The Huskies still lead the nation in field goal shooting percentage at 51.6. They are still second in the nation scoring offense at 81.5 (Oral Roberts, 86.1). But they did not look like an offensive juggernaut during the final two games of the Big East tournament against Top 10 foes Notre Dame and West Virginia.
UConn averaged a combined 59.5 points and shot 43.6 percent from the field (36.7 percent in the first half). It was the only time this season that the Huskies failed to score 70 points in consecutive games and it was just the fourth time they shot below 50 percent in consecutive games.
All-American Maya Moore averaged 10.5 points on 26.7 percent shooting (8-of-30 FG; 3-of-13 3-pointers) in the two games. But as UConn heads into the NCAA tournament this weekend in Norfolk, Va. there is no concern on behalf of the players that this will continue.
“We get good shots,’’ senior Kalana Greene said. “You’re either going to make it or miss it. But it’s what we do after that. And I think the end of the Big East tournament, and in practice, if we’re not making shots we’re going out and getting the offensive boards and we’re finding different ways to score. So I think not making shots is just all part of the game. You’re not expecting to make every shot, but it’s what we do when we’re not making shots. So I’m not really concerned about that. We always know we’re going to score and we always know we’re going to hold teams to not a lot of points.’’
The Huskies averaged 85.0 points and shot 52.5 percent in last season’s national championship run.
With the sophomore backcourt of Caroline Doty and Tiffany Hayes, comparisons can be drawn to UConn’s 2000 national championship team that featured sophomore Sue Bird at point guard. Here is coach Geno Auriemma’s take.
“We had 10 players, and I think what helped Sue was obviously Sue much more mature than her years,’’ Auriemma said. “But we also had Shea (Ralph) and Sveta (Abrosimova). So you’ve got two juniors who are All-Americans. That would be the closest I could come to it. And I remember Sue played great in Philadelphia (during the Final Four) as did Shea and as did Sveta. So if Caroline can be Sue and Maya and Tiffany can be Shea and Sveta … And Maya Moore and Tina Charles can be Swin (Cash) and Asjha (Jones), we’ve got it locked.’’
The Huskies defeated Hampton, Clemson, Oklahoma, LSU, Penn State and Tennessee by a combined 31.2 points to win the program’s second national championship in 2000.
For those who are fortunate enough to be making the trip to Norfolk this weekend, UConn will hold its open practice from noon to 1 p.m. tomorrow. Temple and former Huskies’ assistant coach Tonya Cardoza will practice from 2:10: to 3:10 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
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