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[ Monday, April 3, 2000 ]
Connecticut's defense shuts down Penn State
By Josh Daeche
Collegian Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — With five minutes to play in the game, Lisa Shepherd's eyes began to swell. Her emotions were moments away from overflowing, and there was nothing she or the rest of her teammates could do to prevent the inevitable from happening.
Penn State's storybook season was in its final chapter, and unlike so many games before, there would be no games on the next page as Connecticut defeated the Lady Lions, 89-67, in the Women's Final Four, Friday night at the First Union Center in Philadelphia.
PHOTO:Barbara Ovrutsky/Collegian
Penn State’s Helen Darling dripples into Connecticut opposition during Friday’s game.
It might have been the hype that made up the Final Four that posed as a distraction for Penn State.
It might have been the thrill of playing in front of 20,000 people and a solid Penn State fan base that erupted when the Lions touched the floor for the first time.
But, ultimately, it was Connecticut's swarming defense that shut down All-American point guard Helen Darling every time she touched the ball. Darling was pressured, trapped and forced to make passes she was unable to complete, which held her to no points, nine assists and five turnovers.
Using a variety of defensive schemes, the Huskies collapsed around Darling all evening, leaving her with limited opportunities to run the offense as she had been accustomed to all season.
"Our defense tonight on Helen Darling was real good," Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. "I think we did a good job. K.J. (Kennitra Johnson) and Sue (Bird) and Shea (Ralph) and Svet (Svetlana Abrosimova) kept rotating people on her to give her a different look."
As Darling struggled to run Penn State's offense, Huskies sophomore point guard Sue Bird ran Connecticut's almost to perfection.
Much like Darling did all season for the Lions, Bird was the one finding her open teammates and knocking down the open shot. Every time Bird was left open, she connected from behind the arc by going 3 for 3 in the first half to lead her team into halftime up nine points, 37-28.
Throughout the opening stanza, Penn State struggled to get its offense going and only found answers from bench players Katrena Carr and Rashana Barnes. Carr was tied with teammate Andrea Garner with a team-high seven points when the Lions went to half.
"Rashana is such a great rebounder for us and she makes things happen," Penn State coach Rene Portland said. "Katrena stuck to the game plan tonight."
When the second half opened, Penn State went on a 4-0 run to cut Connecticut's lead to four. On numerous other occasions early in the second half, the Lions had the Huskies lead down to the same margin.
That was as close as the Lions would get, however. With a little more than 10 minutes to play, Shea Ralph broke the Lions' backs when she hit her first 3-pointer of the night to give UConn a 60-53 advantage.
"I really wasn't clicking offensively today, but that 3 was wide open, and if I didn't make it then I don't deserve to be on the floor," Ralph said.
Connecticut continued to run as the game wound down, building the lead to as high as 24 points. Meanwhile, frustration and fatigue set in for the Lions as their season was coming to end.
And, as for the Huskies, they would live to play another day — in last night's National Championship game.
