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Are these Huskies best ever?

Historical claims could be made, but UConn's players and coach are happy just to be the best this season.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 2, 2002

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Fewer than five minutes after Connecticut beat Oklahoma 82-70 to win its second NCAA women's championship in three years, the question arose.

Was this the best women's team in history?

The Huskies finished the season 39-0 and became the fourth women's team to go undefeated in a season, tying the 1998 Tennessee team for most wins.

But after Sunday night's win, Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma and several of the UConn players said they don't consider themselves the best. "They can debate it as long as they like or as little as they like," Auriemma said. "We were the best team this year. You can't say best ever because it's a different era, a different time, different circumstances. We were the best team this year, by a little bit over a really good (Oklahoma) team."

Connecticut's Tamika Williams said the team should be remembered among the best. After all, UConn's 1995 championship team also was undefeated with 35 wins.

"When you've got players ahead of you like Rebecca Lobo, Jennifer Rizzotti, Peggy (Walsh) and Meg Patterson and players like that, you can't be the greatest," said Williams, who had 12 points and nine rebounds in the championship game. "Are we up there with one of the best? Yes. Can we challenge one of the best teams? Yes. The game is moving so fast, there are going to be another four or five like us that are going to do some good for women's basketball."

Still, if the Huskies wanted to make a claim for the honor, they would have a compelling argument.

This season, one team kept a game against UConn within double digits -- Virginia Tech lost 59-50 on Jan. 29. Connecticut won by an average of 37. Through the regular season they led the nation in seven of 10 statistical categories.

Connecticut earned 13 of its victories against Top 25 teams and had a roster on which each starter was an All-American.

"In my dealing, I'm not one to say a player or a team is the best ever," said Van Chancellor, coach of the WNBA Houston Comets and a former coach at Mississippi. "But I will say this about UConn ... if I'm going to name the two best teams that have ever played the game, I guarantee you this is one of them. It doesn't take a lot to impress me, but it takes a ton to overly impress me. I don't think I've ever seen a basketball team that has overly impressed me like the Lady Huskies."

At the end of last season Connecticut watched Notre Dame celebrate its championship after the Irish beat UConn in a national semifinal game, ending the Huskies' chances of winning back-to-back titles.

The loss, UConn players said, haunted and motivated the seniors, who opened this season vowing to return to the Final Four and make amends.

Their approach this season was all business. They rarely celebrated a victory for long, even the Big East regular-season and tournament championships, knowing there was more work. So as the clock ticked down on their season Sunday night, the emotions suddenly flowed in a way that surprised even the players.

"When the buzzer went off, you can't describe all the emotions and different things that run through your head," said senior Swin Cash, selected the tournament's most outstanding player. "I don't know what to say. We just went 39-0 and made history. The feeling is outstanding."

For the record, the Huskies won without one of their better performances. Connecticut committed 21 turnovers, the second most this season and an NCAA championship record. And its dynamic guard duo of Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi combined to shoot 8-for-25 from the field and 0-for-9 from 3-point range.

But Cash, Williams and Asjha Jones took over, combining for 51 points and 31 rebounds.

Did the pressure to go undefeated and an upstart Oklahoma team making its first championship appearance take its toll on Connecticut?

Auriemma said it never was a concern of his.

"I don't think they've been under any pressure," he said. "I've never associated pressure with sports. I've associated my nervous energy, anticipation, anxiety, lots of emotions, but the pressure to have to win, that's never been there, ever. What has been there is a tremendous belief in themselves that if we did it right, we were going to win a national championship. And that has been there every single day since we lost to Notre Dame last year."

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