|
|
|
|
|
Connecticut races by Stanford to claim second straight NCAA crown
By Morris Phillips April 6, 2010 |
|||
|
|
|||
|
For one half of one game, mighty Connecticut looked ordinary. Twenty minutes later, Maya Moore--even more determined--willed her team to a second straight national championship. Moore, the unflappable All-American contributed 23 points and 11 rebounds in Connecticut’s 53-47 victory over Stanford to claim their second consecutive NCAA crown. The Huskies have now won a NCAA record 77 games in a row. “(In) the second half, you can’t really have any fear,” Moore said. “We all recognized that we weren’t ourselves, and we just had to leave in the locker room, and that’s what we did, and come out and be in the attack mode.” Connecticut shocked everyone in the Alamodome, even their opponent, Stanford, by missing shot after shot and scoring just 12 points before halftime. The point total was the worst for a half in their school’s history. For 10 minutes, they went scoreless, unable to get past the Stanford defense and execute any of the explosive offensive basketball they’re known for. But Stanford didn’t take full advantage of the Connecticut blackout. In scoring just 20 points themselves, they left the door open. When the Cardinal made just 3 of their first 20 shots after the break, the inevitable happened. “I think we wasted a lot of opportunities in both halves. And I think that its... Jayne being healthy and just playing a regular game, in all four years, you could correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve never seen her go O-fer," Coach Tara VanDerveer said. Jayne Appel, Stanford’s centerpiece and likely top two WNBA draft choice, endured a painful and humbling end of her college career. Favoring her injured ankle noticeably and likely in a great deal of pain, she struggled for 30 minutes, before VanDerveer sat her down with six minutes to go. Appel missed all 12 of her shots, and wasn’t anything near the equal of Connecticut center Tina Charles that Stanford needed her to be. With Appel struggling, Stanford as a whole struggled. For the first time in months, their offense was disjointed, not so much from Connecticut’s pressure, but from their own tentative play and inability to make shots. And the process began in the first half, even as they surged on the scoreboard. Even in establishing a lead, the Cardinal did not establish themselves on the offensive end of the floor, eventually missing 50 of their 68 shots. For Stanford, the only distinction they get is in being the only team to manage to finish within 10 points of the champs in their 77-game win streak. The distinction was far from what they were looking for on Tuesday night. Still their transformation from game contender to meek surrender was extraordinary. Stanford, so skilled at getting the ball inside and scoring, simply couldn’t. They missed layups, short jumpers and never had a presence on the free throw line, attempting just four. Of the long checklist of things they needed to do to pull the upset, they ultimately accomplished just one, winning the rebounding battle by a slim 45-42 margin. Still Stanford never quit, cutting a 47-31 deficit with 2:40 remaining to just six at the final horn. But that just earned them a bird’s eye view of another Connecticut post-game celebration. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||