has now recorded five wins over ranked teams this season, including three wins over teams that were in the Top Ten when they played. December wins over DePaul, Florida State, Notre Dame, LSU and Maryland have reconfirmed the Huskies national dominance. The only two longer winning streaks for UConn were the NCAA record 90-game run from 2008-10 and the 70 consecutive wins from 2001-03. UConn also won 47 straight starting with their run to the NCAA title in 2013.

Next up for UConn, which has won 94 of their last 95 games, is the opening of American Athletic Conference play with a Dec. 30 game at Cincinnati. Many have circled UConn’s game on Feb. 8 at South Carolina as one of the top games after New Year’s Day.

Honorable mention teams of the week: Notre Dame and Texas.