University of Connecticut Athletics
Turner Leads Huskies Over Hartford
12/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HARTFORD, Conn. (December 7, 2004) – Junior Barbara Turner (Cleveland, Ohio) recorded the fifth double-double of her career as eighth-ranked Connecticut defeated the University of Hartford, 55-32, Tuesday evening in a coaching match up featuring Geno Auriemma and former Husky Jen Rizzotti, now the Hawks head coach. The contest was played before a sellout crowd of 16,294 at the Hartford Civic Center. The win improves the Huskies’ record to 4-1 while the Hawks slip to 4-1.
Turner scored 16 of her game-high 17 points in the after intermission, almost outscoring the Hawks by herself. She added 11 rebounds, including a career-best 10 on the defensive end. Senior center Jessica Moore (Palmer, Alaska) and junior Willnett Crockett (Harbor City, Calif.) had identical stat lines with eight points and nine rebounds apiece.
The opening portion of the contest was quite ragged as UConn missed its first eight shots and 15 of its first 16. Hartford led 4-2, but was then unable to score on their next 18 possessions, missing 10 shots and committing nine turnovers. During the 11:03 scoring drought by Hartford, the Huskies scored 10 straight points as freshman Charde Houston (San Diego, Calif.) and Crocket each scored four points. The Huskies settled for a 22-15 lead at halftime, despite shooting just 32 percent from the field.
Freshman guard Mel Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio) had a career-high seven assists in 28 minutes off of the bench. UConn held the Hawks to just 29 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers. The 32 points allowed was the lowest since November 29, 2002, when the Huskies held Denver to just 29 points.
The game marked the first meeting on the hardwood between Auriemma and his former All-American point guard Rizzotti, who played at Connecticut from 1992-1996. Erika Messam led Hartford with 13 points.
The Huskies will now take a two week-break for semester exams, resuming their 2004-2005 schedule with a two-game road trip to Arizona State and Colorado State. UConn will play at Arizona State on Tuesday, December 21, with game time set for 9:00 p.m. (EST). That game will not be televised.
GAME NOTES
· UConn opened the game 0 for its first 8 from the field and did not score until the 16:11 mark of the first half.
· Fewest first-half points by UConn (22) since it scored 21 vs. Penn State in the 2004 East Regional Final.
· Tonight’s win extended UConn’s winning streak in the month of December to 60 consecutive games.
· Tonight’s win extended UConn’s home-court winning streak in December to 40 games.
· Huskies improve to 46-6 all-time at the Hartford Civic Center – 2-0 this season.
· UConn extended its home-court winning streak vs. non-ranked teams to 162 straight games.
· UConn improves to 6-0 all-time vs. the University of Hartford.
· UConn improves to 200-5 at home since the 1993-94 season.
· Tonight’s game marked the 29th consecutive sellout at the Harford Civic Center.
· Barbara Turner’s 17 points mark her fifth straight game with double-figure points this season and the 49th time in her career.
· UConn’s 55 points marked its lowest single-game total this season and its fewest since scoring 48 vs. Virginia Tech on March 7, 2004.
· Turner’s 17 points and 11 rebounds marked her first double-double this season and the fifth of her career.
Connecticut Head Coach Geno Auriemma
On Jennifer Rizzotti and women in coaching
“It’s hard for a woman because they have to sacrifice an awful lot whether it’s a career, family. Something has got to give, and then they have to find a guy that hopefully understands how all this works. They (guys) are not always going to be content. It’s a difficult thing that they are setting out to do, and I admire them, but that’s the new generation of coaches. That’s why I think you are going to see more teams upset other teams because these young coaches today do not sit around and decide before hand who is going to win and who is going to lose like coaches from 10 years ago. These coaches today grew up in a different environment and I am proud of Jennifer and the fact that she goes into every arena thinking she can win. It’s a long road ahead and, I wish all of them the best. That’s how this game is going to grow with the Jen Rizzotti’s and the Kris Lamb’s, the Jamelle Elliot’s, the Tonya Cardoza’s. The 30-year-olds that have decided to make this their career against pretty insurmountable odds I think, and they are going to change the game of women’s basketball. They already have to a certain extent as players, and now they are going to do it as coaches.”
What has to get done in the next two weeks?
“Over these next two weeks hopefully we find some cohesiveness. We have it at practice, and then we’ll go through stretches for seven minutes in the game where we have it. The we go 10 minutes where we look like we’ve never practiced. We have to find a way to concentrate long enough to make this thing work over and over and over and over again. Right now we are just not there yet.”
Thoughts on Barbara Turner
“Of all of the post players we have Barbara is the most difficult to guard in the post 1-on-1. She has learned how to use the dribble and learned how to use her body, so she can get the ball up on the rim. We made a concerted effort to isolate her and Ann, either one of them was going to be taking most of our shots in the second half. Barbara has had a great two weeks, and it’s been like that every day in practice. She is probably one of, if not, the best 1-on-1 player we have.
Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti
Opening Statement
“Obviously I think there are a lot of things that came out positive for us. Defensively I thought we executed our game plan to a tea. I think we made one of the best teams in the country work for 40 minutes to get shots. Offensively I would have liked to see us turn the ball over a little less, but when we did get our plays done and execute we got a lot of good shots. I’m proud of my kids and it really has nothing to do with what’s on the stat sheet, it has to do with their heart and how they played. Just the fact they went on the court and never looked intimidated for one second makes me really proud of them.”
How did you feel when the crowd came to their feet for you?
“I was very touched. It’s nice to know you’re never forgotten and it’s nice to know people appreciate good women’s basketball.”
On preparing for UConn’s pressure
“We worked on the pressure in practice, but to be honest it is pretty hard to simulate what UConn is going to do. I thought that they rushed us into a lot of bad decisions. I would have liked to have seen us be a little bit tougher and take care of the ball better, but when we broke the pressure we did a really nice job. It’s something we can take from the game to work on. We are trying to get to the next level. If we make it to the NCAA Tournament then we need to be ready to play against players as good as UConn.”
“I feel we have a pretty good team speed. During the first half, I thought UConn having to press every possession really took a lot out of their offensive transition. It’s a matter of effort. Transition defense is effort and communication and we talked a lot about that. It is part of our defensive plan and I think for 40 minutes we were great defensively. Our box-outs were better. Our effort to block them out and not get a hand on the ball was tremendous.
What did Geno say to you?
“He asked me if my kids played that hard all the time. To be honest with you I said I wish they did. This year I think we have the potential to play that hard all the time. We haven’t in the past, but I think this year could be different for us.
Thoughts about Geno being down the sideline
“Once the game started it wasn’t even a factor. I mean I usually don’t hug the opposing team coach, but once the game started I had complete focus. That’s how you have to be. I didn’t even notice them down there. “
What was your biggest fear for tonight?
“My biggest fear was that we would not play up to our potential. I didn’t want our kids to not showcase how good they are. I think fans saw we have a pretty good program in Hartford. I thought we played some good basketball and that’s what I wanted everyone to see."
On Liz Stich’s effort
“I had no doubt that this was going to be her best game. The bigger the game the better she plays. She is one of those unsung heroes. She was very poised and took care of the ball very well. She played like a senior and I think she’ll remember this game for the rest of her life.”
Junior Willnett Crockett
"It was a pretty physical game. They came out here to play just like any other team would. You play to win and that’s how they played.”
“In situations like this you just have to go out there and say 'I just need to do what I have to, to win.'"
“We knew our defense needed to spark our offense. The first half was obviously a little rocky and in the second half we calmed down just a little bit in order to maintain the lead.”
On Barbara Turner's play
“You knew she was going to go to work (after the half) in order to help us and she obviously did. She sparked everyone else.”
Junior Barbara Turner
“I think in the second half I realized that some of the calls I usually get, I wasn’t going to get so regardless of anything I just had to continue pounding inside and eventually the whistle would blow.”
“My teammates did a great job of getting the ball inside and the rest is history.”
Did you take it upon yourself to do more in the second half?
“Yes. In the first half, defensively, I was just trying to make the plays and offensively, I got into a funk where it just wasn’t going my way. I was being held and I backed off a little.”
Senior Jessica Moore
"I’m a little disappointed in myself to know that coach has to go to those extremes to get me to play the way I should be playing. I need to make a really big evaluation of myself and how I’m playing. Something has to change because this can really hurt our team.”
What was the difference in the team between the first half and the second half?
“I think that the first half we showed that we really didn’t come ready to play. We didn’t do a very good job, collectively, at looking each other in the eyes and saying that we were ready to play. In the second half I think we were just upset in the locker room and decided that we weren’t going to finish the game out like that.”
On her past knee injury
“This team was very physical. I’ve been guarding my knee and even though you can play after six months, it doesn’t feel as it used to feel.”
