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Connecticut defeats Tennessee 71-52 for the national title

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Posted: Saturday April 08, 2000 04:43 PM

Players on the Connecticut bench erupt in celebration after the Huskies rolled over Tennessee. AP

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The dream matchup in the NCAA Tournament championship game quickly turned into a nightmare for Tennessee.

Connecticut raced to a 15-point lead and coasted to its second NCAA championship in six years with a 71-52 rout of Tennessee at the First Union Center.

Unheralded Kelly Schumacher set a championship game record with nine blocked shots, including six in a dominant first half, for the Huskies (36-1). Connecticut limited the Lady Vols (33-4) to 18.5 percent shooting (5-of-27) over the opening 20 minutes as they made only 3-of-22 shots inside the paint.

Asjha Jones scored six points during the Huskies' 21-6 run to start the game, capping it with a jumper with 7:50 left before halftime.

Shea Ralph scored 15 points and Svetlana Abrosimova added 14 for Connecticut, which set a single-season school record with its 36th win. The previous mark was set by the undefeated 1995 team, which capped a 35-0 season with a victory over Tennessee in the title game.

Tamika Catchings led all scorers with 16 points but was the only player in double figures for the Lady Vols, who never got untracked.

 

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History of the Final Four: 1995 Junior guard sparks Huskies in title game Lady Vols struggle without starting guard Clement UConn fans cheer on team from Huskies' homecourt
Stats
Connecticut-Tennessee Box Score
Multimedia
UConn coach Geno Auriemma thinks his team has a good shot at repeating.   • Start(1.20 M) Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma is excited for his players and what they achieved. (79 K) Connecticut's Shea Ralph declares that the Huskies accomplished their ultimate goal. (118 K) Tennessee coach Pat Summitt regrets that some of her players didn't show up on Sunday. (70 K) Auriemma says defeating Tennessee makes the title extra special. (236 K) Tennessee All-American Tamika Catchings says UConn took control early on. (73 K) Ralph focused on stopping Catchings. (99 K) Michelle Snow thinks the Vols didn't have enough defensive intensity. (44 K) UConn's Tamika Williams says the Huskies ran Tennessee ragged. (76 K) Auriemma says his players have played great defense all year. (165 K) Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
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