UCONN Women Squeeze Out A Win at LSU

In a fantastic finish, Renee Montgomery’s 3 point shot with 6.7 seconds left was the difference as UCONN held onto win at LSU, 72-71. LSU’s Porsha Phillips hit a two pointer with no time left that was thought to be a 3 pointer. But the referees went to the replay monitor and it showed that Phillips foot was on the line giving UCONN the one point victory. UCONN ended LSU’s NCAA best 43 game home winning streak.

UCONN was led by Montgomery’s 20 points and 7 assists. She was 5 of 7 from 3 point land, including the game winner. Tina Charles added 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Kalana Greene added 15 points and Charde Houston, 12 points. LSU was led by Slyvia Fowles had 22 points and 17 rebounds while Quianna Cherry had 16 points. Phillips added 12 points and Allison Hightower had 11.

UCONN got out to an early lead in the first half but a mini 5-0 run by LSU put them ahead in the first half. LSU got the lead to 12 at the 4 minute mark but only scored 1 point the rest of the first half as UCONN closed out the half on 9-1 run to go into the locker room trailing by 6. Charles almost had a double-double in the first half with 13 points and 9 rebounds.

The second half started out with an 13-4 UCONN run to put UCONN up 3 points. UCONN got the lead as high as 9 points before a run by LSU tied the game up at 69, bringing on the final plays of the game as described at the beginning of the article.

Notes and Observations:

• The starters were Montgomery, Thomas, Greene, Charles and Houston.
• Mel Thomas rebounded from her donut in the last game to score 6 points on the strength of 2 three point shots made. Those 3 pointers were instrumental in the run at the beginning of the second half.
• Houston struggled from the floor making only 4 of her 11 shots. She was a perfect 4 for 4 from the free throw line. She also had 3 assists.
• UCONN actually only got to the free throw line 9 times, making 7 of those. LSU only got to the line 8 times, also making 7.
• All of Charles’ 9 rebounds were in the first half. She also had a key block towards the end of the game. She finished with 2 blocks in the game.
• Ketia Swanier, for the first time all season, wasn’t really a factor for the Huskies.
• UCONN’s bench was outscored 23-2 with Swanier scoring those two points.
• UCONN won the rebounding battle 36-34.

A “signature” win for the Huskies. Going into Baton Rouge in front of hostile fans and rebounding from the first half deficit to win is huge. This will make a statement to the NCAA Women’s tournament committee about UCONN being a #1 seed come tournament time.

With the win, UCONN moves to 22-2 on the season. Next up for the Huskies is a date against the Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday night at Gampel Pavilion. Gametime is 7:30 PM and the game will be broadcast locally on CPTV.

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