UCONN Women Run Past the Panthers

Behind the strength of a 29-2 run after falling behind 4-0, the UCONN Huskies defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers by a final score of 82-68. Leading 4 Huskies in double figures was Charde Houston, who had a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Renee Montgomery chipped in 17 points, Tina Charles 16 points and Mel Thomas had 10 points. Pittsburgh was led by Marcedes Walker’s double-double, 22 points and 16 rebounds. Selena Nwude added 14 points, Xenia Stewart 12 points, and Shavonte Zellous 11 points for the Panthers.

As I stated above, UCONN used a 29-2 run to get out to a 29-6 lead with about 10 minutes to go in the first half. Pittsburgh then went on a 8-0 run to get back within 15 points. Houston was pivotal to the Huskies in the first half as she had 14 of her 23 points in the first half. UCONN made a small run at the end of the half and went into the locker room leading by 20 (45-25) at the break.

Throughout the 2nd half, Pittsburgh kept chipping away at the UCONN lead but could never get closer than 13 points on their way to a 14 point loss to the Huskies.

Notes and Observations:

• The starters were Montgomery, Thomas, Greene, Charles and Houston.
• Houston also added 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
• Charles just missed another double-double with 9 rebounds. She also blocked 4 shots.
• Amazingly enough, Charles, who is by far the worst free throw shooter the Huskies have, was 8 of 10 from the line.
• Montgomery was of 4 of 5 from 3 point land, while her backcourt mate Thomas was only 1 of 6.
• Kalana Greene added 8 points and 8 rebounds. If I had a vote, I would vote for her as Most Improved Player in the Big East this season.
• Brittany Hunter missed her 4th consecutive game because of her troublesome right knee.
• Meghan Gardler took a hard fall at the end of the game. She was going up for a rebound and somehow her feet went out from under her and she hit the floor like a ton of bricks. Hopefully, she was just shaken up and everything is ok.
• UCONN recruit, Maya Moore, was named the 2007 State Farm/WBCA High School Player of the Year and will also play in the WBCA All-Star game in Cleveland on March 31. Lorin Dixon, another recruit for UCONN, was also selected to play in the game.
• Shea Ralph, Pittsburgh assistant coach, was honored for her induction to the ‘Huskies of Honor’ during the game. She had been unable to attend the original ceremony due to her coaching commitments with the Panthers.

The 10th consecutive win (24-2 overall, 13-0 in the Big East) for the Huskies clinches at least a share of the Big East title for UCONN. The current Huskies have not won a Big East regular season championship. The Huskies can clinch the title on Tuesday, February 20th, with a win at South Florida. That game will be broadcast locally on CPTV at 7 PM.

Technorati: UCONN Huskies, Geno Auriemma, Pittsburgh Panthers