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Renee Montgomery drives against Old Dominion guard TJ Jordan during UConn's 78-63 Sweet 16 victory over the Monarchs on Sunday. The Huskies advanced to the Elite Eight where they will face Rutgers on Tuesday.

'Elite' Women Cruise Into Final Eight

Women's Basketball

By: Brittany Perotti

Posted: 3/28/08

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Two teams fighting for one spot - one a heavy favorite, the other trying to pull off an upset. On a rainy Sunday afternoon in North Carolina, it was UConn who edged out Old Dominion, 78-63, to advance to the Elite Eight.

Though the Huskies defeated the Monarchs by 43 points earlier this season, both teams were quick to mention that those were different times.

At that point, Mel Thomas and Kalana Greene were still playing and Maya Moore was coming off the bench. As Old Dominion's T.J. Jordan said before the game, "It's the past and we're in the present right now."

But in some ways, it was déjà vu for the Monarchs, who once again were knocked out of a tournament by the Huskies this year.

"This is like playing the perfect storm," said ODU head coach Wendy Larry. "[UConn is] so deep, their transition game is just so good. You have to play the perfect basketball game to compete with them, to beat them. Unfortunately, we played with a great deal of passion, but didn't play with the energy that we needed to play consistently."

The first half on Sunday was a back-and-forth struggle, the teams trading baskets. The defense for the Huskies was not as sharp as it had been in the first two games and the Monarchs stayed within 10 points for most of the first 20 minutes, though they never had the lead in the game.

Renee Montgomery attributed the slow start to the team's anxious play on offense.

"We're impatient sometimes because we want to get the game going fast and that's where we get in trouble," she said.

For a second, head coach Geno Auriemma looked uncomfortable with what he was seeing.

Then, one of the team's youngest players and one of its most experienced players stepped up - Moore and Brittany Hunter, respectively - and gave the Huskies some breathing room.

"We see [Moore] everyday do exactly what she does in the game," Montgomery said. "I feel like anything she does in the game [she deserves] because she works hard in practice."

"[Hunter] is just right now playing with a sense of purpose," Auriemma said. "She's grown up a lot in the last two years."

Nevertheless, the Monarchs would not go down without a fight.

On defense, ODU made several key blocks in the first half to prevent the game from getting away early on. With "one heartbeat," this year's theme for ODU according Larry, the Monarchs battled their way through most of the game, their determination never faltering. Montgomery said she commended them for their never-give-up attitude.

UConn, however, came out after halftime and made nine unanswered shots, starting with a 3-pointer from Moore.

"I think the difference after she hit the 3 is we were more patient on offense and we were running through our plays well and people were getting open," said Ketia Swanier about the turnaround in play in the second half.

Five UConn players - Moore, Hunter, Montgomery, Tina Charles and Charde Houston - had at least 10 points.

"I can honestly say that some of us were frustrated on the bench," said ODU's Shahida Williams. "Coach [Larry] decided to make subs at that point and the freshmen played like they had nothing to lose. They went out there and played with energy and heart."

In the closing minutes of the game, the Monarchs drew closer, keeping up the intensity and aggression that they displayed throughout the game. The Huskies once again committed more turnovers.

"It's the NCAA tournament and nobody's going to lay down and die," Montgomery said, adding that the team is used to scoring easy baskets at the end of the game during the regular season.

ODU's Tiffany Green was a standout for the Monarchs, getting inside and driving to the basket. Green finished the day with a double-double and scored her 1,000th point with just under two minutes left in the game.

As the game neared completion, both Charles and Montgomery suffered injuries and left the game early. Charles's injury was to her left shoulder, the same one that she had surgery on last year. Montgomery twisted her knee. Auriemma said he was not sure of the severity of the injuries, but he also said that with the information that he had, they should be available for Tuesday's game against Rutgers.

"This is the hump game for us," Montgomery said. "This is the game that we just haven't been able to get past, well in my career. This is a big game right now."

Contact Brittany Perotti at Brittany.Perotti@UConn.edu.