Whalen scored 11 second-half points to lead Connecticut's comeback effort, but Staley and co. were too strong down the stretch.

Dawn recorded her 1000th assist in the game. She also got a technical for arguing a foul call.

"That's something you don't want to do, especially at the end of the game when they're making their comeback," she said. "I couldn't sit on it. I apologized to my teammates."