UConn doubled up LSU early, then fought to stay ahead in a strenous back-and-forth game. They did it: the Huskies' win avenged their ignominious tournament loss, and recalled their nailbiter in Baton Rouge last year.
The game was one of the toughest, and one of the most fun to watch (at least if you were rooting for the winners), of the year's national TV slate thus far, and it made both teams lookpretty good like potential champions.
For the Huskies, Maya Moore looked stunning (10-17 from the field, 7-7 from the line) but she couldn't have done it alone. "As good as Maya was tonight," said Geno, "and I thought she was phenomenal, Kaili [McLaren] coming off the bench and Ketia Swanier and Tina [Charles], that’s what you need to beat a really good team."
Also needed: a tantrum from Geno himself, who picked up a technical foul in the second half after a bevy of whistles went LSU's way. Afterwards, calls seemed to even out.
Despite the T, there was lots of love between the Huskies and the Geaux Tigers beforehand and afterwards. A Baton Rouge sportswriter lauded UConn's intensity, while coach Auriemma enjoyed the purple and gold atmosphere: "I can’t say enough about the people down here and how we’re treated," he added. "There’s some schools up in the northeast that could take a lesson from the way the people treat you.”
Fowles and Charles even hugged postgame. Coach Van (who seems to be having a lot more fun at LSU than in his last years at Houston) had praise for Moore, and more praise for McLaren: "She just overpowered us inside." UConn had at least two folks crashing the glass, while LSU relied overmuch on Big Syl-- one reason for the visitors' double-digit rebounding advantage.
Fowles-- once she started elevating-- looked great, and Quianna Chaney had an invisible telescopic laser sight: she finished 6-11 from long range, but couldn't make the final trey that would have tied it. "You can't ask for better," said Fowles. "I enjoyed it while it lasted." So did we.
The game was one of the toughest, and one of the most fun to watch (at least if you were rooting for the winners), of the year's national TV slate thus far, and it made both teams look
For the Huskies, Maya Moore looked stunning (10-17 from the field, 7-7 from the line) but she couldn't have done it alone. "As good as Maya was tonight," said Geno, "and I thought she was phenomenal, Kaili [McLaren] coming off the bench and Ketia Swanier and Tina [Charles], that’s what you need to beat a really good team."
Also needed: a tantrum from Geno himself, who picked up a technical foul in the second half after a bevy of whistles went LSU's way. Afterwards, calls seemed to even out.
Despite the T, there was lots of love between the Huskies and the Geaux Tigers beforehand and afterwards. A Baton Rouge sportswriter lauded UConn's intensity, while coach Auriemma enjoyed the purple and gold atmosphere: "I can’t say enough about the people down here and how we’re treated," he added. "There’s some schools up in the northeast that could take a lesson from the way the people treat you.”
Fowles and Charles even hugged postgame. Coach Van (who seems to be having a lot more fun at LSU than in his last years at Houston) had praise for Moore, and more praise for McLaren: "She just overpowered us inside." UConn had at least two folks crashing the glass, while LSU relied overmuch on Big Syl-- one reason for the visitors' double-digit rebounding advantage.
Fowles-- once she started elevating-- looked great, and Quianna Chaney had an invisible telescopic laser sight: she finished 6-11 from long range, but couldn't make the final trey that would have tied it. "You can't ask for better," said Fowles. "I enjoyed it while it lasted." So did we.
posted by Jessie B at 9:20 AM
