Canada's Kia Nurse helps UConn Huskies stage record blowout

When Canada’s Kia Nurse stepped onto the floor to kick off the women’s March Madness tournament this morning, she meant business.

The senior from Hamilton had an undefeated season with the University of Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team heading into the tournament. As the number one seed, UConn made a statement in their first game against 16th-ranked Saint Francis.

A 140-52 kind of statement. And no, that’s not a typo.

The Huskies set the record for most points scored in a tournament game, and the all-time NCAA record for points in a quarter (55), and in a half (94).

In addition to that, UConn’s 88-point margin of victory was the second-biggest in tournament history, the first was a 89-point victory by Baylor last season.

Nurse played a team-high 29 minutes and added 15 points, 10 rebounds and two assists to the contest, including a buzzer-beater at end of the second quarter.

None of this was truly a surprise to women’s basketball fans: UConn had a 111-game win streak snapped in an upset last year in the Final Four.

Nurse has won two national championships with UConn and three gold medals with Team Canada, including a gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.

But this tournament game was something special and will be remembered for years to come: their efficiency was outrageously impressive.

UConn shot 73.6 percent from the field, they had a 65-28 rebounding advantage over Saint Francis and dished out 38 assists compared to their opponents’ nine.

The cherry on top for Canadian women’s basketball fans was that Nurse dropped the final two points in the record-breaking victory. I can almost hear the “Kia” chants from here.

The Huskies next game will take place on Monday.

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