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Renee Montgomery absorbs contact as she elevates for a shot in last night's second round victory over Texas. Montgomery had 17 points and 5 assists.

'Horns Get Hooked

Women's Basketball: Huskies Beat Longhorns, Head To Sweet Sixteen

By: Kevin Meacham

Posted: 3/26/08

BRIDGEPORT- Another opponent, another game over before it started.

So it was for top-seeded UConn, which buried No. 8 seed Texas, 89-55, in the second round of the NCAA tournament at the Arena at Harbor Yard Tuesday.

With the win, the Huskies (34-1) advance to the Greensboro, N.C., Regional semifinals, where they will play No. 5 seed Old Dominion Sunday.

UConn jumped out to a 13-2 lead before the fans, or Texas coach Gail Goestenkors, could get settled in their chairs.

"They didn't have a weakness," Goestenkors said. "They hit the outside shot, they hit the 3, pull-up jumpers, transition game was excellent. They dominated the boards and played great team basketball. Congratulations to them."

"We talked about it in the locker room," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma. "We can't worry about what they do. What we can do is worry about how we pick up on defense, get out in transition and force the other team to respond. We really did better than I thought we'd do."

Then, Maya Moore started to get involved. The freshman hit four consecutive 3s over 2:33 - and had a thunderous block on a Texas fast-break- as part of a trademark UConn offensive outburst. The Huskies made 13 of their first 18 shots and totaled 31 points nine minutes into the game.

"It was huge," said guard Renee Montgomery, who had 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting. "We wanted to come out strong and set the tempo. We wanted to be aggressive."

The rest of the game was a mere formality.

Moore led the Huskies- who advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 15th consecutive year- with 24 points, tying the freshman record for points in an NCAA tournament game set by Diana Taurasi.

"I don't keep track of that stuff," Moore said. "That's the first time I heard about that. [It's all about] my role on the team, and scoring points."

Moore also had a game-high 12 rebounds, marking her 10th double-double this season. The freshman from Lawrenceville, Ga., is one double-double shy of tying the Big East and UConn record, set by Tina Charles last season.

The opening knockout blows came quickly and often for the Longhorns. Brittany Hunter got it started with a layup and a putback for a quick 4-0 lead.

Moments later, Montgomery's 3-pointer with 15:39 left in the first half put the Huskies up 13-2. Twelve of UConn's next 14 points came off Moore 3s, and the Huskies were up 18 points by the 11:04 mark.

UConn shot 67.7 percent from the field in the first half (60 percent for the game), and led 48-30 at the break. Not all was perfect in the first half, of course, - UConn committed 11 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, leading to just a seven-point output over the last six minutes of the half.

But UConn's lead was more than big enough, especially as the Huskies methodically increased their 18-point lead to as many as 37 in the second half.

Carla Cortijo led the Longhorns (22-13) with 18 points and six assists.

"We were going a little too fast [at the beginning of the game]," said Texas guard Brittainey Raven, who was held to a season-low four points. "We were a little rattled at the end of the first half."

Cortijo was one of the only reasons Texas could even keep it that close - she provided 18 points and six assists, both team highs. Earnesia Williams added 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting.

"We came into this game thinking it was hard to defend some of the stuff they do," Auriemma said. "We were concerned about their rebounding and athleticism. But the first 10 minutes of the game set the tone."

Aside from Moore, the Huskies got balanced contributions from the rest of the lineup for the second straight game.

Four other players - Montgomery, Hunter (10), Charde Houston (10) and Tina Charles (15) - scored in double-figures, while the latter three combined for 16 rebounds.

"It wasn't our best basketball," Montgomery said. "But I think our intensity level and how aggressive we were made it a good game."

The victory marked the second straight NCAA Tournament victory by at least 34 points. The Huskies have not pulled off that feat since the first two rounds of the 2002 tournament, when they beat St. Francis (Pa.), 86-37, and Iowa, 86-48. That team went on to win the national title with a perfect 39-0 record.

Contact Kevin Meacham at Kevin.Meacham@UConn.edu.