Spring Break
Undefeated Huskies hold Bulls to just 10 first-half points in 79-42 victory
Women's Quarterfinals: Sunday, March 8
Mike Northup
Issue date: 3/9/09 Section: Big East Championship
HARTFORD - After receiving a bye for the first two rounds of the Big East Women's Basketball Championship, top-seeded UConn picked up right where it left off in the regular season, ousting No. 8 seed South Florida 79-42 in quarterfinal action Sunday at the XL Center in front of a crowd of 9,270. The Huskies will face No. 4 seed Villanova Monday night in the tournament semifinals.
Junior guard Kalana Greene led all scorers with 20 points for the Huskies (31-0, 17-0 Big East), 18 of which came in the first half, mostly from layups and on fastbreak plays. Forward and recently crowned Big East Player of the Year Maya Moore added 18 points and 14 rebounds, while center Tina Charles added 15 points and eight rebounds. South Florida Reserve guard Janae Stokes finished with a team-high 15 points for the Bulls (22-10, 8-9), all of which came on 3-pointers.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma was worried that the longer layoff between games - UConn hadn't played since last Monday - might cause his team to come out sluggish. That was far from the case, as the Huskies jumped out to a 20-1 run in the game's first eight minutes. The Huskies finished the first half with a tournament-record 37-point advantage, leading 47-10. This was thanks in large part to the defense, which held USF to 11.1 percent shooting (3-for-27) in the half.
"We came out, and I thought we played as well as we've played at any time this year over the first 20 minutes at both ends of the floor, in every area," Auriemma said.
The Huskies received a scare in the first half, when starting guard Tiffany Hayes had to be taken off the court after being knocked down by Bulls guard Jasmine Wynne, who ran into her hard on a fastbreak play. After lying on the ground for a minute, Hayes was able to walk off the court under her own power and was taken back to the training room. Hayes would return to the game and start the second half, finishing the game with five points and four assists.
USF, which was held to a season-low 10 points in the first half, did not make a field goal until 10 minutes and 53 seconds into the game, when Bulls forward Porche Grant hit a layup that rattled in. UConn held the Bulls without a field goal for the next five minutes until Stokes hit the first of her game-high five 3-pointers.
Junior guard Kalana Greene led all scorers with 20 points for the Huskies (31-0, 17-0 Big East), 18 of which came in the first half, mostly from layups and on fastbreak plays. Forward and recently crowned Big East Player of the Year Maya Moore added 18 points and 14 rebounds, while center Tina Charles added 15 points and eight rebounds. South Florida Reserve guard Janae Stokes finished with a team-high 15 points for the Bulls (22-10, 8-9), all of which came on 3-pointers.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma was worried that the longer layoff between games - UConn hadn't played since last Monday - might cause his team to come out sluggish. That was far from the case, as the Huskies jumped out to a 20-1 run in the game's first eight minutes. The Huskies finished the first half with a tournament-record 37-point advantage, leading 47-10. This was thanks in large part to the defense, which held USF to 11.1 percent shooting (3-for-27) in the half.
"We came out, and I thought we played as well as we've played at any time this year over the first 20 minutes at both ends of the floor, in every area," Auriemma said.
The Huskies received a scare in the first half, when starting guard Tiffany Hayes had to be taken off the court after being knocked down by Bulls guard Jasmine Wynne, who ran into her hard on a fastbreak play. After lying on the ground for a minute, Hayes was able to walk off the court under her own power and was taken back to the training room. Hayes would return to the game and start the second half, finishing the game with five points and four assists.
USF, which was held to a season-low 10 points in the first half, did not make a field goal until 10 minutes and 53 seconds into the game, when Bulls forward Porche Grant hit a layup that rattled in. UConn held the Bulls without a field goal for the next five minutes until Stokes hit the first of her game-high five 3-pointers.
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