ATLANTA – One week after calling Tennessee the “Evil Empire,” coach Geno Auriemma led his Huskies into the Georgia Dome and took out a veteran Lady Vol team to win the program’s fourth national title, its second in a row.
Tennessee, which delivered coach Pat Summitt to the championship game for the tenth time, was knocked out by a Connecticut team that supposed to be in “rebuilding” mode this season. With a starting lineup containing two freshmen, Connecticut took out Tennessee, 73-68, and then took down the nets.
The game was everything a television audience could have imagined – an up-and-down battle that wasn’t secure until the closing seconds of the contest.
UConn junior guard Diana Taurasi didn’t see the ball early during the game but, once she did, she made the most of the opportunity.
Lady Vol junior guard Tasha Butts, who was Taurasi’s primary defender, said it’s hard to handle a player as determined as her Connecticut counterpart.
“She’s just a great player,” Butts said. “She really steps up her game when it counts. Tonight, she made big plays for them, and we just didn’t stop her.”
Sophomore guard Brittany Jackson, who contributed 13 points, five rebounds and three steals in her 20 minutes of action, elaborated further on how Taurasi took apart Tennessee’s game plan.
“We gave them way too many 3-point shots tonight,” Jackson said. “We knew that they were a great team from the perimeter, but we did not do a good job stepping out to defend the 3-point line.
“We just didn’t play to the best of our ability tonight.”
Taurasi continued her tradition of saving her best games for the Lady Vols. She scored 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-9 from behind the arc.
Perhaps more important than the sheer numbers were the points in the game when those shots were knocked down. Tennessee was able to crawl back from large deficits several times during the contest, including tying the game four times during the first half. But each time the Lady Vols made a run, Taurasi had an answer.
Included in Taurasi’s 11 first-half points was a 3-point shot that broke a 30-all tie with just under one minute remaining. Demonstrating a knack for knocking down the big shot, Taurasi, who had been knocked down by a Tennessee defender, jumped up and out to hit a jumper from the left side for the UConn lead.
“We were able to cut into the lead and make runs, but we just didn’t get over the hump,” UT sophomore guard Loree Moore said. “We made key stops, but then would go back down on the defensive end and allow them to get a second chance shot.”
UT senior Kara Lawson, seemingly frozen throughout the first half and part of the second, came alive with 10 minutes remaining. With two 3-pointers and several driving layups, she tried to single-handedly push her team back into the game.
But Taurasi always had an answer.
“We didn’t do what we said we would need to do in the scouting report,” Moore said. “You can’t win like that. It feels bad, because we feel like that should have been us out there. We felt like we should have been there, so it was hard to watch them celebrate.”
Tennessee’s players, who shot 57.9 percent from the free throw line, were left consoling each other at the close of the game.
“Gwen (Jackson) and I came here to try and win championships,” Lawson said. “You always hope for a happy ending. We didn’t get that tonight. But I’ve been blessed to be a part of this program for four years. The experience of spending time with my teammates and growing as a person is what I will take away from this.
“We didn’t win the big one but that doesn’t ruin my college career. It was about the ride, not the finish.”
