UConn Crushes Southern U. In NCAA Opener

UConn Crushes Southern U. In NCAA Opener

NORFOLK, VA - Let's be honest, if this was about something other than basketball, like pep bands and cheer squads, the top-seeded UConn women would be heading home today, the Huskies' run in the NCAA Tournament ended by a national powerhouse. But this wasn't a battle of the bands. There was only so much pep Southern University's world-class brass and percussion could pump into the Ted Constant Convocation Center Sunday. It stirred the crowd early and often, beginning an hour before the tip.

However, there wasn't much they could do for their basketball team against the Huskies. Tubas and trombones don't win tournaments. "They were very loud," UConn's Maya Moore said. "They were doing their best to distract us. But we were listening to Coach." Led by Tina Charles, who scored 22 points on 9-for-10 shooting with 11 rebounds and three blocks, the Huskies pounded No. 16 seed Southern 95-39 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Moore added 21 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

UConn rolls over Southern

NORFOLK, VA — Southern brought its hurricane defense north for Sunday’s first-round game of the NCAA women‘s basketball tournament. Problem was, the Jaguars ran into a Category 5 storm in top-seeded UConn, which blew out No. 16 seed Southern 95-39 in a first-round game of the Dayton region at the Constant Center. The Southwestern Athletic Conference champion and its rockin’ band refused to be discouraged by the 56-point beating suffered at the hands of the Huskies (34-0), who are looking to add a seventh national title to their legacy, which includes an NCAA-record 73 straight victories.

“We call our defense ‘hurricane,’ and we brought it,” Southern’s Ashley Augerson said, celebrating 21 Huskies turnovers. Southern (23-9) also forced UConn into two shot-clock violations. And despite having no following behind its bench, won over the local fan support that cheered the underdog. Despite the gritty effort, the Jaguars couldn’t hang with the eye of the storm, and that would be All-Americans Tina Charles and Maya Moore, who are battling each other for National Player of the Year honors. The 6-foot-4 Charles scored 22 on a pristine effort that left her without a miss in her first seven attempts, and Moore’s methodical afternoon produced 21 points and eight assists.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Southern, champions of the SWAC, are 0-4 all time in the NCAA Tournament. But the Jaguars played hard, just as they promised they would, giving the Huskies a tougher time in many ways than Northeastern or Seton Hall did during similar losses."

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