Normally when Tina Charles or Maya Moore is struggling, the other one picks the other up. But what happens when both of them struggle?
On Tuesday night in the Big East Championship, UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma found out that answer against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Kalana Greene and Tiffany Hayes stepped up for the two All-Americans as they both had 15 points to help the Huskies to a 60-32 win for their third straight Big East Championship.
It’s the 16th Big East Women’s Tournament title for the No. 1/1 Huskies who improve to 33-0. The No. 9/8 Mountaineers fall to 28-5.
Greene added 12 rebounds while Hayes had seven. Charles finished with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds while blocking five shots. Moore ended up with 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting and had seven rebounds.
Liz Repella was the only member of the Mountaineers to hit double-digits with 10 points. Madina Ali led them with six rebounds before fouling out.
With UConn leading 9-6, they went on a 12-2 run to open up a 13 point lead. The Huskies lead grew to 17 points at 30-17 with 2:45 to go but the Mountaineers scored the final three points of the half to go into the locker room trailing 30-20.
West Virginia started the second half on an 8-1 run to cut UConn’s lead to five at 33-28. Then the tides changed as the Mountaineers went ice cold. A 10-2 run by the Huskies made it 43-30 with 11:45 to go and the Huskies never looked back from there.
For the next 11:17 of the game, the Mountaineers were held scoreless while the Huskies would score seventeen straight points to put the game out of reach. Akeema Richards ended that streak with 28 seconds left but it was too late.
72 straight wins for the Huskies and everyone them has been different. The final margin may have been 28 points but for a little while there, it looked as though the Mountaineers could pull off something special. Instead, the Big East Tournament MVP Greene made sure the Huskies would start the NCAA Tournament undefeated.
The Huskies now have to wait until Monday, March 15th to find out their destination in the NCAA Tournament.
Notes and musings:
UConn Huskies vs West Virginia Mountaineers Big East Women’s Tournament Final 3.9.10
The starters were Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, Kalana Greene, Maya Moore and Tina Charles.
Greene was named the Tournament’s Most Outsanding Player. Joining her on the All-Tournament Team were Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Liz Repella from West Virginia and Skylar Diggins from Notre Dame.
The Huskies shot 41.8% (23-of-55) from the floor while the Mountaineers shot 24.1% (14-of-58).
UConn had 12 assists on their 23 made baskets.
The Huskies shot 75% (12-of-16) from the free throw line and were 2-of-9 (22.2%) from three-point land.
UConn dominated the glass holding a 54-26 advantage.
The Huskies had 14 points off of 11 WVU turnovers. The Mountaineers had 14 points on 15 UConn turnovers.
UConn outscored West Virginia 30-10 in the paint.
The rest of the notes are courtesy of the UConn Sports Information Department:
UConn captures its 16th BIG EAST Tournament Championship and its third straight following tonight’s win over West Virginia.
UConn captured both the BIG EAST regular season and tournament titles in the same season for the third consecutive season and the 14th time in the program’s history.
UConn has won nine straight games in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament and boast an all-time mark of 59-12 in the event.
UConn is 16-4 all-time in BIG EAST Championship games following tonight’s win over West Virginia.
UConn senior Kalana Greene is the only player from either team to play in both the 2007 BIG EAST Final and the 2010 BIG EAST Final – both of which featured UConn and West Virginia.
UConn boasts an all-time mark of 108-11 all-time at the XL Center and is 18-2 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament games at the facility.
UConn is 46-4 all-time when playing as the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament and has captured a total of 13 titles when playing as the top seed.
UConn is 3-0 against West Virginia all-time in BIG EAST Tournament action.
UConn extends its NCAA-record winning streak to 72 consecutive games.
UConn is a perfect 14-0 against top-10 ranked opponents during its current 72-game winning streak.
Senior Kalana Greene played in her 151st career game tonight – surpassing Renee Montgomery’s UConn record of 150 games played.
Kalana Greene’s 15 points moves her into 21st place among UConn’s career scoring leaders with her current total of 1,389 as she surpassed Sue Bird (1,378), Carla Berube (1,381), Jamelle Elliott (1,387) and Leigh Curl (1,388) in tonight’s contest.
UConn moves to 22-1 all-time against West Virginia and has won each of the past 22 meetings.
UConn went 0-for-8 before making its first field goal at the 16:17 mark of the first half.
UConn went on a 20-4 run in a span of 8:15 midway through the first half to extend its lead to 17 points (27-10).
After Kalana Greene’s jumper to open the second half, UConn was held without a point for 5:14 before going on a 30-4 run in the last 14:26 of tonight’s contest.
UConn held West Virginia without a point for 11:23 in the second half before the Mountaineers scored their final field goal with 28 seconds left.
Kalana Greene opened tonight’s game a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor before missing her only shot with 3:16 left in the ballgame.
UConn held West Virginia to 32 points – the lowest point total in a BIG EAST Championship title game. It also ties the fewest points scored in a tournament contest – Villanova vs. Rutgers on March 5, 2000.
The Huskies have gone 223 consecutive games without allowing an opponent to shoot more than .500 from the field. Boston College was the last opponent to post a shooting percentage more than .500, coming on March 8, 2004.
Kalana Greene’s 15 points marked her 22nd game this season in double-digit scoring and the 70th of her career.
Kalana Greene’s 15 points and 12 rebounds marked her ninth career double-double.
Kalana Greene’s 12 rebounds marked a season-high for the senior.
Tiffany Hayes’ 15 points marked her 35th career game in double-figure scoring and her 18th this season.
Maya Moore’s 10 points marked her 32nd game with double-figure points this season and her 106th in 110 career games.
Tina Charles’ 12 points marked her 31st game with double-figure points this season and the 115th of her career.
Tina Charles’ 12 points and 10 rebounds marked her 49th career double-double and her 11th this season.
Tina Charles’ 10 rebounds marked her 56th career game with double-figure rebounds and the 11th this season.
