It's been almost a week since these two stalwarts played. But it took that long for me to recover from watching it.
Marked off on my calendar as one of the most important games on UConn's schedule (second only maybe to the home and home series vs Rutgers), this game lived up to all the hype. It reminded fans that March isn't the only time college basketball is fun.
#1 vs #3 is certainly a game with a feasible chance of an upset and in the first half it certainly looked as if that's exactly what would happen. UNC came out of the gate strong with an 8-0 run that quieted down a capacity crowd in Hartford.
It took nearly 5 minutes for UConn to get a rebound by which NC had 7 and 2 second chance shots. Charde Houston, after starting just her 5Th game this season, had been relegated to the bench because of lack of effort. She was once again in Geno's proverbial dog house. Tina Charles remained on the court mostly because without aching Brittany Hunter there was a lack of depth at the post position.
All this resulted in an 11 point galf time lead for the Tar Heels. A lead that could have been substantially bigger if it were not for the hot shooting of Renee Montgomery who was 4/6 from behind the arc.
The second half started with the run that you knew the #1 team in the country was bound to make. The run was 15-3 and it gave the Huskies their first lead of the night.
It was any body's game from there and both teams knew it. The Huskies built a 65-59 lead before the Tar Heels rattled off 10 straight. But UConn wasn't finished yet and they responded with a 9-0 run to give themselves a 74-69 lead. Latoya Pringle would cut the deficit to 3 at the 3:27 mark but that would be the last basket UNC scored.
During the second half Charde Houston redeemed herself scoring a season high 15 points. A performance that everyone involved with UConn hopes is the start of her season turning around. Sh ewent on to say that it was Having Mel Thomas (who is out for the season with a torn acl) sitting behind the bench yelling at her to play to her potential inspired her to that performance.
The Huskies ended the game on a a barrage of free throws. The ladies of Uconn seemed determined to come out victorious in the first real test since losing Thomas to her injuries. Thomas is the second starter to go down this season so UConn's depth is not what it used to be.
It was a hard fought game that truly had a final four feeling to it. Two Teams. Two Hall of Fame coaches. Two freshman point guards. Two All American post players. This was about as good a matchup as one could find at any point in the season.
Game Notes:
-The crowd of 10,167 marks the first women’s basketball sellout at Gampel Pavilion since Jan. 27, 2007 vs. Notre Dame.
-UConn senior Mel Thomas was honored prior to the game for scoring her 1,000th career point on Dec. 5 vs. Virginia.
-UConn improves to 177-9 when playing as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team
-UConn junior Renee Montgomery became the 30th player in UConn history to register 1,000 career points
Click Here For Box Score
Next Up..Tennessee Vs Duke
JayD
(from left to right, Supra Vaider Silver/Grey, Ato Matsumoto Silver & Red/Burgundy)
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