Stefanie Dolson and her teammates kept their competitive edge this weekend by tossing around a different ball.
Missing two days of practice because of heavy snow, the Huskies made sure not to get cold on the court by getting cold outside it - with a snowball fight.
''It was epic; it was awesome,'' she said after scoring 23 points Sunday in the third-ranked Huskies' 91-44 rout of DePaul. ''We went out during the blizzard, so we couldn't see anyone. So we didn't know who these people were, but we had this intense snowball fight with them, and we won.''
The game drew 8,861 fans, despite 30 inches of snow that fell in the area Friday and Saturday.
Weather-related travel delays kept DePaul in Chicago until Sunday morning, and the team didn't reach the arena until about 1 hour, 15 minutes before the 3:30 p.m. start.
''Well, they got to Connecticut at about 8,'' UConn coach Geno Auriemma kidded. ''But my buddy's a bus driver and he didn't pick them up until 1.''
Dolson made six of eight shots went 10 for 11 from the foul line for the Huskies (22-1, 9-1 Big East), who led by 25 at halftime. She also had six assists. Bria Hartley added 18 points and seven rebounds.
''We focused on boxing out and getting rebounds, so that's one thing I tried to do today,'' the junior guard said. ''And Stef's always been a great post passer. We were joking about how I'm the rebounder and she's getting more assists.''
It was the first on-court meeting between Auriemma and his good friend, DePaul coach Doug Bruno, since they teamed to coach the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal last summer.
Bruno said his team couldn't get out of Chicago ahead of the storm because Chicago had bad weather Thursday. It appeared his team's game stayed behind.
DePaul shot 26 percent from the floor. Bruno noted teams once routinely traveled five hours by bus to games.
''It's something that our athlete in today's day isn't used to,'' he said. ''But that's the way it goes.''
UConn held the Blue Demons to just 16 baskets and 17 second-half points.
Brittany Hrynko, who had been averaging almost 20 points per game in Big East play, missed all 15 of her shots for DePaul. She finished with three points.
Katherine Harry, who came in averaging more than 11 rebounds and leads the Big East, did not have a single board.
''For all the posts, that was definitely an emphasis for us,'' Dolson said. ''I think we did a great job of just playing great defense and just finishing it off with a box out.''
Megan Rogowski led DePaul (17-7, 6-4) with 12 points.
The Huskies led the entire way and were ahead by 25 points at halftime.
Dolson scored seven of the Huskies' first nine points, including a 3-pointer that bounced high off the back iron and back through the rim. That was part of a 15-3 run starting the game.
Dolson played just six minutes in the second half and finished two points shy of her career high, set earlier this season against Syracuse.
The Huskies didn't let up after the break. A baseline drive by Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis gave them a 71-31 lead. UConn's leading scorer finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
The Blue Demons played their fifth straight game without leading scorer Anna Martin. The senior guard, averaging more than 16 points, injured her left knee on Jan. 19 against Providence. She is expected to return this season.
UConn has won 10 straight over DePaul since a 1993 loss.
