University of Connecticut Athletics
No. 1 UConn Defeats Scrappy No. 23 Old Dominion
12/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NORFOLK, VA (Dec. 29, 2001) -- Senior Swin Cash (McKeesport, PA) had a career-high 29 points and 12 rebounds and classmate Sue Bird (Syosset, NY) posted her 1,000th career point as the No. 1 University of Connecticut women’s basketball team fought past a tough No. 23 Old Dominion squad, 84-70, Saturday afternoon in Norfolk, VA. With the win, UConn remains undefeated this season with a 13-0 record while Old Dominion falls to 5-4.
Despite posting a 44.4 field-goal percentage in the first half that was well under its season percentage of 51.5, UConn stormed to the early lead, posting a 42-30 advantage heading into halftime. Cash led the Husky effort with 19 points and seven rebounds in the first stanza of play.
While Cash dominated on offense, the UConn defense limited Old Dominion to a 29.7 field-goal percentage in the first half.
In the second half, the Huskies came out firing with a blistering 65.0 percentage from the field and opened up a 21-point lead with 8:20 remaining in the game.
With scrappy play and hustle on the boards, the Lady Monarchs would cut the lead to 10 points late in the game. For the game, Old Dominion out-rebounded UConn, only the second time this season the Huskies have been beaten in the battle of the boards.
However, the ODU effort would prove to be too late, as UConn left the soldout ODU Fieldhouse with its 13th victory of the season.
Bird posted her 1,000th career point on her only three-pointer of the game at the 12:59 mark in the second half en route to 22 points and eight assists in the contest. Sophomore Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA) joined Cash and Bird in double figures with 16 points on 10-for-11 shooting from the free-throw line.
Cash’s double-double was her team-leading sixth of the season.
For the Lady Monarchs, Okiesha Howard posted 18 points while Lucienne Berthieu added 17 points and eight rebounds. Sharron Francis also registered 12 points.
UConn travels to Dayton, OH, for a Monday matchup with Wright State. The game will be the Huskies’s third road contest of the season. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
