One shining moment
On a team with arguably the greatest player in the history of the college game, UConn was bailed out by ... reserve sophomore forward Willnett Crockett. But that's the beauty of the NCAA tournament. Role players stepping up alongside Rolls-Royces. With a shade over three minutes to play and UConn holding a slim 59-55 lead, Crockett established low position on the blocks against Tennessee forward Sidney Spencer. She demanded the ball, spun on the Lady Vol, and hit a layup while getting fouled. The three-point play gave UConn a seven-point lead and officially killed the Lady Vols for good. In the locker room afterward, Crockett wore one of the nets from the basket around her neck, a star for the night alongside Diana Taurasi. "Coach [assistant Jamelle Elliott] told me earlier, 'Will, please get that move to work,'" Crockett said. "We worked on it day in and day out. When I hit the foul shot, it put the icing on the cake."
Players who impressed me
Tennessee's Shanna Zolman and Connecticut's Jessica Moore.
Sorry, UConn fans. The best player on the court last night was Zolman, the dead-eye shooting sophomore guard who was magnificent with a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds. Zolman shot Tennessee back into the game after the Lady Vols fell behind by 17. Her 3-pointer with 1:35 cut the lead to 30-20 and gave Orange Nation a reason to believe again. Zolman never stopped playing hard. She epitomized the entire Lady Vols roster, a team of overachievers who showed up every night on defense and played like giants down the stretch. UConn junior center Jessica Moore barely missed her third double-double of the NCAA tournament with 14 points and nine rebounds. She also deserves credit for her tremendous post defense. Moore shut down 6-foot-8 UC-Santa Barbara senior center Lindsay Taylor in the regional semifinals and stood toe-to-toe with Minnesota junior center Janel McCarville in the Final Four. Against Tennessee, Moore showed us her offensive game. She scored UConn's first four baskets of the second half at a time when they needed to regain control of the game. When Tennessee cut the lead to 48-45 with 11:26 left, Moore pulled down a Crockett miss and scored on a putback. Huge basket. Give sophomore forward Ann Strother -- aka the Tennessee Terror -- some props, too. Last year she stunned the Lady Vols with 17 points in the finals. She started last night's game by hitting her first four shots and finished with 14 points.
Line of the night
ESPN's Doris Burke (the best in the business and a class act, to boot) asked UConn coach Geno Auriemma on the podium if he could sum up Taurasi's career. "The only thing I'm going to remember is the two missed free throws at the end," he cracked. Taurasi, who had missed a pair of free throws with 1:05 to play and UConn up seven, shook her head and gave the sign to cut Auriemma's mic. Impossible. Auriemma then told the crowd to give him 30 seconds for something serious. "If it wasn't for the way Diana Taurasi is, and the way she plays the game and the way she comes to practice and the kind of teammate she is, there's no way the rest of her teammates would have been able to do what they did tonight." He was right. Four players finished in double figures for UConn as Taurasi smartly deferred to those who had a hot hand.
In appreciation of ...
UConn senior guard Maria Conlon. Perhaps the least-appreciated point guard ever to lead a national championship team, Conlon gives hope to Everywoman everywhere. During her time in Storrs she reshaped her body and went from an out-of-shape spot player to a starter in the backcourt alongside the game's best college player. Conlon, who was fundamentally sound and a terrific shooter, leaves UConn with no regrets. "No one was ever worried about the 5-foot-8 guard from Derby, Ct.," Conlon said. "That's okay with me because all I'm worried about is making the stupid little plays that no one else wants to make. Sometimes those plays don't show up in the box scores. Sometimes they do. At the end of the night the only thing that matters is my coaches, my family and my teammates. And those are the people who notice the stuff I do every night." So did we, Maria. Nice career, kid.
Courtside confidential
Taurasi said she and a few teammates held a punting contest before the game to test their ability to kick a basketball into the rafters. When the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, she kicked the ball halfway up Section 101 of the New Orleans Arena. As far as anyone knows, the ball is still going up. ... Premature pep rally? Tennessee fans strangely chanted "chokers" at Auriemma on his way back to the bench in the second half. Dudes, you were still down six. ... Happiest man on the floor, other than Auriemma? University of Connecticut president Phil Austin, who traveled from San Antonio to New Orleans to make the game and was working on four hours sleep. "Connecticut is a state without any professional athletics so in a very real sense the University of Connecticut athletics are Connecticut's athletics," Austin said. "We're not only the best in the state. We're the best in the country." Does he expect his students to blow off classes tomorrow? "I'm sure they are partying right now on campus," said Austin, "but I hope the kids get to class in the morning." Right, Phil. ... Best sign: ONE EMPIRE ONE SUMMITT, a tongue-in-cheek cardboard crack at Auriemma's famed "Evil Empire" comment. Second place: SOMEONE GOT TO LOSE. ANY VOLUNTEERS? ... The two biggest fans of the women's team among the national champion men's squad? Emeka Okafor and Josh Boone.
Championship formula
Auriemma owns Tennessee. He's now 4-0 in championship games against the Lady Vols and the last time Tennessee beat UConn was Feb. 1, 2001, a span of six games. Is Taurasi the sport's greatest winner? Well, she was 140-8 during her career and 22-1 in the NCAA tournament. She owns three national championships. That's as good as anyone. Auriemma said he may have made a mistake by telling his team before the game that Taurasi was going to have a big night. That put added pressure on a player who feels it every night. At halftime he made a key adjustment. He told the team they needed to attack the offensive glass harder in the second half and demanded they be more active in the paint on offense. UConn opened the half with three straight layups by Moore and took control of the game again on the inside. By the way, don't cry for the Lady Vols. Pat Summitt has her best recruiting class since the Tamika Catchings-Semeka Randall horde in 1997. They have six blue-chippers,led by the two best high school players in the country, Candace Parker and Alexis Hornbuckle. Says Debby Jennings, the school's legendary head of media relations: "I told my staff, 'Y'all, you're going to be traveling with The Beatles for four years."
