Feb 28, 2004
Final Stats?|? Quotes?|? Notes
By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) - Take that Connecticut - again!
Liad Suez hit a turnaround jumper with 56 seconds left and scored 23 points, giving Villanova its second stunning victory in two seasons over the top-ranked Huskies, winning 59-56 Saturday night.
The Huskies (23-3, 13-2 Big East) were defeated in consecutive games by an opponent for the first time since Tennessee in 1998 and 1999.
"We played unbelievably well. We played the best we could play," Villanova coach Harry Perretta said.
The Wildcats (21-5, 11-4) snapped UConn's 70-game winning streak in the championship of last year's conference tournament, and they weren't intimidated by the Huskies this time, either.
Just like last year, the Wildcats mobbed each other at midcourt before quickly rushing off to the locker room to celebrate a wild Senior Night victory.
Playing in front of the first sellout crowd for a women's game at The Pavilion, the Wildcats rallied from an eight-point deficit early in the second half behind Suez and Jackie Adamshick.
"We're a team that when we play the right pace, we can hang around," Perretta said. "If you hang around at home, now you get the ball to bounce your way."
Of course, it helps when the shots go in, and they did for the Wildcats, who went 14 for 20 from the floor in the second half. Suez missed seven of her first eight shots before going 8-for-8 for 20 points in the second half.
"I just felt more relaxed in the second half," she said.
Adamshick, who scored 13 points, hit a 3-pointer with 3:05 left for a 54-52 lead. Diana Taurasi tied it with 2:47 left, but the Huskies never led again.
Suez hit the jumper, then combined with Adamshick to sink three free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
Taurasi's desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer clanged off the back of the rim, snapping the Huskies' 12-game winning streak.
"They deserved to win and we deserved to lose. Plain and simple," Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said.
The Huskies lost for only the second time in its last 58 Big East games and for the second time in its last 41 road games.
"We thought we could just show up," said Taurasi, who scored her 2,000th career point. "We didn't do the things we needed down the stretch."
Barbara Turner scored 25 points for the Huskies. She hit a 3-pointer early in the second half for a 38-30 lead, UConn's largest of the game.
Then the Wildcats started to rally. Suez hit a couple of baskets and Adamshick converted a three-point play for a 39-37 lead, Villanova's first since the opening minutes.
Both Suez and Turner hit 3s as the lead swapped again, and neither team would be in front by more than four points in the closing minutes. The Wildcats, though, were hot down the stretch and finished 24 for 48 from the floor and outrebounded the Huskies 34-25.
Taurasi, who came in averaging 16.2 points, struggled from the floor, going only 3-for-13 and she missed three of her four free-throw attempts. Taurasi threw up an airball on a long, rushed jumper with under 10 seconds to go that Turner put back for a basket, making it 57-56.
The Huskies went for the quick foul, but Suez hit both free throws.
"We had to relay a lot on getting the ball to Liad who could make an individual play," Perretta said. "They have a lot of players who can make individual plays. We don't have a whole lot of those kind of players, but Liad is one of those kind of players."
The Huskies had no one else to count on besides Turner, who finished two points shy of her career high. They shot 39 percent in the second half and missed seven of 15 free throws.
"Our offense was horrible," Auriemma said. "There never seemed to be any kind of rhythm, any kind of flow. It was horrible."
Only a few fans rushed the court - the crowd of 6,000 was decidedly pro-UConn. The UConn men's team beat Villanova 75-74 in overtime earlier Saturday at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center.
The Wildcats have won seven straight and finished 12-0 at home.
Jackie Adamshick , left, is hugged by teammate Jessica Moore in a pileup after upsetting top-ranked Connecticut, 59-56, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004, in Villanova, Pa.
