University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Advance to NCAA Final With Come
4/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ATLANTA, GA (April 6, 2003)-- Junior All-American and Naismith Player of the Year, Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA) poured in 26 points and grabbed four rebounds to give Head Coach Geno Auriemma his 500th career win, and lead the University of Connecticut women's basketball team into the Finals of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship with a 71-69 victory over the University of Texas at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in front of sell-out crowd of 28,210.
With the victory, UConn improves to 36-1 on the campaign, while Texas finishes off it's season at 29-6.
The Huskies got on the board first and jumped to a 5-0 lead after a Jessica Moore (Palmer, AK) lay-up and a Taurasi three-pointer. With tight defensive efforts and an evenly matched rebounding battle, the Longhorns fought hard and were able to tie the score 14-14 with just over 10 minutes left in the half. Texas continued with their efforts and slowly crept up to take their first lead of the half, 30-29 with 1:57 left on the clock. With the game tied for the second time, 33-33, Texas' Nina Norman hit a jump-shot from just inside the three-point arc at the buzzer to take the lead, 35-33 heading into the locker room.
The Huskies were given a good scare by the Longhorns for most of the second half as they proceeded to take the lead on two occasions. The Huskies' biggest set-back came during the Longhorn's 10-2 run that put the Huskies down, 50-41 with 12:25 left in the game. Willnett Crockett (Harbor City, CA) added a tremendous spark off the bench down the stretch. Crockett was key in the final minutes, converting on a long one handed pass off the dribble from Taurasi, to bring the Huskies to within four, 64-60. The Huskies were down two with 2:02 to play when Taurasi launched a deep three pointer that would bring UConn ahead by one, 67-66.
With just 36 seconds left in the contest, Crockett then pulled down a key offensive rebound after Taurasi's two missed free throws and quickly called a time-out. A foul on the floor brought Maria Conlon (Derby, CT) to the line, as she knocked down one of her free throws to bring the Huskies to a 71-66 lead. After being held scoreless by the Huskies for 3:12, Texas' Jamie Casey quickly answered as she sank a three-pointer closing the gap to two, 71-69. The Huskies smart play and defense would not allow Texas to score again.
Moore finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
Both teams were fairly even underneath, with UConn grabbing 37 rebounds and Texas pulling down 35. In addition, UConn shot 45 percent from the field, while Texas shot 42 percent.
The Longhorns were led by Stacey Stevens who finished off with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Norman and Carey each contributed 14 points.
UConn returns to action on Tuesday, April 8 in the NCAA Championship as they take on their long-time rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers. Tip off time is set for 8:30 p.m. and will televised by ESPN.
