The Daily Campus

Issue date: 11/2/05 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Megan Reynolds Renee Montgomery had 11 points and four steals in her Huskies debut as UConn defeated the Houston Jaguars, 71-65.

HARTFORD - If the first 10 minutes of the game were to decide the winner, it would not have been the Huskies. However, with the help of Charde Houston, the women's basketball team defeated the Houston Jaguars, 71-65, at the Hartford Civic Center in their first preseason game.

"Nothing we did was solid," head coach Geno Auriemma said of his team's play in the first 10 minutes of the game. "Our defense was bad and there just weren't a lot of positives. Then I would say in the second 10 minutes of the first half, [Houston] and Renee [Montgomery] ignited the whole change, the whole demeanor of the team."

The Huskies scored only seven points in the first 10 minutes of the game, while the Jaguars managed 13 points. The Huskies had six fouls in those 10 minutes.

Houston had 16 points in the first half, while Barbara Turner notched six for the Huskies.

During a time out after five minutes of play, Auriemma replaced his starting line up of Ann Strother, Nicole Wolff, Barbara Turner, Willnett Crockett and Renee Montgomery with Mel Thomas, Keita Swanier, Charde Houston, Kalana Greene and Brittany Hunter.

The second half proved much better for the Huskies as they dominated the floor. UConn brought the lead to 22 points with 14 minutes remaining in the game. The Jaguars didn't give the Huskies too much competition, as the gap remained above six points the entire second half. The bench was responsible for 41 points during the game.

Houston, who is recovering from an Achilles injury, scored 20 points to lead the team. She played for 22 minutes and recorded seven rebounds for the team. She was limping at the end of the game but said the injury was nothing serious. Her teammates were impressed with her play.

"That's Charde," Turner said. "She brings another level to the game. She can get a lot of things done on the court."

Turner also said this game was a lateral step for the team. She said the game was more about learning what the team still needed to work on than anything else.

"It's just a process," Turner said. "I'm not concerned."

Houston said that after the game she felt the team had a lot to work on, like just paying attention at practice and understanding what the coach is trying to explain to them, however, she isn't concerned the team will do poorly.

"It is not a bad team," Houston said. "I have nothing negative to say about this team and I have so much faith in the team."

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