On Sunday, Kansas State head coach Deb Patterson spoke eloquently and admiringly of the Huskies’ nation-leading defense, describing it as “sort of like their post players … understated.” Patterson also noted how freshman center Kiah Stokes ’15 (CLAS) was just beginning to understand what head coach Geno Auriemma expects from her as a player and that “the sky’s the limit for her.”
On Monday at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., Patterson and her Wildcats got a first-hand look at that defense – being held to 17.5 percent shooting and an NCAA tournament record low 26 points – and how Stokes is starting to respond to her coach’s prodding: she finished the game with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots, while helping the Huskies to a 72-26 win.
The victory advances the Huskies to their 19th consecutive Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 25 in Kingston, R.I., against Penn State, beginning at 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2, WTIC, WHUS)
“[Our defense was] as good as I’ve seen from us all year long,” Auriemma said. “There really were very few open looks that we gave up. Our pressure was as good as it’s been all year.”
The Huskies jumped out to a 19-3 lead in the opening half, holding the Wildcats to a single
3-point shot over nearly the first 11 minutes of the game before KSU scored its second basket with just over 8 minutes remaining. Sophomore Bria Hartley, who led all scorers with 16 points, scored her 10th point for UConn with 5:27 remaining in the half, pushing the lead to 29-5 before the half ended with the Huskies leading 38-10.
“It’s extremely beyond disappointing to have taken the floor and competed so ineptly tonight,” Patterson said. “Credit Connecticut for their aggressive and confident play on both ends of the floor. We were obviously dominated in every phase of the floor. We didn’t look like the basketball the team we were this year. Tonight we didn’t get the job done in any phase of the game.”
Added junior Brittany Chambers, who led the Wildcats with 11 points: “They have five players committed to the defensive effort at all times. You do not find a lot of holes. We had some open shots early in the game, but we did not convert. When you play against a defense like that, they make you do things you do not want to do.”
The Huskies were also in sync offensively. In addition to Hartley and Stokes hitting double figures, Tiffany Hayes ’12 (CLAS) had 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis ’15 (CLAS) had 15 points. Kelly Faris ’13 (ED) had another solid box score line with 5 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Asked about the play of Stokes, Auriemma reiterated his pre-tournament comment that the Huskies future likely will be determined by the freshman’s performance.
“We’re a different team when she is able to play as she did today,” he said. “Those are signs she’s growing up a bit; starting to understand what we’ve been harping about all the time. Maybe it’s a natural progression, that at some point you have to get it. I think the real sign for Kiah is what happens next Sunday. If she comes back Sunday and does this again, we’re heading in the right direction.”
Questioned about the difference between seeing the Huskies’ defense on television compared with an up-close look, Patterson said, “I would not have anticipated we would be as poor in our execution, mindset, and our toughness physically, having watched Connecticut on film. It was unmanageable for us tonight. I just think they’ve got a versatility to them that makes them very dynamic on a night like tonight.”
Following his team’s Big East Tournament championship, Auriemma had said he felt his young team’s victory was one that they “really own,” since they had learned to win as a team, without relying upon last year’s All-American, Maya Moore ’11 (CLAS), to rescue them.
Asked if the team feels the same way, Hartley said, “I think we all know our role on this team and we know what we’re supposed to do. The main thing for us when we’re doing really well on the court is when we’re communicating. I think Kelly does a great job for us being a leader and being vocal and talking to us and reminding us of what to do on the court. When we’re together like that we’re really a hard team to stop.”
Auriemma said his squad’s inconsistent performance this season, primarily on offense, led to some surprising wins during a season when the Huskies, now at 31-4, have again won 30 games for the 17th time.
“I didn’t know we had it in us,” he said. “Maya was such a huge factor for us in so many ways. We jumped right out of the gate [this year], then somewhere along the way we lost ourselves and I wasn’t sure if we were going to be good enough to get it back. But then we got it back. We could lose Sunday or go to the Final Four and go to the national championship.
“I’ve never said that before. But neither of those two things would shock me. This team is capable of anything. The way they’re playing right now, they are capable of doing great things.”
