University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Advance to Elite Eight With Win Over Penn State
3/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MILWAUKEE, WI (Mar. 23, 2002) – Led by 24 points from Naismith Player of the Year senior Sue Bird (Syosset, NY), the No. 1 University of Connecticut women’s basketball team advanced to its ninth Regional Final appearance with an 82-64 win over Penn State Saturday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, WI.
UConn improves to 36-0 this season while the Lady Lions finish the season with a record of 23-12.
In a tight first half, UConn opened with the game’s first four points before Jess Strom could put the Lady Lions on the board with a three-pointer at the 18:06 mark. From there, neither team established a two-possession lead until sophomore Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA) nailed a three-pointer with 7:57 remaining to put UConn up 29-24.
Bird registered UConn’s largest lead of the half at 40-30 with a three-pointer at the 3:40 mark, but Jessica Brungo answered 11 seconds later with a field goal from beyond the arc for the Lady Lions. By halftime, Penn State closed UConn’s advantage to six points at 44-38.
Bird lead UConn with 13 points in the first stanza, including two three-pointers. Taurasi, seniors Asjha Jones (Piscataway, NJ) and Tamika Williams (Dayton, OH) added eight points apiece for the Huskies.
UConn contained Penn State sharpshooter Kelly Mazzante, the nation’s leading scorer, to seven points in the first half, but Strom, the Lady Lions’ freshman point guard, picked up the slack with three three-pointers, including two in the game’s first five minutes.
The Lady Lions came out firing in the second half, eventually cutting UConn’s lead to one point on a layup by Tanisha Wright with 17:08 remaining. The Huskies answered by scoring the game’s next eight points, capped by a Bird jumper at the 15:39 mark to make the score 55-47.
Undaunted by the Husky run, the Lady Lions cut the UConn advantage to 55-51 on a layup by Jacquelynn Shook at the 15:04 mark. The four-point deficit would be as close as the Lady Lions would get to UConn as the Huskies then turned on the jets, reeling off nine unanswered points to bring the score to 64-51 on a three-pointer by sophomore Maria Conlon (Derby, CT) with 11:51 remaining.
UConn eventually opened up a 20-point lead on two occasions before rolling to its 36th victory of the season, matching the program’s record for most wins in a season. The 1999-2000 team also posted 36 wins.
The 36-0 start this season is the best ever in UConn history.
Bird’s 24 points were one shy of matching a career high. She was joined in double figures by Taurasi, who finished with 15 points. Jones chipped in 14 points and nine boards while senior Swin Cash (McKeesport, PA) had 10 points. Williams notched her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
For Penn State, Tanisha Wright had 18 points and Mazzante finished with 15 points. Strom registered 12 points and eight assists.
UConn moves on to play the winner of the Old Dominion-Kansas State game in the Mideast Regional final on Monday at 7:30 p.m EST. The game will be broadcast on espn2.
