A Knockout And A Blowout

BRIDGEPORT - Gretchen Gregg, one of Cornell's senior leaders, knew the odds were stacked up high against her 16th-seeded team Sunday night. She knew that they were walking into a game where no one would give them any chance in the program's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

"We approached this game like, 'They're Connecticut and they're great players,' obviously, the top team in the country, so we just came out and held our heads high and just played hard," Gregg said. "It's an honor to play on the court with them and to represent our school against [UConn]."

While such kind words came from her mouth, the Huskies did their talking on the court and weren't so nice to the underdog Big Red, routing them, 89-47, to advance to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

"I said coming into this game that, at this time of the year, you really want to be in the right frame of mind," said head coach Geno Auriemma. "Mentally, emotionally, however you want to describe it you need to be locked in to the task at hand and … I thought we did a great job of doing that."

UConn had little trouble with a Cornell team that they had never played before, shooting 54 percent from the field and outscoring the Big Red, 58-8, in the paint in an overall dominating performance.

"The first shot we took was an airball," Auriemma said. "The juices are flowing; you're really excited and anxious. I'm always looking to see what the intensity [and concentration] level is. I thought we were in a great frame of mind and I wanted to see us play with a lot of energy."

The Huskies came out sloppy to start the game, going 3-for-11 shooting in the first 4:27, lulling their home-state fans to sleep while giving the small Cornell fan contingent hope and a reason to cheer for their team's defense against the mighty No. 1 seed.

With only a two-point advantage in that stretch, Auriemma knew something was wrong but might not have known just how bad it really was.

"I wasn't aware that we were 3-for-11," Auriemma said. "I really didn't react to that. If I had known I might have been a little more animated on the sidelines. Maybe it was good I didn't know."

Although UConn's premier shooters Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore were missing their marks, it was Kaili McLaren - who is not known for her shooting prowess - that hit two of those three shots and added a free throw during that time. She finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

"It shows that practice is paying off [for her]," said Tina Charles, whom McLaren replaced in the starting lineup.

What started out as a molasses-like crawl for the Huskies quickly developed into a sprint as they reeled off a 22-2 run in the next 5:26 that put the pressure firmly upon the Ivy League champions.

"Once we changed the tempo, it [the 22-2 run] happened quickly," Auriemma said. "That's the way our team operates, we tend to go on runs like that."

"We focused very, very much on coming out and not being intimidated," said Cornell head coach Dayna Smith. "Those first four minutes were great and I think we took a deep breath like, 'OK, this isn't so bad,' and then it kind of flipped on us. We knew it was coming but it was kind of like a tidal wave."

Even though UConn recovered from their poor shooting start of the game, it made more than 50 percent of its shots during the first half without a single player scoring double figures in points.

By the end of the game, four Huskies ended up scoring in double figures but it was truly a team-oriented offensive performance, according to Montgomery.

"There's no particular person that we have to have score 20 points a night," she said. "I think that's the best way to win games - when everyone's involved and the whole team is playing at the same level of intensity."

The usually run-and-gun UConn offense wasn't the star of the show anymore, as the Huskies' defense clamped down and gobbled up 14 steals and held Cornell to 12-for-56 shooting in the game while forcing them into 24 turnovers.

"I think our defense had a lot to do with it, too," said Ketia Swanier. "Everyone was getting after it … running the floor well and everybody got a chance to [score] some points."

Cornell's 21.4 percent shooting on the game was the 10th worst in NCAA Tournament history.

Contact Tim Ehrens

at Timothy.Ehrens@Gmail.com.