Huskies sink Pirates

HARTFORD - UConn's three seniors got a nice going away present from their teammates after Saturday's emotion-filled Senior Night festivities. With No. 1 UConn's 81-50 win over Seton Hall in front of 13,372 at the XL Center, the Huskies clinched the Big East Regular Season title.

"We knew going in it was one of those unique events where it's more than just Senior Night, which is always a special kind of night for our team and especially for our seniors," said coach Geno Auriemma. "But when you have the chance to win a championship, it just adds to the importance of the night."

All three of the team's seniors - Renee Montgomery, Tahirah Williams and Cassie Kerns - were part of the starting lineup, as per team tradition and all got loud ovations from the crowd when their names were announced.

Auriemma kept Williams and Kerns, who both typically play reserve roles, in for the game's first three-and-a-half minutes before subbing in regular starters Maya Moore and Tiffany Hayes with the Huskies trailing 5-2.

With the help of Moore, who sang the national anthem before the game with teammate Kaili McLaren, the Huskies then rattled off a 21-0 run, keeping the Pirates scoreless for nearly the game's next eight-and-a-half minutes. Moore, who finished the game with a game-high 18 points, hit two of her four 3-pointers during that stretch.

Montgomery, who in the first half went scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting, bounced back strong in the second half scoring 14 points. She finally made her first shot on a pull-up jumper from the top of the key, which rolled around the rim before dropping through the basket. From there, Montgomery caught fire, hitting four of her next six shots, all of which were 3-pointers.

ìWhen we put her name up on the wall at Gampel, she went off,î Auriemma said. ìAnd today she couldn't make a shot in the first half, so you don't know how it's going to affect a kid.î

Montgomery also finished with two assists, which tied with Sue Bird her for third-most career assists in UConn history, with 585.

The regular season title was the third for UConn (29-0, 15-0 Big East) in as many seasons and 17th overall. The Huskies 29-0 start is the team's best regular season start since the last time the team went undefeated in 2003-04.

Auriemma told his players after the game to not minimize what they had achieved in the victory.

ìOtherwise it just gets glossed over as one more thing on the way to something,î Auriemma said. ìAnd it can't be like that. You can't just run past things that are really important to get to something down the road that may not even be there.î

Montgomery, whose emotions ran high all night, said it took awhile for the accomplishment of winning the Big East regular season title to sink in after the game.

ìI had to stop and think about because I really didn't get excited about it as I would be,î Montgomery said. ìThen I though about it and it is a lot more because it is harder to do than to win the tournament.î

Center Tina Charles, who finished the game with 16 points and seven rebounds, said the regular season title meant a lot to the team.

ìIt shows our hard work and determination,î Charles said. ìIt is the same focus that we have had all season. Coach always said that it is harder to play 16 games and win them all.î

Kandice Green led Seton Hall (15-13, 3-12) in a team-high 30 minutes. The Pirates struggled as a team to make shots, finishing the game 17-for-62 (27.4 percent) from the field. Seton Hall did outrebound the Huskies in the game, 40 to 38.

ìWe didn't finish plays,î said Seton Hall coach Phyllis Mangina. ìWe had a lot of opportunities to finish plays, but at least we rebounded the ball again.î