Huskies Dominate Auburn in Second Half; Advance to 11th Straight Sweet 16

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BRIDGEPORT, CT (March 23) -- Naismith Player of the Year Diana Taurasi poured in 17 points and three other Huskies scored in double figures as the University of Connecticut women's basketball team defeated Auburn 79-53 in second round action of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship in front of 9,091 at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn.  With the victory, the Huskies improve to 27-4 on the campaign and advance to their 11th consecutive regional semifinal.  Auburn concludes its season with a 22-9 mark.    

Taurasi's 17 points brought her career total to 345 in NCAA Tournament play, good for second on the all-time list. 

The No. 2 seed Huskies will square off with No. 11 seed UCSB on Saturday, March 27 in the East Regional Semifinal at the Hartford Civic Center.  Game time will be at approximately 2:30 p.m. 

After leading by only six points at intermission, the Huskies seized control of the contest early in the second half with stingy defense and nearly flawless offense.  UConn scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a commanding 52-36 lead at the 15:50 mark on one of Taurasi's five 3-pointers.  UConn's suffocating defense would hold the Tigers without a field goal for the first 16:11 of the second stanza and the Huskies would sprint out to a 72-42 lead on the strength of a 30-4 run to start the second half. 

Sophomore Ann Strother scored 16 points and connected on 6-of-10 shots including 4-of-8 from deep.  Strother also dished out four assists while not committing a single turnover.  Barbara Turner dropped in 13 points, snared a game-high six rebounds and added six assists and Maria Conlon chipped in with 12 points; all on three point field goals. 

Auburn came into the contest as one of the best rebounding clubs in the nation, but the Huskies out worked the Tigers and held a 36-to-25 advantage on the glass.  UConn held Auburn to a miniscule 17.4% shooting (4-of-23) in the second half.  The Husky offense was in full gear, as UConn connected on 30-of-54 from the field, with 23 of those buckets coming via the assist. 

The Huskies took their largest lead of the game, 77-44, with 3:00 remaining in the contest on an Ashley Valley three ball. 

Both teams shot exceptionally well from the field in the early stages of the first half.  Auburn made the first four shots it took, knotting the score at ten with 16:50 remaining in the first half.  However, UConn was also red hot from the field in the first session, draining eight of its first nine shots, and used a 19-7 run to take its largest lead, 29-17 at the 9:00 mark.  Auburn would answer with a 7-0 run to pull to within five and UConn was unable to shake the Tigers, as the Huskies took a 42-36 edge into the locker room. 

Connecticut vs. Auburn—Game Notes

2004 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship East Region
Second Round
Arena at Harbor Yard Bridgeport, Conn. –March 23, 2004

--UConn has won 14 straight NCAA Tournament games.

--UConn will now make its 11th straight Sweet 16 appearance.

.--The Huskies are 49-11 overall 34-7 in the East Region.

--This was UConn’s 14th straight win in the East Region.

--UConn is now 171-9 since 1999-2000.

--UConn is now 26-3 in the state of Connecticut during NCAA Tournament play. The Huskies have won 24 straight games in the state of Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament.

--UConn is now 5-1 all-time as a #2 seed.

--UConn is now 12-2 all-time in the second round and the Huskies have won 11 straight second round games.

--The Huskies have now won five straight second round games by double figures.

--The win was UConn’s fourth straight over Auburn and the Huskies are now 2-0 vs. the Tigers in the NCAA Tournament.

--This is just the fifth time that UConn was an at-large selection. They were also an at-large selection in 1990, 1992, 1993 and again last year.

--UConn is 9-3 as an at-large team in NCAA Tournament play.

--The Huskies are third all time with 49 NCAA Tournament wins.

--UConn is now 9-3 vs. the SEC in the NCAA Tournament including five straight wins.

--Geno Auriemma, who celebrated his 50th birthday tonight, won on his birthday for the third straight season and is now 6-1 on his birthday.

--UConn set an Arena at Harbor Yard record with 14 three-pointers. The 14 three-pointers also ties a UConn school

record which was done twice before on February 7, 2001 vs. Virginia Tech and again on February 14, 2001 vs. Rutgers.

--The 14 three-pointers by UConn was a school record in NCAA Tournament play breaking the record of 11 set against

Long Island in 2001. The 14 three-pointers was third best in NCAA Tournament history.

--Diana Taurasi moved past Cheryl Miller into third place on the all-time NCAA Tournament scoring list with 345

points in her 19 games. She has now posted double figure points in 13 straight NCAA Tournament games.

--Diana Taurasi moved past Janice Lawrence (La. Tech) and Cheryl Miller (USC) into 4th place among the NCAA career leaders in field goals made with 122.

--Maria Conlon’s 12 points tied her NCAA Tournament career-high.

--Auburn tied the record for fewest field goals made in an East Regional game with 18. The other time it happened was in a regional championship on March 23, 1991 when Connecticut faced Clemson.

--The 79 points allowed by Auburn was the most it allowed all season long and the second most in NCAA Tournament play. UConn had scored 81 vs. the Tigers in 1994.