UConn vs. UCLA Women's Basketball: A History of Championship Caliber Programs
The University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins represent two of the most storied programs in NCAA Division I women's basketball. Boasting numerous championships, legendary players, and impactful coaches, both teams have significantly contributed to the growth and popularity of the sport. This article will delve into the history of both programs, examining their key achievements, rivalries, and the impact they've had on women's basketball.
UConn Huskies: A Dynasty Forged in Storrs
The UConn Huskies women's basketball program, representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, has established itself as a true dynasty in the world of college basketball. Since its inception in 1974, the program has amassed an impressive record of 1342-327 (.804). Under the guidance of head coach Geno Auriemma, who joined the team in 1985, the Huskies have achieved unparalleled success, winning a record 12 NCAA Division I National Championships, including an unprecedented four consecutive titles from 2013 to 2016. The team also boasts over 50 conference regular season and tournament championships. UConn's dominance is further highlighted by owning the two longest winning streaks (men's or women's) in college basketball history. The Huskies play their home games at both Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center.
Early Years and the Auriemma Era
The UConn Huskies' first ever game was played on December 5, 1974, a 40-27 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University. However, the team struggled in its early years, posting a 2-8 record in its inaugural season. The program's trajectory changed dramatically with the hiring of Geno Auriemma in 1985. Auriemma, previously an assistant coach at Virginia, was tasked with revitalizing the program.
Kerry Bascom and the Rise to National Prominence
One of Auriemma's most significant early recruiting successes was Kerry Bascom, an All-American from New Hampshire, who joined UConn in 1987. Bascom's impact was immediate. In 1989, she won the Big East Player of the Year award (a feat she repeated in her junior and senior years) and led UConn to its first Big East regular season and tournament titles, as well as its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance as an #8 seed. Despite a first-round loss to #9 seed La Salle, the 1988-89 season marked a turning point for the program.
The 1990-91 season saw the Huskies break through on the national scene. Again capturing the Big East regular season and tournament titles, they earned a #3 seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament. UConn beat Toledo 81-80 in the opening round, with Bascom scoring an NCAA tournament single-game record 39 points. The Huskies then moved on to the regionals at The Palestra in Auriemma's hometown of Philadelphia. Here, the team upset heavily favored ACC power North Carolina State in the Sweet 16 by 11 points, and then defeated Clemson 60-57 in the Elite Eight to advance to their first-ever Final Four (also a first for any Big East school). UConn's season ended with a 61-55 loss to top-seeded Virginia in the national semifinals at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Bascom was hit with early foul trouble and Virginia held off a late UConn rally. Including all tournament games, Bascom had set a new UConn scoring record with 2,177 points during her years at the school. The 1990-91 season is widely credited with bringing UConn's women's basketball program into the national spotlight for the first time.
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The Rebecca Lobo Era and the First National Championship
The arrival of Rebecca Lobo further elevated the program. UConn had modest success in Lobo's first 2 seasons, losing early in the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. In 1993-94, UConn had its most successful season up to that point; led by Lobo and teammates Jamelle Elliott, Jennifer Rizzotti, Pam Webber, Kara Wolters and Carla Berube, UConn won 30 games for the first time in program history, winning the Big East tournament and regular-season titles. In the NCAA tournament, the Huskies were awarded a #1 seed for the first time ever, having achieved a 27-2 record prior to the tournament.
With every major player back from 1994, and the addition of Auriemma's most highly ranked recruit to date (Connecticut Player of the Year Nykesha Sales), UConn was in for a season to remember in 1994-95. The season started with an 80-point win over Morgan State; two weeks later, UConn defeated powerhouse North Carolina State by 23 points on the road. This season also saw the birth of one of the greatest rivalries in college sports, the UConn-Tennessee rivalry, that began when the two teams met for the first time on Martin Luther King Day at Gampel Pavilion. UConn defeated Tennessee 77-66 in front of a sold-out crowd in a game televised on ESPN and soon afterwards became ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time.
UConn went unbeaten through the Conference regular season and Tournament and easily advanced into the NCAA tournament. In the Elite Eight against Virginia, a 4-point win (their closest game of the year) secured the team's place in the Final Four at the Target Center in Minneapolis. UConn blew out Stanford in the National Semifinals 87-60 to reach the National Championship for a rematch against Tennessee. In the championship game, UConn found itself in early trouble when Lobo was called for three personal fouls in 94 seconds in the first half. However, in the second half the team was able to rally from a 9-point deficit, and a key Rizzotti layup gave UConn the lead with less than 2 minutes to go. UConn won the game with a final score of 70-64 and claimed the program's first ever national title. With a perfect 35-0 record, UConn became only the fifth Division I women's basketball team to go undefeated en route to a national championship, and only the second since the NCAA era began in 1982.
The 1994-95 UConn team was widely credited with increasing interest in women's basketball. The team was honored with a parade in Hartford, CT, that drew over 100,000 spectators. The team won the Team of the Year Award at the ESPN ESPY awards that year, and Lobo became a popular symbol of the sport.
The UConn-Tennessee Rivalry
Starting with their two meetings in 1995, the rivalry between the Tennessee Lady Vols and UConn escalated through the late 1990s and into the 2000s, becoming the marquee matchup in all women's sports, and taking on parallels to the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry in Major League Baseball. In the 1995-96 season, UConn ended Tennessee's home court winning streak at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. UConn defeated Tennessee during the 1996-97 regular season yet again. Tennessee defeated Connecticut in the 1997-98 regular season.
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The Nykesha Sales Incident
Auriemma found himself in a national debate following a decision he made during the 1997-98 season. Senior Nykesha Sales suffered a season-ending injury in one of the final games of the regular season. At the time of her injury, she was only one point shy of Kerry Bascom's school scoring record. The next game, with Bascom's blessing, and assistance from friend and Villanova head coach Harry Perretta, Auriemma arranged to have Sales, who was on crutches, score a basket and then allow Villanova to score a basket to start the game at 2-2. Many people weighed in on the decision on both national and local levels. Auriemma felt guilty that he put Sales through the ordeal and was angry that some columnists chose to fault her and not him.
The "TASSK Force" and Another Championship
Auriemma signed his best recruiting class to date in 1998 when he signed five top 15 nationally ranked players. High school All-Americans Swin Cash, Tamika Williams, Sue Bird, Asjha Jones, and Keirsten Walters were dubbed "TASSK Force" by Connecticut fans, using the players' initials. The first season for the highly ranked class in 1998-99 featured mixed results and featured many injuries: Sue Bird tore her ACL and went out for the season after only 10 games. In their 1999 meeting at Gampel Pavilion, Tennessee prevailed over the Huskies again. During the game there was a scuffle involving Tennessee's Semeka Randall and Connecticut's Svetlana Abrosimova where Randall threw the ball down, hitting Abrosimova's head.
Motivated by their previous disappointing season, UConn returned in 1999-2000 with the clear goal of reaching championship level again. Led by upperclassmen Shea Ralph, Kelly Schumacher, Svetlana Abrosimova and the TASS Force (the K was dropped when Keirsten Walters had to give up basketball due to knee problems), UConn went through the regular season with a 27-1 record, with their only loss being a single-point defeat to Tennessee at home. In the NCAA tournament, the Huskies easily advanced to their first Final Four since 1996 and handily defeated Penn State in the National Semifinals, winning 89-67. The team then met the Lady Vols for the championship game in Auriemma's hometown of Philadelphia. Despite the two regular season meetings being close battles, UConn used tenacious defense and backdoor cuts to overwhelm Tennessee 71-52 for their second national championship.
The Diana Taurasi Era: A Dynasty Redefined
Auriemma pulled off another huge recruiting coup when he convinced All-American guard Diana Taurasi to travel across country to attend Connecticut. Taurasi hailed from Chino, California, and attended Don Lugo High School where she was the recipient of the 2000 Cheryl Miller Award, presented by the Los Angeles Times to the best player in southern California. She was also named the 2000 Naismith and Parade Magazine National High School Player of the Year.
With Taurasi joining the core of the 2000 Championship team, Auriemma confidently predicted another championship in 2001, but the season turned out to be more difficult than expected. UConn won the Big East tournament over rising powerhouse Notre Dame in a game remembered for the Bird at the Buzzer shot, but lost key players Abrosimova and Ralph to season-ending injuries. As a consequence, Taurasi had to play a much larger role than anticipated in the NCAA Tournament. She led UConn to the Final Four, but in the National Semifinals against Notre Dame in St. Louis, Taurasi had a poor shooting game, and despite UConn having attained a 16-point lead at one point, the team lost 90-75.
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As with the 2000 champions, who had also come off a disappointing loss the year before, UConn returned hungrier than ever in 2001-02. With the TASS force in their senior season and Taurasi emerging as a star in her sophomore year, UConn rolled through all its opponents throughout the year and maintained an undefeated record going into the NCAA Tournament. The team easily won the Big East regular season and tournament trophies, defeating Boston College 96-54 in the Big East championship game. In the NCAA Tournament, the Huskies were once again awarded the #1 overall seed and then demolished their opponents in the early rounds to ultimately advance to their 3rd consecutive Final Four. Their smallest margin of victory was an 18-point win over Penn State in the Sweet 16. In the National Semifinals, UConn used tenacious offensive play to defeat rival Tennessee by a whopping 23 points, winning 79-56. In front of a record-breaking crowd at the Alamodome in San Antonio, UConn defeated Oklahoma 82-70 in the championship game to complete a perfect 39-0 season.
With the TASS force graduated, Diana Taurasi had to carry most of the load in her junior season, with help from returning teammates Maria Conlon, Jessica Moore and Ashley Battle and a top-ranked recruiting class that included Ann Strother, Barbara Turner, Willnet Crockett and Nicole Wolff. With no seniors on the roster, 2003 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for UConn, but as the year progressed it became clear that Taurasi was up to the challenge of carrying a group of young players to the championship game. UConn finished the regular season undefeated and established a 70-game winning streak, shattering the previous mark of 54 set by Louisiana Tech; the streak ended in the Big East championship game with a 52-48 loss to Villanova. Notable wins during the season included a 63-62 victory over No. 5 Tennessee in overtime on January 4, 2003, as well as a 77-65 win at No. 9 Louisiana Tech on January 7, 2003.
In the NCAA Tournament, UConn easily advanced to the Final Four at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. UConn rallied from a 9-point deficit to beat Texas 71-69 in the National Semifinals and advance to the National Championship. Aided by Taurasi's 28 points in the championship game, the Huskies defeated rival Tennessee 73-68 to claim the program's fourth national championship.
Although the entire team returned and expectations were sky high for a "three-peat" in Taurasi's senior year, UConn had an uneven season. The Huskies finally found their rhythm during the NCAA Tournament, in which they were a #2 seed; in the Elite Eight they beat top-seeded Penn State 66-49 to advance to their 5th straight Final Four at the New Orleans Arena. After beating Minnesota in the National Semifinals 67-58, UConn again defeated Tennessee to win their 3rd consecutive national championship, winning 70-61. The teams overall record for the season was 31-4. The 2004 women's National Championship was especially notable as the UConn men's basketball team won the men's title the previous night, marking the first time one University won both the men's and women's basketball championships in one season, a feat UConn repeated in 2014.
In her career at UConn, Taurasi led the team to four consecutive Final Fours and three straight national titles. Taurasi received many personal accolades at UConn including the 2003 and 2004 Naismith College Player of the Year awards, the 2003 Wade Trophy, the 2003 Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award, the 2003 USBWA Women's National Player of the Year award and the 2004 Best Female Athlete ESPY Award. Taurasi was the third basketball player to receive this final honor, after former UConn star Rebecca Lobo and Tennessee star Chamique Holdsclaw.
Post-Taurasi Era and Continued Success
Relative to their high standards, UConn struggled during the first two years following Taurasi's graduation in 2004. Some of its highly touted recruits did not play up to expectations while others suffered injuries. The 2004-05 season was marked with sloppy play and ragged offense; UConn lost 8 games and failed to win the Big East regular season crown for the first time since 1993. In the 2006-07 season, the team improved their record with the additions of Renee Montgomery, Mel Thomas, Ketia Swanier, and the #1 ranked high school player Tina Charles, helping UConn emerge as a national contender again. UConn was a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but eventually lost to LSU 73-50 in the regional final (Elite Eight) to end their season with a 32-4 record.
After three down years by UConn standards, the team emerged as a heavy contender for the championship in the 2007-08 season. In addition to all of the star players returning from the 2006-07 team, #1 ranked high school player Maya Moore joined the Huskies after a bitter recruitment battle between UConn and Tennessee. Shortly after Moore's commitment to UConn, Tennessee announced they were cancelling the annual series with UConn, thus ending one of the biggest rivalries in the sport. Even if both coaches remained vague and unspecific about the reasons of the cancellation, Tennessee filed a complaint to the NCAA about UConn's recruitment of Moore. Despite losing Mel Thomas and Kalana Greene to season-ending knee injuries, UConn went through the 2007-08 regular season with only a single loss at Rutgers.
UCLA Bruins: A Legacy of Excellence
While perhaps not as dominant as UConn, the UCLA Bruins women's basketball program has a rich history and tradition of excellence. Coached by Cori Close, the Bruins have consistently been a force in the Pac-12 Conference and a regular participant in the NCAA Tournament.
Recent Performance and Key Players
In a recent game in Tampa, Fla, No. 1 seed UCLA women’s basketball (34-3, 16-2 Big Ten), which was wholly obliterated by No. 2 seed UConn (36-3, 18-0 Big East) in its first Final Four appearance in the NCAA era. “They were tougher than us tonight,” said coach Cori Close. Betts - UCLA’s 6-foot-7 center shot just 50% in the first quarter compared to her overall 64.9% average. Junior center Lauren Betts sits on the sideline waiting to be substituted into the game. Betts recorded a game-high 26 points Friday night, the only Bruin to eclipse double digits. Turnover woes plagued the first frame, with six Bruins - including Betts - committing one of their own. UCLA couldn’t get up a single shot in the second quarter until - of course - Betts came to the rescue. The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Lisa Leslie Center of the Year broke her team’s dry spell almost halfway into the frame. Only three players other than Betts made dents on the scoreboard heading into intermission. Betts, the stalwart UCLA proved perhaps too reliant on, was the only other Bruin to score from the field, with Rice adding 3 points from the free throw line. UConn broke the 30-point lead barrier. It seemed a mark always bound to be - just a question of when it’d materialize. “It sucks right now, but looking back, I’ll do my best - and we’ll all do our best to not forget what a fantastic year this was,” Rice said. “So many firsts in program history.
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