Connecticut Romps Past Stanford

Huskies Set Up An All-Big East Championship: Connecticut 83, Stanford 64

ST. LOUIS, April 5 -- Renee Montgomery, Connecticut's senior point guard, is sublimely talented. That much was evident in the way she dominated the Huskies' 83-64 national semifinal victory over Stanford on Sunday night in front of 18,621 at Scottrade Center, posting 26 points, 6 assists and 4 steals.

But the reason she is able to come up with big performances in big games such as Sunday's, she says, is because of the way she attacks every drill in every practice. And during every drill this year, she thought about the losses that had ended each of her previous three seasons short of the national final.

"You don't forget losses," said Montgomery, who made just 4 of 18 shots in last year's national semifinal loss to Stanford. "I think back to when we lost to Duke [in 2006] and LSU [in 2007]. Stanford was the most fresh loss, but you just think back to all the years where you fell short."

The Huskies (38-0) advanced to the championship game for the first time since 2004, and will face Louisville (34-4), a team that had not advanced past the round of 16 prior to this season. It will be the first all-Big East final. The teams have already met twice this season, with Connecticut winning, 93-65, in late January and, 75-36, in the Big East tournament final.

"I'm excited to have another Big East championship game," said Montgomery, who won the Nancy Lieberman award as the nation's top point guard. "I know they're definitely not going to be the same team we played before. Everyone gets better and everyone plays a whole lot better in the tournament."

Stanford (33-5) appeared to be the team most capable of beating the heavily favored Huskies; the Cardinal, after all, was the last team to beat Connecticut -- 82-73 in Tampa last year -- and they had an edge in size, with all five starters standing 6 feet or taller. Jayne Appel, a 6-foot-4 junior who was recruited by Connecticut, scored 46 points in the West Region final.

"All I can say is going into this game, I was very nervous about how we were going to be able to guard Jayne Appel and how we were going to defend Stanford in general," Coach Geno Auriemma said. "I can't say enough about the defensive effort these kids put forth tonight."

Appel scored 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting; the rest of her teammates were 16 of 43 from the floor. The Huskies forced 15 turnovers, which they turned into 19 points.

During a two-minute stretch in the first half, they turned a six-point advantage into a 31-18 lead. A pass was swiped by Montgomery, who darted down the court and pulled up for a jumper. A Stanford player momentarily lost her footing on defense, and sophomore Maya Moore (24 points, eight rebounds) took advantage by draining a three-pointer. A missed shot was gobbled up by Kaili McLaren (Good Counsel) and laid back into the basket. Connecticut led at halftime, 37-24.

The Huskies didn't let up after the break, scoring 13 straight points. On one defensive possession, the 5-7 Montgomery knocked the ball from 6-5 Sarah Boothe to teammate Tiffany Hayes (11 points), who fed Montgomery for a fast-break layup. By the time Stanford finally scored its first basket -- a putback by Appel with 14 minutes 32 seconds remaining -- Connecticut had 50 points and a 24-point lead.

"A performance like tonight is almost what I've come to expect from Renee in any meaningful big game, because that's who she is," Auriemma said. "I don't think there was a drill this year, at any one time that I can remember, where she didn't treat that drill like it was for the national championship. . . . When you do that, you expect to be in this position, that's what you're planning for. She's Renee Montgomery, you know? She's just really good."