The Daily Campus

Issue date: 1/29/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Julie Friedlander Tina Charles alters one of her nine Notre Dame shots in her record game.

The 10,167 fans at Gampel Pavilion Saturday made up the first sellout of the season for the women's basketball team and those fans were witness to one of the sloppiest games this season by the Huskies, who accounted for 27 turnovers, including 15 in the first half.

But head coach Geno Auriemma realizes there will be games like that and even though there were so many turnovers he was happy with the defensive performance his players put up in their 64-47 win against Notre Dame.

"It looked like we were our own worst enemy for a while there," Auriemma said. "The way the game was played, there was no rhyme or reason to it; there was no flow, there was no rhythm, it was really difficult to try and get a handle on it."

The No. 7 Huskies (18-2, 8-0 Big East) would get over a shaky first half, which saw them only lead the Irish (13-7, 4-3), 29-23, by putting up a defensive wall in the second half.

"I thought the best part of today was the defensive job we did on Notre Dame in general," Auriemma said.

The Huskies would hold the Irish to 25 percent shooting in the second half, mostly thanks to their big men, who accounted for 16 blocks in the game.

"It changed the game a lot," said Notre Dame forward Erica Williamson on UConn's frontline. "You can't go into a game like this having practiced against people that can block so many shots."

Williamson was the Irish's leading scorer on the night, coming off the bench with 12 points. The Irish bench helped keep them within striking distance, accounting for 23 total points.

Tina Charles was Williamson's and the rest of the Irish's obstacle down in the blocks, as Charles tied a school record with 9 blocks Saturday, and nearly reaching a triple-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Charel Allen, the Irish's main weapon of attack, came in averaging 28 points during her two previous games, but was stopped dead in her tracks by the defense of Kalana Greene, as Greene held her to 8 points and also forced a number of the Irish's 18 turnovers.

"One of the things that good players do is when they're taking you into a screen they make a separation so you have to make a decision to go one way or the other and then that's it," Auriemma said. "Tonight Kalana didn't give much separation."

Continued...

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