University of Connecticut Athletics
No. 7/5 Women's Basketball Routs Syracuse 76-45
1/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
STORRS, Conn. (January 13, 2007) – The No. 7/5 University of Connecticut women’s basketball team overcame a sluggish start where it missed 10 of its first 11 shots before it went on a 15-0 run over the next six minutes en route to a 76-45 BIG EAST victory over Syracuse on Saturday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion.
With the win, UConn is now 14-1 and 4-0 in the BIG EAST on the season. UConn extends its winning streak over Syracuse to 15 consecutive games.
Freshman Tina Charles (Jamaica, N.Y.) had her second straight double-double with a career-high 19 rebounds and 14 points. Her 19 rebounds were the most by a UConn player since Swin Cash pulled down 20 on February 20, 2001 vs. West Virginia- a span of 206 games. Charles’ rebound total was also the highest total ever by a UConn freshman since Geno Auriemma became head coach in 1985.
Sophomore Kalana Greene (Saint Stephen, S.C.) scored a career-high 23 points, her ninth game in double-figure points this season.
Junior Charde Houston (San Diego, Calif.) finished with 11 points while sophomore Renee Montgomery (St. Albans, W.Va.) rounded out the four players in double-figure points with 10.
Driving along the baseline, Greene grabbed the first points of the game for the Huskies at 2-2. Charles nailed two free throws for the lead which they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
Montgomery cut off a Syracuse pass and dished to Greene for the layup at 14:24 up 11-4. Houston hit a jump shot on the next possession at 13-4.
Junior Ketia Swanier (Columbus, Ga.) knocked down a trey for a 22-10 advantage with 7:41 remaining in the first half. Montgomery pulled up for a jumper just inside the three-point line for the 24-12 lead.
A steal by freshman Meghan Gardler (Springfield, Pa.) resulted in a basket for Charles at the other end of the court. Moments later, Swanier would swipe a steal of her own and pass to Charles who was waiting under the basket to go up 28-18.
In the closing seconds of the first half, Montgomery connected on two free throw attempts as UConn went into the locker room leading 34-20 at the halftime break.
Junior Mel Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio) hit from beyond the arc less than a minute into the second half. Charles responded with a basket and a foul and converted on the subsequent free throw to increase the UConn advantage to 40-22 at 18:21.
Houston hit over two Orange defenders in the post for a bucket for a 24-point lead with 14:07 on the clock. Houston put up two more points in the paint at 57-33.
Charles laid one in off the glass after an offensive rebound with 7:49 on the clock. Houston added a three-point play with the bucket and free throw for a 64-38 lead. On the next possession, Montgomery charged down court and pulled up for a jumper just inside the free throw line.
Greene came up with a steal and added two points after racing past the Syracuse defender at 4:11. Thomas’ attempt from three-point range was good with 3:37 to play in the game and a 71-42 lead.
With 17.7 seconds left in the game, freshman Jacquie Fernandes (Pawcatuck, Conn.) put the icing on the cake with two free throws as the Huskies won 76-45.
Montgomery’s nine assists matched a career-high while Houston grabbed eight rebounds.
UConn extends its winning streak versus non-ranked opponents to 194 consecutive games and improves to 71-2 at Gampel Pavilion over its last 73 games.
UConn hits the road for the first of three consecutive road games beginning Monday, Jan. 15 with a nationally-televised game at No. 2/2 North Carolina on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. (ET).
SCOREBOARD 1st 2nd Final Syracuse 20 25 45 UConn 34 42 76
Game Notes
ü UConn extends its winning streak over Syracuse to 15 consecutive games.
ü UConn improves to 4-0 in Big East play for the third consecutive season.
ü UConn extends its winning streak versus non-ranked opponents to 194 consecutive games.
ü UConn improves to 88-7 versus Big East opponents since January 18, 2001.
ü Today’s game marked the first of three over a five-day span for UConn.
ü UConn improves to 12-0 versus non-ranked opponents this season.
ü UConn improves to 71-2 at Gampel Pavilion over its last 73 games.
ü Kalana Greene’s 23 points represented her ninth game in double-figure points this season and set a new career high in points.
ü Tina Charles’ 19 rebounds marked the fourth time in the last five games that she has tallied double-digits in rebounds.
ü Tina Charles’ 14 points and 19 rebounds marked her second straight double-double and her team-leading fifth of the season.
ü Tina Charles’ 19 rebounds were the most by a UConn player since Swin Cash pulled down 20 on February 20, 2001 versus West Virginia - a span of 206 games.
ü Tina Charles’ 19 rebounds were the highest total ever by a UConn freshman since Geno Auriemma became coach in 1985.
ü UConn won its 14th game this season by more than an 11-point margin and its 11th by a margin of 20 points or more.
Post Game Quotes
University of Connecticut
| | |
On the team’s defensive performance:
”It was kind of a weird game. We started out the game and the first five shots we took were lay-ups and we didn’t make a single one of them. We kept getting opportunities when we were on defense and it just seemed like we were constantly in the transition and I looked up and it was 19-4. I think our guys were surprised to be that wide open all the time. Some teams say they are going to guard Mel (Thomas) and at least make it look like they’re guarding everyone else. This one was ‘we’re going to guard Mel and no one else’. Our guys were catching the ball and looking around and seeing that no one was around and it took them to the second half to realize that they were wide open. It was a very strange game with the way it was officiated in the first and second halves. As one of the kids said, our offensive game has to start with our defense and our transition game has to be really good and I think the last couple games it has been and we’ve had a more aggressive nature. Kalana (Greene) taking 20-plus shots is amazing; sometimes we have to beg her to shoot. Today she took advantage of every opportunity that came her way. I thought that Tina (Charles) was rewarded for the last week or so of practice. Since before the Seton Hall game she’s practiced really, really well and I think that showed up today. She also played a lot of minutes, more than she’s used to playing. Other than our outside shooting I really can’t find a lot of things that I’d like to see get better.”
How concerned are you about the outside shooting in the upcoming game against North Carolina?
”You can’t worry about that stuff. All you can do is keep getting shots and if they go in they go in, if they don’t they don’t. To me it’s just one of those things that you have no control over. All you can do is get good shots and shoot them and shoot them with confidence and hope for the best. That’s it. We have to find other ways to win, like we did today. We’re not a great three-point shooting team anyways, except for Mel.”
Was it important for Tina Charles to have a game like this after Tennessee and before North Carolina?
“I just think it’s important for Tina to play well each and every time that she goes out there. The one misconception I think people have is that Monday night’s game means more than a ‘W’ or an ‘L’. All this crap about being ready for Monday night and needing today’s game to be better for Monday night its already been proven that each game is an entity in and of itself. We win Monday night and we don’t get 3 ‘W’’s. It’s the same if we loose, we’re only going to get one ‘L’. Sometimes I think a lot more gets made of it than there really is. Maryland got beat today at Duke and they aren’t going to go home and think that they can’t win the national championship just because they lost one game. If you put too much emphasis on it, you’re putting it on the wrong thing. Tina Charles needs to play well every game because she need to keep getting better for the games that come in March.”
On her performance
“That’s just something I have to bring every game. It’s my job."
How much do you think the back-to-back performances, like you had in the last two games, will help you for Monday’s game?
“It’s going to help me a lot. It helps build up my confidence and everything. I just have to go out with the right mindset.”
What is that mindset?
“Basically every ball that goes off the glass is supposed to be mine.”
On the shoulder injury suffered against Oakland
“I’m fine and my shoulder’s fine. It’s not really about my shoulder right now; it’s about the team and continuing to get better.”
How do you feel about going down to North Carolina?
“I feel great. I think it’s going to be fun. I like going away so it should be nice.”
Are there any concerns the team has about the offense, like the low field goal percentage?
“No concerns…I don’t have any. I just think we’ll do whatever we have too to win. If they’re playing in, we’re going to have to drive the lane. We’ll have to get some easy buckets on fast-breaks plays and get our shots off.”
Were you satisfied with the team’s performance today?
“Yes, definitely. I felt like we played aggressive and that’s the mindset we need to have. A lot of shots didn’t fall, but we kept taking them and that’s another good thing. As long as we don’t start taking the shots we know we can make and be aggressive every play, we’ll be alright.”
Do you think the team is playing with more confidence now after the loss?
“Definitely. I think we’re playing with a different mindset, that’s the main thing. Everyone is trying to be aggressive every single play.”
On the game
“Today Syracuse gave us the outside shot and we just had to knock them in; Renee Montgomery, Ketia Swanier, and I were stepping out and taking shots. Tina Charles and Charde Houston were winning the rebound battles and we were able to get a lot of buckets and points in transition.”
Did the team seem to be most comfortable in the transition game?
“That’s the team that we are trying to be and I think that is the kind of game that we play. Our defense extended the floor which lead to transition points. I think this is what we are used to and most comfortable with doing”
Was the team more aggressive on defense tonight?
“We wanted to get a lot of points in transition and I think we did well shooting the gaps on defense.”
Syracuse University
Head Coach Quentin Hillsman
On the game
“We continued to throw the ball away and we had a little stretch where we had a few turnovers that led to lay-ups. We tried to guard those but we were playing UConn, the #5 team in the country and they are a great team. We knew that we had to come out and play almost perfectly to win this basketball game. Overall the effort and four players in double figure scoring, I thought we played a pretty strong game.”
