The Daily Campus

Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ryan Sayers Brittany Hunter rises up for a shot in UConn's 89-47 blowout of 16th-seeded Cornell. She finished with 11 points and two blocks on the night.

BRIDGEPORT - Gretchen Gregg, one of Cornell's senior leaders, knew the odds were stacked up high against her 16th-seeded team Sunday night. She knew that they were walking into a game where no one would give them any chance in the program's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

"We approached this game like, 'They're Connecticut and they're great players,' obviously, the top team in the country, so we just came out and held our heads high and just played hard," Gregg said. "It's an honor to play on the court with them and to represent our school against [UConn]."

While such kind words came from her mouth, the Huskies did their talking on the court and weren't so nice to the underdog Big Red, routing them, 89-47, to advance to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

"I said coming into this game that, at this time of the year, you really want to be in the right frame of mind," said head coach Geno Auriemma. "Mentally, emotionally, however you want to describe it you need to be locked in to the task at hand and … I thought we did a great job of doing that."

UConn had little trouble with a Cornell team that they had never played before, shooting 54 percent from the field and outscoring the Big Red, 58-8, in the paint in an overall dominating performance.

"The first shot we took was an airball," Auriemma said. "The juices are flowing; you're really excited and anxious. I'm always looking to see what the intensity [and concentration] level is. I thought we were in a great frame of mind and I wanted to see us play with a lot of energy."

The Huskies came out sloppy to start the game, going 3-for-11 shooting in the first 4:27, lulling their home-state fans to sleep while giving the small Cornell fan contingent hope and a reason to cheer for their team's defense against the mighty No. 1 seed.

With only a two-point advantage in that stretch, Auriemma knew something was wrong but might not have known just how bad it really was.

Continued...

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