Huskies maul Terriers

STORRS, CONN. – The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team had the talent edge nine of its 11 players were named as their state’s Gatorade Player of the Year at least one time during their high school careers. The Huskies also had 12 days to re-focus after losing their first game in their last 71 tries. Add extra motivation after a national publication called them the worst of the four top-seeds in the NCAA Tournament, and Connecticut seemed to have more than just a home court advantage during its 91-44 rout of 16-seeded Boston University.

The Terriers certainly didn’t need the Huskies to go out and play one of their best games of the season in the first round match-up between the two teams yesterday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. Unfortunately for the Terriers, the Huskies did just that.

UConn shot 56.5 percent from the field and dominated the boards (46-21 edge) to cruise past BU by 47. USBWA Player of the Year Diana Taurasi led UConn with 21 points (7-14 from the field) and seven assists. Barbara Turner contributed a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds (six on the offensive end). Ann Strother chipped in 16 points and Ashley Battle hit all six of her field goals to add 13.

The Terriers, who were making their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, were led by Adrienne Norris’ 16 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Katie Terhune, BU’s leading scorer this season, added 11 points and three steals before fouling out of the game with 2:07 to play.

‘They are a great basketball team. We had an opportunity to measure ourselves against the best,’ said BU coach Margaret McKeon. ‘We didn’t play real aggressive, obviously this place is a real intimidating place never mind with five great players on the court and 8,000 plus (in the stands).’

Any idea that this year’s UConn team was not as polished as in past years was dismissed right after the opening tap. The jump ball was directed to Taurasi who dished it off to Strother for a layup that gave UConn a lead they would never relinquish. Taurasi then stole the inbounds pass and missed a layup that Turner put back to give Connecticut a 4-0 lead 15 seconds into the game before most of the 8,647 fans in attendance had blinked.

‘I’m not surprised that we got off to the kind of start that we did,’ said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. ‘I wanted us to come out and be the more aggressive team, the more attacking team and we did. I was really pleased that everything I had hoped would happen happened and it happened right away.’

Terhune cut the Huskies’ lead to 10-5 with 17:03 to play by burying a 3-pointer from the corner that gave her the BU single-season record with 54 three-pointers, passing Kelly Jo Gallagher’s mark of 53 set in 1998.

The next 13 minutes belonged to the Huskies, as they went on a 34-8 run to extend their lead to 44-13 with 4:27 to play. The run included separate spurts of 9-0, 11-0 and 14-1. UConn shot 66.6 percent from the field (12-18) during the stretch.

‘When you make shots, everything looks good,’ Auriemma said. ‘Today we made shots and got after it a little bit. It’s hard to press when you don’t make shots. We were able to score, get into some pressure, get the game going the way we wanted it to go.’

‘I knew we were going to get killed on the boards, but I was praying that the ball was going to come our way. Obviously it didn’t,’ McKeon said. ‘Their three-point shooting, some of those shots weren’t contested. I didn’t think they were going to shoot as well as they did.’

The run included a few plays destined for the highlight reel. With 10:03 to play, Jessica Moore stripped the ball from Terhune and gave it to Strother on the break. Strother raced up the court and hit Taurasi in stride with a behind the back pass. Taurasi deposited the easy layup to give UConn a 29-9 lead.

‘I saw her behind me, so I gave it to her,’ said Strother in front of her disbelieving coach.

Four minutes later, BU freshman guard Katie Meinhardt (six points) decided to drive to the basket after pulling up for a three-pointer that fell short on the Terriers’ last possession. Taurasi swooped in for her only block of the game, which she celebrated by making a scowl worthy of an extraterrestrial as she let out a scream.

‘I thought we looked like a good team today. It had nothing to do with what we did or didn’t do we just looked good,’ Auriemma said. ‘I’ve said this all year, when (Diana Taurasi) is playing well, then we all look good, and she played exceptionally well today.’

BU managed their best stretch of basketball to end the first half. With 2:10 to play, Marisa Moseley grabbed a missed three-pointer by Strother and drove coast-to-coast for a layup. Meinhardt then converted a two-handed push shot from 20 feet away that banked off the backboard for three points as the shot clock wound down. Norris’ two foul shots capped a 7-0 BU run, but left the deficit at a still insurmountable 46-22.

‘We had spurts of looking really good, and we had spurts of turnovers and getting scored on,’ said an optimistic Meinhardt. ‘Hopefully we can get back here and do better in the next couple of years.’

‘There are a lot of positives and negatives from this game,’ Terhune said. ‘We just need to build on the positives and take it into next year.’

The positives that the Terriers will be able to build on are their 12 steals as opposed to UConn’s 10, along with the play of Norris in the post, who took all 14 of BU’s foul shots.

‘I was just trying to get something started for our team,’ Norris said. ‘They play aggressively, and they caught us back on our heels at the beginning of the game.’

Beyond the talent differential between the two teams, Auriemma blamed the lopsided score on the difficult situation that almost all No. 16 seeds face in playing a top seed in the women’s tournament.

‘It’s grossly unfair,’ Auriemma said. ‘They have to play here on our home court. I think being at home makes the spread seem a lot worse.’

A season that McKeon has referred to as one where her team learned through losing ended with the Terriers learning some of the largest lessons in their largest loss of the season.

‘We can’t come out and start out intimidated,’ Meinhardt said. ‘Next year, when we come back, we need to take the experience of playing in the NCAAs to come out stronger and less scared.’

‘I’m proud of our kids. They accomplished a lot this year, even though our record doesn’t show it,’ McKeon said. ‘Hopefully, we’ll have a much better showing next year.’