Taurasi and Turner Lead Huskies Over Penn State and Into Record Fifth Straight Final Four

Boxscore(.pdf)

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HARTFORD, CT (March 29) – East Regional MVP Diana Taurasi and sophomore Barbara Turner combined for 53 points on Monday evening to lead the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team past Penn State, 66-49, and into its record fifth consecutive NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Final Four.

With the victory, the No. 2 seed Huskies improve to 29-4 on the campaign, while No. 1 seed Penn State completes its season with a 28-6 mark.

The defending national champion Huskies advance to the Final Four for the eighth time in the program’s history and will play either Duke or Minnesota on Sunday, April 4 at a time to be announced.

The Husky senior class of Taurasi, Maria Conlon, and Morgan Valley have completed their careers with a record of 64-2 in games played at the Hartford Civic Center or Gampel Pavilion. The triad is also a remarkable 20-1 in NCAA Tournament play.

Turner’s 26 points were one shy of a career high, but she did record career bests with four three-point field goals, and five three-point field goal attempts. Turner also pulled down six rebounds. Taurasi’s game-high 27 points came on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 9-of-12 shooting from the charity stripe. She also snared five boards and dished out three assists.

After a tremendous defensive effort in the first half, the Huskies' offense began to click in the second session. After Penn State cut its 21-13 halftime deficit to six, 23-17 at the 19:00 mark UConn seized control. Turner scored the game’s next eight points, sparking a 14-2 Husky run over the next 2:50. Turner would score 11 of those 14 points, propelling the Huskies to a 37-19 advantage with 16:10 to go.

Connecticut would extend its lead to 21, 47-26 at the 11:50 mark on an Ashley Battle lay up. Penn State would not go down without a fight though, and sprinted out to a 16-4 run over the next 3:30, shrinking the lead to nine, 51-42 with 7:20 remaining. However, Taurasi would drill a 3-pointer coming out of a timeout at the 6:50 mark, sparking a decisive 9-0 UConn run to put the game away.

Junior Jessica Moore scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win and sophomore Willlnett Crockett recorded seven rebounds in just 12 minutes of action.

Penn State was led in scoring by Tanisha Wright with 16 and All-American Kelly Mazante was held to just 5-of-17 shooting including 1-of-8 from beyond the arc and scored 14 points.

The Lady Lions stumbled out of the gate in the first half, turning the ball over on three of their first four possessions, allowing the Huskies to take an 8-4 lead at the 12:30 mark. Penn State would show signs of life though and tied the game up at 11 with 9:30 remaining in the first stanza. However, the Lady Lions would connect on only one field goal in the half’s final 9:30, allowing the Huskies to mount a 10-0 run and take a 21-13 lead into the locker room. The Huskies’ stifling defense held Penn State to just 6-of-20 shooting (20%) from the field. Penn State’s 13 first half points were the least ever recorded in a first half by a UConn opponent in NCAA Tournament play.

UConn Postgame Quotes

Barbara Turner on her bank three-pointer…
It was just one of those plays where it was kind of a desperation shot. It was lucky.

Diana Taurasi on celebrating the win…
It’s just an unbelievable feeling. If you try to put it into words, it kind of takes away from it. Last time we played a home game here, we went out on a sour note. Coach says that everything always comes back full circle. We had a second chance to finish it out on right note. It couldn’t have played out any better. It is just an unbelievable feeling, not only for myself, but for everyone. This has been a hard year, but this is great.

Diana Taurasi on going to five straight Final Fours…
It’s unbelievable. We can only take credit for four of them. I wish I had another year. The one thing that is the constant over the five Final Fours is Coach and the coaching staff. They get us prepared for every game that we go into. We go in there with a plan and it’s up to us to execute it. I think that goes for the last five years.

Jessica Moore on defending Penn State center Reicina Russell in the post…
I knew that I could pretty much play off of the player (Russell) that I was playing because she is not really a big factor in the offense. Whenever I had the chance, I wanted to be a one-man zone back there, not letting them have any dribble-penetration. If they did get in, try to get my hands up so it would be harder for them to get into the paint.

Geno Auriemma on making it to five consecutive Final Fours…
I wasn’t really thinking like that. All day long, all I kept thinking about was how good Penn State was. Our guys’ team is going to their second Final Four. I came to the arena and somebody was mentioning that Louisiana Tech went to nine Final Fours. That never kind of hit me.

 Geno Auriemma on the joy that Diana Taurasi and Barbara Turner have when they play the game…
It’s hard to describe. They are very confident in their abilities and fell they can take on the world. There is no fear. They just play the game. She (Barbara) loves the game of basketball. They love to play. That is pretty unique.

Penn State Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Rene Portland opening remarks…

This was not a fun way to end the season.  I congratulate UConn and their fans.  They came out with a great effort.  We did not have an answer for Barbara Turner.  This is a disappointing way for any coach and team to end a season.  We did get 57 shots off, but we didn’t shoot the ball well.
 

Head Coach Rene Portland on seniors Jess Brungo and Kelly Mazzante…

They have given four years like no other student in school gives you.  The expectations are high at Penn State – community service, being clean cut, being on time, academics…We are extremely proud of the student-athletes who graduate.  Our seniors are a real joy.  It will be difficult to go into the locker room and talk to the seniors.

Head Coach Rene Portland on UConn sophomore Barbara Turner…
Barbara Turner was the biggest problem we had.  She had two threes on Jess Brungo, which gave UConn some excitement.  She had a special night on a night when her team needed a special night.

Head Coach Rene Portland on next season…

If we ended the season as Big 10 champions, it would be a great way to go on vacation.  I’ll wonder…in other games we had offense, but not in our last few games.  Next year, we have three freshmen coming in.  We’ll be in great shape.  I don’t think we’ll skip a beat. 

On the defensive effort by UConn, especially at the end of the first half…
Kelly Mazzante: I think they switched on all of the picks.  It was something we’ve seen all season.  They had great athletes running at me.  It was something we faced all season.

On summing up her four years at PSU...
Kelly Mazzante: It was a great experience.  I couldn’t ask for a better set of teammates and coaches.  The fan support was just great.

On the mindset in the locker room at halftime…
Tanisha Wright: We knew we were still in the game.  With that shot not counting we were only down 8 points.  We needed to come out strong and chip that lead down.

On scoring almost 3000 points but never getting a chance to play for a National Championship…
Kelly Mazzante: I’d trade in all 3000 of them to be playing for a National Championship.

UConn - Penn State Postgame Notes

• UConn advances to the Final Four for the 5^th consecutive time becoming the first program in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history to accomplish this feat
• UConn is now 51-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and the Huskies have won 16 straight NCAA Tournament games.
• UConn is now 36-7 in the East Region and 8-3 in Regional Finals including five straight wins.
• UConn is now 8-0 all-time vs. the Big Ten in NCAA Tournament play.
• UConn is now 44-6 all-time at the Hartford Civic Center, 42-2 since 1987-’88 and 10-2 this season.
• UConn is now 11-3 as an at-large team and 28-3 in NCAA games in Connecticut, including 26 straight wins.
• Tonight’s game marked the first time that UConn has been the lower seeded team since 3/21/96 vs. Vanderbilt, a span of 53 games.
• This was the first time UConn wore the road blue uniforms at home since the Championship Game of the 2001 Big East Tournament, when Sue Bird hit a buzzer-beater to beat Notre Dame 78-76 on 3/6/01.
• UConn is now 7-1 all-time as a #2 seed.
• UConn has now won 26 of its last 27 NCAA Tournament games.
• The UConn senior class is now 20-1 in NCAA Tournament games.
• UConn is now 173-9 overall since the 1999-2000 season, with three national titles.
• This is the 2^nd time that UConn advances to the Final Four without having to leave the state in the NCAA Tournament.
• Barbara Turner had an NCAA Tournament high 26 points and a career-high four three pointers.
• Diana Taurasi moved into second place on the NCAA Tournament scoring list passing Bridgette Gordon (Tennessee). Taurasi now has 393 points.
• The 21 points scored in the first half by UConn is the fewest in any half of an NCAA Tournament game.
• The 13 first half points by Penn. State was an East Regional (Sweet 16, Elite 8) record low for any half breaking the record of 14 scored by Tennessee vs. Virginia in the first half on the East Regional Final on 3/25/96.
• The 13 first half points was also a record low allowed by UConn in the first half of any NCAA Tournament game. Hampton had the old record with 16 points in the first half of the first round game in 2000.
• Penn. State is now 26-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 1-3 in Regional Finals
• Penn. State is now 6-3 as a #1 seed and 112-46 all time vs. the Big East.
• The 13 points scored by Penn. State were the fewest scored in a half this season. The previous low was  in the first half vs. Purdue on 1/2/04.
• Penn. State trailed at the half for just the ninth time this season, they are 6-3 in those games.
• Tanisha Wright hasscored in double figures in nine of her 10 NCAA Tournament games.
• UConn’s seven blocks were the most by any Penn. State opponent this season.
• For the 2^nd consecutive year, Penn. State set a new NCAA Tournament school record low for points in a game.

East Regional All-Tournament Team

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