Certainly Morgan Tuck will relish the memories of having her best scoring game at UConn but the reality of it is dishing out a career best eight assists in the 89-33 win over St. Francis in Saturday's first-round NCAA tournament game.

"I think that is our team, when you get a lot of assists you get more excited than if you get points or rebounds just because that means you are making the right plays," Tuck said after handing out eight assists.

Tuck had a hand in eight of the first nine baskets in the game with five hoops, all in the lane, and four assists

She ended up 12 of 13 from the field as she topped her best scoring output which she established on the road against rival Notre Dame earlier this season.

With Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis dealing with some minor bumps and bruises and clearly off her game and the focus on stopping Breanna Stewart, Tuck and freshman Kia Nurse picked up the slack early on.

"I think it is important because it frees thing up for Kaleena and Stewie," Tuck said. "When other people are making shots, Kia (Nurse) is making shots, Gabby (Williams) coming in and making shots, getting rebounds and finishing it makes teams play more honest."

Although Tuck returned to the postseason when she played three games in the American Athletic Conference tournament, she admitted that playing in the NCAA tournament is a completely different animal.

"It is different, your season is over (with a loss) and everything you have done this whole year, this is what it is for," Tuck said. "We look at it as this is a much bigger deal."

FUTURE HUSKIES DELIVER IN CLUTCH
While UConn was advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the 22nd season in a row, a couple of players who will be suiting up for the Huskies were also taking part in March Madness.

Napheesa Collier had 30 points, 19 rebounds and five assists as Incarnate Word Academy won its third straight Missouri Division 4 title with a 60-27 win over MICDS.

Meanwhile, Katie Lou Samuelson's late-game heroics enabled her to finish her storied high school career playing for a state title.

Samuelson had 16 points, the lowest for any full game she played in as a senior but it sounds as if she never came up bigger than she did in this game. Samuelson she had a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game and two late free throws as Mater Dei advanced to the CIF Open Division title with a 48-44 win over the Chaminade team which handed the Monarchs both of their losses this season. Mater Dei will face St. Mary's-Stockton in the CIF Open Division title on Mar. 28.