Perfect Huskies ace final exam with ease
ST. LOUIS -- Unbeaten, unchallenged and national champions.
After one last blowout, Connecticut could finally exhale and take its place in basketball history.
Tina Charles had 25 points and grabbed 19 rebounds Tuesday night as UConn routed Louisville 76-54 and captured the Huskies' sixth title.
Connecticut finished 39-0 and pulled off an unprecedented feat, winning every game by at least 10 points.
"I'm so overwhelmed how I feel about the way it ended," Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said after he helped cut down the nets and was carried off the court at the Scottrade Center. "This is the first time since the brackets came out I didn't feel like I'm going to get sick, physically sick, thinking about everything that was ahead of us."
It wasn't just that Connecticut claimed another championship. It was how they did it, dominating virtually ever opponent all season.
"This is first time we can stop and enjoy the win for more than a couple of days," said senior guard Renee Montgomery, wearing a championship net around her neck. "We're always looking to the future. Now we have time to enjoy this win and all the other ones."
Charles was the star of the final. She commanded both ends of the floor and Louisville, which lost badly to UConn for the third time this season, had no one to stop her.
Auriemma said before the tournament his junior center would be the key to UConn winning the title. A year after he benched her in the NCAAs for inconsistent play, Charles delivered.
"I'm really happy for her," Auriemma said.
"I told Tina before the game, I said 'Sunday night you played against an All-American center and you played defense and you worked as hard as the best center in America and now you have to prove it tonight' and she did."
Charles shot 11-for-13 from the field, and fell one rebound short of becoming only the second player in a championship game to have at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. She was named the outstanding player of the Final Four. Maya Moore and Montgomery each added 18 points for the Huskies.
Angel McCoughtry finished off her stellar career for Louisville with 23 points. Candyce Bingham was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points as Louisville (34-5) shot a dismal 31 percent.
"We have nothing to be disappointed about," McCoughtry said.
CONNECTICUT 76
LOUISVILLE 54
KEY: Tina Charles was unstoppable with 25 points and 19 rebounds, leading the Huskies (39-0) to the NCAA title.
PARIS OFF THE HOOK
NORMAN, Okla. — Courtney Paris might as well hang on to her money. Oklahoma doesn’t plan to collect on her failed NCAA title guarantee.
Paris had promised she would repay the university for all four years of her scholarship if the Sooners didn’t win their first national title. Athletic director Joe Castiglione said Tuesday he doesn’t plan to hold her to it.
“It’s even more meaningful when someone who committed herself for four years to help her teammates become better, making that kind of symbolic gesture,” Castiglione said.
The cost of four years at Oklahoma has been estimated at $64,000, but the number could be even higher because Paris came from California and would have had to establish residence in Oklahoma to pay in-state tuition.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
