UCONN REPEAT
Connecticut's 76-58 victory over the
then-No. 2 Irish mirrored last year 's
79-58 triumph in the national title game.
Not only was the score nearly iden-
tical, but so was the defensive domi-
nance, holding Notre Dame to 22-of-70
shooting from the floor (31.4 percent)
and posting a commanding 52-34 re-
bounding advantage. Just like last
April, Notre Dame also was without
its top post player, Achonwa then and
Turner now.
Consequently, the UConn post play-
ers wore down Notre Dame. While 6-4
reigning National Player of the Year
Breanna Stewart finished with a mod-
est 15 points and nine rebounds, she
received much greater help from her
supporting cast than Loyd. Sophomore
6-2 forward Morgan Tuck played a su-
perb all-around game with 25 points,
nine rebounds and three assists, while
6-3 Kiah Stokes hauled in 18 rebounds
and blocked four shots in only 24 min-
utes of action.
Connecticut extended its lead to as
much as 66-46 while Notre Dame never
mounted a serious threat in the second
half.
"We need to get tougher," McGraw
summarized. "We don't have the tough-
ness of our last four teams. Jewell has it
… we need a vocal leader. Jewell is try-
ing hard to do that, but she has enough
[already on her job description].
"We didn't give her any help at all.
Defensively, I was really disappointed
in our effort. … The game was lost on
the boards. We just were soft."
All roads to the national title go
through Connecticut again. ✦
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