UConn Huskies women’s basketball freshman Tiffany Hayes must have watched her fellow freshman on the men’s team, Kemba Walker, help his team advance to the Final Four because she put on a show Sunday afternoon.
Hayes scored a career-high 28 points to help the No. 1 seeded Huskies to a 77-53 win over the No. 4 seed Cal Lady Golden Bears in the semifinals of the Trenton Regional at the Sovereign Bank Arena.
The Huskies (36-0) now await the winner of the Arizona State/Texas A&M game in Tuesday night for the right to advance to the Final Four in St. Louis. The Lady Golden Bears finish up a great season at 27-8.
Hayes was on fire during the game as she finished 9-for-10 from the floor including 5-of-6 from beyond the three-point line and also added a career-high 7 assists. Maya Moore chipped in with 22 points and 5 rebounds while Renee Montgomery added 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Tina Charles led the Huskies with 8 rebounds while adding 5 points.
Ashley Walker led the Lady Golden Bears with 21 points and added 7 rebounds. Natasha Vital and Alexis Gray-Lawson both added 10 points while Devanei Hampton led the team with 11 rebounds to go along with her 7 points.
Things weren’t looking too good for the vaunted lineup of the Huskies as they fell behind 7-2 in the first two minutes of the game. Hayes rallied the Huskies though as she started off an 11-2 run with two consecutive three-pointers to give the Huskies a 13-9 lead.
Charles picked up her second foul with just over 15 minutes to go in the half and Cal was able to exploit her loss as they reclaimed the lead with a 6-0 run. The teams continued to exchange baskets and the lead for the for the next 4 minutes.
With the score tied at 23, the Lady Golden Bears went on an 8-0 run to give themselves a 31-23 lead with 6:38 to go in the half. With the Huskies facing their largest deficit in the tournament, Geno Auriemma called timeout and gave it to his team.
But like they always do, the Huskies responded big time as they closed out the half on a 12-2 run to take a 35-33 lead into the locker room.
The Golden Bears stayed close at the beginning of the half but UConn used a 23-5 run to put the game away and make Geno feel a little more comfortable.
We all knew Hayes was going to be a special player at some point in her career. Had it not been for the knee injury to her roommate Caroline Doty, she might not have been playing as much as she’s been needed. Hayes has definitely made the most of her opportunity and has gotten better with each game.
That all culminated today with her All-American-like effort.
Notes and musings:
California Lady Golden Bears vs UConn Huskies Sweet 16 NCAA Women’s Tournament box score 3.29.09
The starters were Renee Montgomery, Tiffany Hayes, Kalana Greene, Maya Moore and Tina Charles.
UConn’s 36-0 start marks its best since going a perfect 39-0 in 2001-02.
UConn improves to all-time record in NCAA Tournament action to 68-15 all-time following today’s Trenton Regional Semifinal win over California.
Tiffany Hayes’ 28 points marks her 16th game with double-figure points this season and her first since Feb. 28.
Tiffany Hayes’ 28 points mark the most ever scored by a UConn freshman in an NCAA Tournament game.
Maya Moore’s 22 points marks her eighth consecutive game with double-figure points and her 35th this season.
Renee Montgomery’s 13 points marks her third straight game with double-figure points and her 31st this season.
The Huskies shot 44.4% (28-of-63) from the floor while the Lady Golden Bears shot 30.4% (17-of-56).
UConn had 16 assists on their 28 made baskets.
The Huskies were 12-of-15 (80%) from the free throw line.
UConn won the battle of the boards 40-35 and outscored Cal 26-18 in the paint.
The Huskies had just 7 turnovers in the game while Cal committed 16. The Huskies turned those 16 turnovers into 18 points.
UConn’s bench outscored Cal’s 2-0.
