No. 3 UConn 80, Cincinnati 37

No. 3 UConn 80, Cincinnati 37

Published Jan. 20, 2012 4:40 a.m. ET

Tiffany Hayes has quietly become one of the top scorers in UConn basketball history.

The senior guard had 17 points as No. 3 Connecticut beat Cincinnati 80-37 Thursday, extending the Huskies' NCAA-record home winning streak to 96 consecutive games.

It was her seventh consecutive game in double figures and 15th this season. It also gave her 1,507 points for her career, moving her past Asjha Jones into 17th place on UConn's career scoring list.

''It's silent,'' she said. ''I used to be called the silent killer when I was little. So that's probably still going on.''

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Hayes also had seven rebounds and four steals.

Stefanie Dolson added 14 points and eight rebounds for UConn (16-2, 5-1 Big East), and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Dayeesha Hollins had 15 of her 18 points in the first half for Cincinnati (9-9, 0-5), which fell to .500 after its fourth consecutive loss, the past three to Top 10 teams.

Connecticut hasn't lost at home since the finals of the 2007 Big East tournament, and has won 58 consecutive regular-season Big East games at home.

UConn scored the first seven points of the game, and jumped out to an 11-3 lead.

But Hollins kept the Bearcats in the game, scoring the team's first 13 points and Cincinnati trailed just 17-13 midway through the first half. Hollins hit six of her 10 shots from the floor in the half. The rest of her team made just one of 11.

''It was frustrating, to think we go into the game knowing that was their best player and that was who was going to drive their offense,'' UConn guard Kelly Faris said. ''We kind of lose concentration on stuff like that, little things and paying attention.''

A 3-pointer by Mosqueda-Lewis extended the lead back to 10 points at 26-16, part of a 21-3 UConn run, and the Huskies led 42-19 at the half.

Hayes 3-pointer 15 seconds into the second half moved her into a ninth-place tie on the school's 3-point list with 161.

Caroline Doty hit her 100th career 3-pointer a short time later to put UConn up 52-22, and the Huskies stretched the lead from there. Doty finished with seven points.

All 11 Huskies scored and UConn dominated the inside, outrebounding Cincinnati 42-24. They had 40 points in the paint and 26 second-chance points to just three for the Bearcats.

''The first half we really weren't cohesive or flowing much on offense,'' Dolson said. ''So the second half, we did a much better job executing.''

The loss ends a brutal stretch for Cincinnati, which fell at then-No. 10 Rutgers 58-47, and No. 2 Notre Dame 76-50 in its past two games.

''It only gets easier from here,'' coach Jamelle Elliott said. ''I hope.''

Connecticut has won 166 of its past 168 Big East home games and has never lost to Cincinnati in seven meetings.

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