University of Connecticut Athletics
No. 1 UConn holds off No. 3 Oklahoma, 86-72
12/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HARTFORD, CT (Dec. 22, 2001) – Senior Sue Bird (Syosset, NY) posted a game-high 21 points and classmate Asjha Jones (Piscataway, NJ) contributed a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as the No.1 University of Connecticut women’s basketball team held off No. 3 Oklahoma, 86-72, Saturday afternoon in Hartford. In the battle between teams with mirror 10-0 records, the Huskies escaped with their perfect record intact to improve to 11-0 this season.
After a jumper by Sooner forward Caton Hill gave Oklahoma the game’s first lead at 2-0, UConn posted another one of its early runs, reeling off eight unanswered points to make the score 8-2 with 16:42 remaining. The Sooners responded by cutting the lead to 10-6 at the 14:29 mark.
Paced by its four senior starters, UConn then went on an 11-1 run to make the score 21-7 at the 10:50 mark. But in a first half of lop-sided runs, Oklahoma rallied with an 11-0 run of its own to cut the Husky advantage to 21-18 with 6:32 remaining.
A balanced offensive attack contributed to another Husky run to make the score 32-20 with 2:58 remaining in the half. However, the Sooners would not fade, closing the half with an 8-3 run. The halftime score was 35-28.
After leading UConn with 10 points at the half, Bird came out firing in the second half, registering five points in a 13-6 Husky run to open play. Bird was assisted by her backcourt partner sophomore Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA), who had all 18 of her points in the second half after sitting out most of the first half with foul trouble.
Oklahoma had foul trouble of its own, as senior All-American Stacey Dales picked up her fourth foul with 19:44 left in the game. The UConn defense held Dales to only 11 points. For the game, the Sooners as a team connected on only 35.6% of their shots.
Without Dales, Oklahoma chipped into the Husky lead, cutting a 14-point advantage to four points with 6:34 remaining. The Sooners were led by LaNeishea Caufield, who finished with 19 points, including 14 in the second half.
In the end, Taurasi and senior Swin Cash (McKeesport, CA) fended off the Sooner charge. With the score 61-57 at the 6:34 mark, Taurasi posted six points in a minute span to help open the Husky lead to 69-59 at the 5:09 mark. Cash would contribute six points within a minute span as well, maintaining the UConn advantage at more than 10 points with 3:04 remaining.
A series of free throws later, UConn walked away with its second victory over a No. 3 team in 2001-02. The Huskies also downed then-No. 3 Vanderbilt, 69-50, on Nov. 18.
All five starters scored in double figures for UConn. In addition to Caufield and Dales, Caton Hill, Rosalind Hill and Dionnah Jackson posted double digits for the Sooners, with 11 points apiece. Jamie Talbert also contributed 10 rebounds in the Oklahoma effort.
UConn will next face Cal State Northridge on Dec. 27. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion.
