Spring Break
A Knockout And A Blowout
Women's Basketball: Women Advance With 89-47 Romp Over Cornell
Tim Ehrens
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Sports
"I wasn't aware that we were 3-for-11," Auriemma said. "I really didn't react to that. If I had known I might have been a little more animated on the sidelines. Maybe it was good I didn't know."
Although UConn's premier shooters Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore were missing their marks, it was Kaili McLaren - who is not known for her shooting prowess - that hit two of those three shots and added a free throw during that time. She finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
"It shows that practice is paying off [for her]," said Tina Charles, whom McLaren replaced in the starting lineup.
What started out as a molasses-like crawl for the Huskies quickly developed into a sprint as they reeled off a 22-2 run in the next 5:26 that put the pressure firmly upon the Ivy League champions.
"Once we changed the tempo, it [the 22-2 run] happened quickly," Auriemma said. "That's the way our team operates, we tend to go on runs like that."
"We focused very, very much on coming out and not being intimidated," said Cornell head coach Dayna Smith. "Those first four minutes were great and I think we took a deep breath like, 'OK, this isn't so bad,' and then it kind of flipped on us. We knew it was coming but it was kind of like a tidal wave."
Even though UConn recovered from their poor shooting start of the game, it made more than 50 percent of its shots during the first half without a single player scoring double figures in points.
By the end of the game, four Huskies ended up scoring in double figures but it was truly a team-oriented offensive performance, according to Montgomery.
"There's no particular person that we have to have score 20 points a night," she said. "I think that's the best way to win games - when everyone's involved and the whole team is playing at the same level of intensity."
The usually run-and-gun UConn offense wasn't the star of the show anymore, as the Huskies' defense clamped down and gobbled up 14 steals and held Cornell to 12-for-56 shooting in the game while forcing them into 24 turnovers.
"I think our defense had a lot to do with it, too," said Ketia Swanier. "Everyone was getting after it … running the floor well and everybody got a chance to [score] some points."
Cornell's 21.4 percent shooting on the game was the 10th worst in NCAA Tournament history.
Contact Tim Ehrens
at Timothy.Ehrens@Gmail.com.
Although UConn's premier shooters Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore were missing their marks, it was Kaili McLaren - who is not known for her shooting prowess - that hit two of those three shots and added a free throw during that time. She finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
"It shows that practice is paying off [for her]," said Tina Charles, whom McLaren replaced in the starting lineup.
What started out as a molasses-like crawl for the Huskies quickly developed into a sprint as they reeled off a 22-2 run in the next 5:26 that put the pressure firmly upon the Ivy League champions.
"Once we changed the tempo, it [the 22-2 run] happened quickly," Auriemma said. "That's the way our team operates, we tend to go on runs like that."
"We focused very, very much on coming out and not being intimidated," said Cornell head coach Dayna Smith. "Those first four minutes were great and I think we took a deep breath like, 'OK, this isn't so bad,' and then it kind of flipped on us. We knew it was coming but it was kind of like a tidal wave."
Even though UConn recovered from their poor shooting start of the game, it made more than 50 percent of its shots during the first half without a single player scoring double figures in points.
By the end of the game, four Huskies ended up scoring in double figures but it was truly a team-oriented offensive performance, according to Montgomery.
"There's no particular person that we have to have score 20 points a night," she said. "I think that's the best way to win games - when everyone's involved and the whole team is playing at the same level of intensity."
The usually run-and-gun UConn offense wasn't the star of the show anymore, as the Huskies' defense clamped down and gobbled up 14 steals and held Cornell to 12-for-56 shooting in the game while forcing them into 24 turnovers.
"I think our defense had a lot to do with it, too," said Ketia Swanier. "Everyone was getting after it … running the floor well and everybody got a chance to [score] some points."
Cornell's 21.4 percent shooting on the game was the 10th worst in NCAA Tournament history.
Contact Tim Ehrens
at Timothy.Ehrens@Gmail.com.
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