Beat Huskies? No ‘Conn’ do
The Connecticut Lady Huskies are so good, their two-season run of dominance so complete, that the result of the NCAA Tournament appears to be a formality this year — with none of the other elite teams having much of a chance to win the national title.
“After seeing so many different ways they’ve been able to win, I don’t think anybody can or will beat them,” ESPN’s Charlie Creme said. “If we’re going to try to measure teams that have the best chance, I say Stanford and Tennessee would fare the best in a matchup with UConn. Outside of [them], I don’t see anybody even being that competitive.”
The Huskies have won a record 72 games in a row dating back to last season. The defending national champions, they don’t have a weakness. They have size (only one player on the roster shorter than 5-foot-10), balance (four players average in double figures in scoring) and the best defense in the nation (allowing 47.4 points per game).
UConn has unparalleled leadership from two of the best players in the country: senior Tina Charles, this year’s Big East Player of the Year, and junior Maya Moore, last season’s national player of the year.
“The biggest thing is the huge commitment on our end to playing defense,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “There is a good camaraderie on the offensive end. Maya Moore and Tina Charles occupy a lot of people and that allows other players to step up, and it’s been somebody different every night.”
Stanford (28-1), a favorite for a No. 1 seed when the brackets are announced tomorrow, lost to UConn by 12 points earlier this season after leading at halftime. Auriemma believes his team can’t lose if it plays its best.
“We’ve seen everything that a team can throw at us,” Auriemma said. “[The] only time we struggle is when we get open shots and don’t make them. But you don’t know. If you play poorly and the other team shoots the lights out, you can lose.”
UConn (33-0) has not faced Nebraska (30-0), which rolled through the Big 12 undefeated and should snag a No. 1 seed, or Tennessee (30-2), the other probable No. 1 seed.
The Lady Vols have no seniors on the roster and probably are a year away from their best. Tennessee coach Pat Summitt would love a shot at ending UConn’s historic run of perfection, but acknowledged the odds aren’t in her team’s favor.
“It would take a great game [to beat UConn],” Summitt said. “The situation there is how would we respond if we got in that situation because we still are very young. [The Huskies] are beating people, it’s amazing how they separate themselves. Clearly, they are the best team in the country.”
Carolyn Peck, who coached Purdue to a national title in 1999, agreed Tennessee and Stanford pose the biggest threats to the Huskies. She explained what she thinks a team will need to do to beat UConn, but did not sound as though she thinks it will happen.
“First, you have to have a steady and strong point guard,” said Peck, who now works as an analyst for ESPN. “You have to have a strong perimeter game and the ability to score and manufacture points on the perimeter.
“You need to be able to keep [Charles and Moore] off the offensive glass and also defend Tiffany Hayes’ and Kalana Greene’s ability to get into the paint.
“And most importantly is a mental confidence on the floor as the game starts and then to be able to handle Connecticut runs.”
Can a team put all that together and dethrone the seemingly unstoppable Huskies?
“It would be difficult for anyone to say they have the game plan and the players to beat Connecticut,” Peck said.


