|
|
 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Recap (St Francis Pa-Connecticut)
Posted: Sat March 13, 1999 at 1:11 a.m EST STORRS, Connecticut (Ticker) -- Top-seeded Connecticut had no trouble with St. Francis, racing to a 39-point halftime lead and coasting to a 97-46 rout in the first round of the Mideast Region of the NCAA Women's Tournament. Reserve Paige Sauer led a balanced attack with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Big East Conference Player of the Year Svetlana Abrosimova added 13 and seven for Connecticut (28-4), which has won six straight NCAA opening-round games. "I'd be nit-picking to find a problem with tonight's game," admitted Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma. "We feel like this particular team can do a lot of things defensively and that gets our offense going. We said going in, the talent difference is really obvious. We spread the ball around really well." The Huskies will host Xavier in Sunday's second round. Connecticut shot 62.5 percent (25-of-40) in the first half while holding the four-time Northeast Conference champions to only 17 percent (5-of-29). Huskies coach Geno Auriemma used 14 players, only one for more than 21 minutes. Twelve Huskies made at least one field goal as they improved to 15-2 in NCAA Tournament home games. Shea Ralph and Amy Duran also scored 13 points apiece for Connecticut, which dominated virtually every statistical category. The Huskies had 57-24 rebounding edge and 24 assists on 42 baskets. "When they play zone, the guards try to find spots on the floor and screen for each other," Ralph said. Jess Zinobile was the only player in double figures for St. Francis (18-12), which outscored Connecticut from the foul line, 13-6, and matched the Huskies with 22 turnovers. "It certainly was a difficult game for us," said St. Francis coach Jenny Przekwas. "We did achieve some goals. We did a better job in the second half. ... We set goals to reach the free throw line. We always try to do that with taller, stronger teams, to attack the basket."© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
| ||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||||
