97-86 with 5:14 to play.We didnt panic, Caldw

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A month into the season Connecticut doesnt look quite as vulnerable as many people thought. Not after beating No. 2 Notre Dame. Not after winning its 83rd straight game.Two days after narrowly earning the top-ranking in The Associated Press poll, the Huskies easily secured that title on the court with a comfortable 72-61 victory over the Fighting Irish on Wednesday night, their third straight victory over a ranked team.Coach Geno Auriemma said the Huskies (8-0) wouldnt know their winning streak stretched to more than two years if not for the media.I would think if this was the first time our program had ever been here, wed be acting a little bit different. You dont want to sound like you dont appreciate it -- but we did win 90 in a row, Auriemma said.Napheesa Collier scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half after playing just nine minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, Gabby Williams had 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and Katie Lou Samuelson added 18 points to pace the Huskies.The Huskies trailed for about 2 minutes in late in the second quarter, but played with the lead most of the game as they controlled the inside, outscoring the Irish 42-30 in the paint and finishing with a 35-32 edge in rebounding.I was really disappointed in everything, execution, the inability to get the ball to Bri. Completely ineffective offensively, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said.Brianna Turner led the Irish (8-1) with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Lindsay Allen added 11 points.After Notre Dame tied it at 42 with just under 2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Huskies forced a pair of turnovers leading to layups by Samuelson and Williams. Collier added a pair of free throws to give Connecticut led 50-43 at the end of the third quarter.We knew they were going to hit us hard at times and we just had to hit back harder, Williams said.Auriemma said that stretch was the key.In that moment when it could have gone into the fourth quarter differently, I think it kept our confidence level high and may have put a damper on them, he said.The Huskies stretched it to 65-54 on a 3-point play by Samuelson with 3:06 left to put the game away.Auriemma said he wont get too excited about the victory.I know this is Dec. 7th and theres a long way to go between now and the end of the season, he said.BIG PICTUREUConn: The Huskies have beaten five ranked teams, including No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Baylor, and have staked their claim as the clear No. 1.Notre Dame: The Irish faced adversity for the first time this season and couldnt respond as they struggled, going 3 of 14 on 3-pointers and making just 4 of 8 free throws. The Irish lost to the Huskies for a sixth straight time and have work to do if they hope to challenge Connecticut by the end of the season. No one on the roster has ever beaten the Huskies.POLL IMPLICATIONS:Two days after narrowly passing the Irish in the poll, the Huskies showed there is no doubt who deserves to be No. 1. The Irish lost to the Huskies by the same score as Baylor, so it could be a tossup as far as who is No. 2 next week.TIP-INS: The game marked the 57th time the top-rated team in The Associated Press poll faced No. 2. The No. 1 team is 36-21. ... The last time UConn was No. 1 and lost to a No. 2 was against Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament semifinal in 2001, when the Irish rallied back after trailing by 16 points in the first half to beat the Huskies 90-75 en route to the national championship. ... The Huskies have won 27 straight road games. The record is 30 straight set by UConn (2007-11) and matched by Notre Dame (2011-15). ... The Huskies have won34 straight against ACC teams.UP NEXTUConn: The Huskies stay on the road to play at Kansas State, ending a streak of three straight games against ranked teams. They then play No. 12 Ohio State in Storrs on Dec. 19.Notre Dame: The Irish, who have played only one true road game, play six straight on the road starting Saturday at No. 16 DePaul. They are then off for finals until playing at Toledo on Dec. 18. Custom Philadelphia Phillies Jerseys . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Wholesale Custom Baseball Jerseys . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. http://www.customjerseysbaseball.com/ . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Custom Kansas City Royals Jerseys . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. Custom Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Stan Van Gundy has been waiting all season for his Detroit Pistons to show the kind of determination that got them into the playoffs.Friday night, he got a glimpse.The Pistons blew an 18-point lead in the third quarter, but rallied down the stretch to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 108-97.Detroit had lost 11 straight to the Clippers, including a 114-82 rout at the Staples Center on Nov. 7.We got embarrassed the last time we played that team, and I knew these guys didnt want that to happen again, Van Gundy said. But beating that team is going to take 48 minutes of effort and we havent been able to do that many times this season.Detroit won its second straight and improved to 7-2 at home, as opposed to 1-7 on the road.Im very happy with the way we played tonight, but we have to be able to take this level of effort on the road, Van Gundy said. Weve got four road games in the next seven days against really good teams. We cant keep giving those games away.The Clippers lost for just the second time in 13 games, falling to 7-1 on the road.Give the Pistons credit; Stan really had them ready to play, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. They came out with so much more energy that we did in the first 10 minutes, and it is tough to dig yourselves out of a big hole on the road.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points and a career-high 10 assists for Detroit and Andre Drummond had 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Pistons got at least 15 points from all five starters and Jon Leuer added 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.We are really starting to come together, Drummond said. We are more in sync defensively, and the offensive is starting to come around.J.J. Redick and Blake Griffith each had 24 points for the Clippers, while Chris Paul had eight points to go with 15 assists.This wasnt a lack of effort, Paul said. We were energized, but they made shots.The Pistons trailed by as many as 43 earlier this month in Los Angeles, but jumped out to a 31-14 lead in Fridays first quarter. However, with Drummond limited to 8:19 in the first half by foul trouble and Morris playing just 3:42, the Clippers were able to pull within 57-48 at halftime.The Pistons built the margiin to as many as 18 early in the third, with Caldwell-Pope finding Drummond for several alley-oops.ddddddddddddHowever, Redick took over the game, scoring 10 points in the final 1:27 of the quarter. His back-to-back 3-pointers pulled the Clippers within 82-80 at periods end.We cut into their lead at the end of the third quarter, but we were still making mistakes, Rivers said. When you are that far behind, you have to play perfect basketball or you use up everything getting it close.Redick finished with 18 in the quarter.He did all that against a really good defender in KCP, Van Gundy said. I was sitting on the bench wondering how I didnt win 65 games a year when I was coaching him in Orlando.Los Angeles scored the first four points of the fourth to take the lead, but stopped hitting shots. That let the Pistons respond with a 15-2 run, capped off by Caldwell-Popes 3-pointer to make it 97-86 with 5:14 to play.We didnt panic, Caldwell-Pope said. We just kept doing what we had been doing all game, and kept trying to make J.J. work.TIP-INSClippers: Paul didnt score in the second half, but put up 10 assists. ... With the Pistons moving to Little Caesars Arena for the 2017-18 season, this was the Clippers final regular-season visit to the Palace of Auburn Hills.Pistons: Guard Stanley Johnson was suspended for one game after an unspecified violation of team rules. That left the Pistons without three rotation guards, as both Reggie Jackson and Reggie Bullock missed the game with left knee injuries.PLAY MAKERWith Jackson not expected to play his first game until next week, Caldwell-Pope was the first Detroit player to reach double figures in assists in a game.VISITING CELEBRITYDuring a timeout, the Palace scoreboard showed Darius Slays interception of Sam Bradfords pass that helped the Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings 16-13 on Thanksgiving. Slay, one of several Lions in attendance, then autographed a football and tossed it to the crowd.UP NEXTClippers: Visit the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.Pistons: Visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. ' ' '