story & photo
by Vito J. Leo

Anne Marie Wright, North Stonington, and Faith Allen, Groton were among the hundreds of loyal UConn fans who traveled from southeastern CT to St. Louis to be part of the women’s basketball team’s quest for perfection.

That ultimate goal was attained on April 7 in the Scottrade Center when the Huskies defeated Louisville 76-54 to win a sixth national title and finish undefeated for the third time since Geno Auriemma took over the Storrs program in 1985.

“This is all so unbelievable, it’s absolutely fabulous,” said Faith of her first Final Four.

“Since we arrived in St. Louis, we have not come across one person who has not been pleasant and hospitable, and that includes the fans from the other teams,” Anne Marie said during a post-game fan appreciation rally held in the majestic ballroom of a grand downtown hotel.

Hundreds of Husky faithful crowded near the front stage where Head Coach Geno held court, surrounded by his team and his staff.

“You never get tired of getting [these championships] and you never feel ‘oh, we’re entitled to them,’” Geno said.

UConn now has more undefeated seasons than all the other women’s programs combined (Texas and Tennessee each have one).

There were no detours on the road to the Final Four for the UConn Women’s basketball team this season and no potholes when they finally arrived in St. Louis where this team of talented young ladies ended a perfect season with an almost perfect game.

“As we’ve been going along on this ride, I’ve always been looking around the corner to see what’s next,” said Geno who the day before was named Associated Press Coach of the Year.

“It’s hard for me to enjoy it while I’m going through it but now I’ve got a couple of months where I can clear my head and think about nothing,” Geno said shortly after cutting down the nets at the Scottrade Center. “But the first time we lose next season, I can say to the team, you’re not as good as last year’s team.”

That “last year’s team” would, of course, be this year’s team – and how good were they, not only never losing, but never winning by less than 10 points all season along, and into the postseason as well, where this well-oiled machine simply rode roughshod over six increasingly more talented opponents.

Not only were they undefeated but they beat opponents by an average of more than 31 points a game.

In the championship game again Louisville, it was Junior Center Tina Charles “In Charge,” as she came up big with the biggest game of her career, scoring 25 points and snagging 19 rebounds, driving this year’s model of the Genomobile to perfection with a performance that justifiably resulted in her being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

“Anything is possible,” she yelled jubilantly, extending her arms high in the air after  completing a post-game interview on ESPN. Sophomore Maya Moore, the AP Player of the Year, scored 18 as did Renee Montgomery who was playing in her final game for the Huskies.

By halftime CT built a comfortable 14-point and most UConn fans knew that the halftime score which stood, fittingly enough, at a prophetic 39-25 would soon most certainly translate to 39-0.

“The mentality of our team is ‘we’re happy with what we did’ but we’ve always been looking to the future, to the next game,” Renee said. “Now we can sit back and relax and actually enjoy what we’ve accomplished this season,” she said.

“It’s so great to see Renee finally win a championship,” said Lisa Casey, Norwich during the post-game party, a sentiment shared by Geno after the game when he praised the senior captain for all her hard work during the past four seasons as she pointed toward this moment since her freshman year.

“To have Renee go through four years and do what she did, the thought of her, honest to God, not winning a championship. Now I’m so speechless, I’m so numb at the way it ended. I did not want to get up [Wednesday] morning with that bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and now I don’t have to,” Geno said.