Women's Hoops Guru

By Mel Greenberg

GREENSBORO, N.C. - What got off to a very bad beginning here for Connecticut against Big East rival Rutgers Tuesday night in the Greensboro Regional final transformed into an uplifting finish as the Huskies emerged with a 66-56 victory to advance to the Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla., this weekend.

Connecticut (36-1) clinched the last of the four spots and a Sunday night date against Stanford, which had eliminated Maryland in Spokane, Wash., on Monday night.

With the triumph, the normally loquacious Huskies coach Geno Auriemma seemed a bit lost afterwards for words trying to fit his current edition into the context of previous UConn successes in the NCAA tournament.

“I don’t know how many Final Fours this is for us – nine?” Auriemma said. “The first one – because it was the very first – in 1991, was great. It was improbable.

“The one in 1995, because it was monumental – the team of the century. This one, for some reason, feels different. This one feels pretty incredible.”

The other national semifinal will be an encore presentation of last month’s Southeastern Conference title game. Top-seeded Tennessee (34-2) turned aside a challenge from No. 2 Texas A&M, 53-45, in Oklahoma City Tuesday night to move into a re-match and third meeting this season with LSU.

The Tigers topped top-seeded North Carolina in New Orleans on Monday night.

The Huskies’ win enabled the current senior class to avoid the stigma of becoming the first group since UConn became a national power in 1995 to not go to a Women’s Final Four.

Auriemma’s teams had not advanced this far since the 2004 three-peat accomplishment in New Orleans as Diana Taurasi finished her eligibility and continued into WNBA All-Star status and won a pro title last summer with the Phoenix Mercury.

Ironically, the MVP of the WNBA finals was teammate Cappie Pondexter, who was a rival at Rutgers when the two played several years at the same time at the collegiate level.

Tuesday’s game from the Connecticut side was a bit similar to the Huskies’ experience in their comeback against North Carolina in Storrs in February after the Tar Heels had overpowered them through much of the first half.

Likewise against Rutgers (27-7) , Auriemma’s group couldn’t buy shots in the opening minutes and the Scarlet Knights rode to a 14-point lead seeking a return to the Final Four.

“It was like everything Rutgers was shooting and doing was going their way,” said Ketia Swanier, who tied Renee Montgomery for team honors with 15 points. “We couldn’t hit anything. But there was never a point in time when I thought we were going to lose the game. Nobody on our team put our heads down or put or tails between our legs. We knew it was one possession at a time.”

Connecticut fought back to a competitive five-point deficit, 32-27, at the half. The momentum continued into the second half, but the contest between the two Big East powers was more like Rutgers’ close win at Piscataway rather than the Huskies’ lopsided win in Hartford.

As the minutes ticked toward crunch time, it was obvious someone was going to suffer heartbreak.

Maya Moore, the UConn freshman sensation who made the Associated Press all-America first team earlier in the day, had been held in check much of the night.

But the regional’s most outstanding player broke loose with a deep three-pointer that snapped a 49-49 tie with just under three minutes to go. That turned the tide as Rutgers lapsed into another offensive funk while the Huskies went a perfect 14-for-14 from the foul line the rest of the way.

“With this particular team, what’s really gratifying is that too many pieces have to fall just right,” said Auriemma, who lost starters Kalana Greene and Mel Thomas to knee injuries at mid-season. “Three of our perimeter players had to play 40 minutes. We don’t have all the answers to every question like we have in other years.

“We struggle at times just like other teams struggle. But this particular team didn’t necessarily get to the final four on talent, and the experience of having been there, and having three or four college All-Americans. This team got there on a lot of the intangibles that make you appreciate coaching.”

Kaili McClaren added 10 points and sophomore Tina Charles grabbed 12 rebounds.

That caused Auriemma to quip over last year’s performance by the former Christ the King star as a freshman in the regional title game.

“She got one more rebound than my daughter,” said of the New York City sensation. “My daughter didn’t get any rebounds and Tina got one.”

Charles started a parade of what has been three straight high school national players of the year committing to the Huskies. Moore was this year’s top recruit, coming out of Georgia, and Wilmington’s Elena Delle Donne of Ursuline Academy will be heading to UConn in September.

On Rutgers’ side, the Scarlet Knights’ two showcase seniors Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson scored in double figures with Ajavon collecting 18 points, while Carson had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Kia Vaughn added 11 points.

Sophomore Epiphanny Prince was held to 7 points.

A year ago, the Greensboro Colisuem was a scene of joy for the Scarlet Knights when they upset overall top seed Duke in the semifinals and then put down Arizona State to advance to the Final Four before losing to Tennessee in the national championship game.

On Tuesday it was a place of sadness as Carson and Ajavon closed their brilliant backcourt careers along with classmate Katie Adams.

“They (Ajavon and Carson) meant so much to our program,” said Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer, who conceded her players tired as the game wore on. "They are perfect examples of what student athletes should be. It’s not about a show. It’s about working hard to get it done.

“To have two in the same year meant so much,” Stringer continued. “They had an impact on our nation and certainly our program. To see them go, it’s tough.”

Auriemma made a veiled critical remark toward the NCAA about his team having to play Rutgers in Tuesday night’s game as a 1-2 matchup that was based more on geography than the talent level between the two schools.

“In a real tournament run by real people, No. 1 plays No. 8, No. 2 plays No. 7, 3 plays 6, and 4 plays 5. They don’t worry about what part of the country you’re in, they don’t worry about whether they’re going to draw fans, not draw fans. They don’t care about that stuff. It’s about getting it right that the teams that played throughout the season to get to those spots, that’s who you play.

“So, did they do a good job of that? No. But at the same if you’re North Carolina you can’t be moaning and groaning about playing LSU in New Orleans in that environment.

“There’s frigging 4,000 people at the game. Big deal. If you can’t win there, you shouldn’t be going to the Final Four. I’ve never gotten caught up in where you play as long as you play the team you’re supposed to be playing.”

Looking ahead to Stanford on Sunday, Auriemma noted, in the manner of Tuesday’s win over Rutgers, “There’s going to come a point in time in that game where one team realizes they’re going to win and the other team realizes they’re going to lose.

“That’s kind of what I coach my team to do. In that particular moment, sense it, and be ready to take advantage of it.”

Auriemma saluted Rutgers: “I think they’re one of the top four or five teams in America and they don’t deserve to be playing the No. 1 No. 1. I just think in the NCAA tournament, their team is built for tournament play. I think they represented themselves and the Big East conference in a great way. And we’re going to do the same when we get to the Final Four.”

Mel