Box Score | Season Stats HARTFORD, Conn. (SMU) - The SMU women's basketball team opened American Athletic Conference play with a 96-45 loss at No. 2/2 Connecticut on Saturday afternoon at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

SMU (4-8, 0-1 AAC) fell behind early and could not mount a comeback against a stingy Connecticut defense, as the Huskies recorded the wire-to-wire victory.

Three Mustangs, Alicia Froling, Keely Froling and Raven Short, all netted a team-high seven points. Freshman Aurmani DeGar, who hit two shots from three-point land, posted a career-high six points. Gabrielle Wilkins led the Mustangs in rebounding with five boards, while Mikayla Reese posted a team-high three assists.

UConn (9-1, 1-0 AAC) got off to a scorching start, making 11 of its first 13 field goal attempts. The Huskies would carry that momentum into halftime, as they led 49-16 at the break.

Despite the Huskies' success on the offensive end, SMU held Breanna Stewart, last year's AP Player of the Year, in check. Stewart scored a season-low six points and shot just 22.2 percent from the field.

Guard Moriah Jefferson led UConn with a game-high 24 points, while forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis chipped in with 19.

SMU was able to record 13 offensive rebounds against UConn, one of the nation's top rebounding teams. Wilkins and freshman Stephanie Collins, who played in just her third game of the season, each grabbed three offensive boards.

Senior guard Rochelle Lauer, who appeared in her fourth game of the year, played three minutes off the bench and recorded her first career assist.

The Mustangs and Huskies will meet again on Jan. 11 in Dallas.

SMU concludes its five-day road trip with a showdown against AAC foe Temple on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Game Notes
-SMU is now 0-3 all-time versus Connecticut. This was the first time the Mustangs have played in the XL Center.

-SMU is now 0-5 away from Moody Coliseum this season and 1-5 in the month of December.

-The Mustangs have faced an opponent either ranked or receiving votes in the top 25 poll three times in their past five games.

-SMU is now 0-2 versus ranked opponents this year. The Mustang also lost to No. 4/5 Texas A&M, 70-62, on Dec. 9.

-Aurmani DeGar scored a career-high six points.

-Nine different Mustangs recorded an assist. Mikayla Reese led the team with three and Rochelle Lauer recorded her first career assist.