2008 Woodie Awards
10:22 p.m.
That’ll do it from Bridgeport. UConn wins it, 89-47. We’re a little jammed for time, as we’ll be trying to get on I-95 and out of this place ASAP, so I’ll leave you by saying stay tuned late into the night (or just come back when you wake up…either works) for the Day 3 NCAA Tournament preview. All that good stuff coming up late. For now, so long from Bridgeport, Connecticut’s No. 5 city in my heart.
8:47 p.m.
UConn is playing some absolutely gorgeous basketball here in the second half. Yes, it’s Cornell, but that doesn’t make it less fun to watch. he Huskies have assists on seven of their last nine makes, and they’ve all been spectacular plays. It’s 78-35 UConn with just under 10 minutes to go.
8:26 p.m.
Here’s my constitutionally allowed halftime update: It’s a blowout. Meghan Gardler scored UConn’s last five points and it’s 53-23 at half. Some choice stats that kind of make any point I need to make:
FG shooting: UConn 22-41 (53.7%), Cornell 5-23 (21.7%)
Rebounding: UConn 24, Cornell 15
Assist-Turnover ratio: UConn 12-to-5; Cornell 5-to-14.
Yeah.
Back if between one and five interesting things happen.
8:03 p.m.
Things are as interesting as ever in Bridgeport. UConn’s jumped out to a 43-21 advantage with 3:00 remaining in the first half.
The good news is that Cornell outscored UConn since the last media timeout, 12-8. The bad news is that during that span they made their third and fourth shots from the field. Yikes. Not much else interesting to report, other than Tina Charles has 3 fouls in about 7 minutes, a bunch of UConn players have 6, 7 or 8 points and it’s a total team effort. Back at the half with more.
7:42 p.m.
If the PA announcer here at Harbor Yard were giving the score, it would be Cornell 7, Connecticut 26. Ugh.
Yeah, UConn started pressing Cornell, they forced the tempo, and the Big Red just could not keep up. Cornell had about one chance to slow it down, but they rushed a shot and the Huskies went off in transition several times. This one appears to be over quickly, as UConn as just buried Cornell alive.
Also, to whoever set up the retrospective video on Tennessee’s 2007 national title victory over Rutgers on the scoreboards here at the arena, kudos to you. There’s really nothing much funnier than 7,500 fans booing the hell out of someone’s video image. In case you’re interested, Pat Summit got the most boos, followed by the very idea of the University of Tennessee, then Candace Parker. Oddly (or maybe not so), C. Vivian Stringer came in fourth in that particular contest.
Stat of the night? UConn’s shooting 11-for-21. Cornell? 2-for-12. Yeah, that about sums it up. But still stay here for some entertainment. I’ll do my best.
Three more, NCAA regulators!
7:30 p.m.
Hey, I bet you weren’t expecting the score to be 7-5 UConn at the 15:33 wrong. That’s why you should never bet - it only ends in bad things. This message sponsored by the NCAA.
Anyway, UConn’s settling for jump shots for some reason, rather than giving it to any of the three players taller than anyone on Cornell’s roster. Those jumpers are not falling, and Cornell’s keeping it close, at least for now. (Four more!)
7:16 p.m.
Quick notes before we get to today’s lineups:
–Today is Geno Auriemma’s 54th birthday. Given that the game isn’t likely to provide much to talk about, I’m sure there will be sarcastic comments made in the presser about this one. Stay tuned.
–Elsewhere in the NCAA Tournament, the Big East is already 2-0 today and 5-2 in the tournament with Notre Dame and Louisville victorious. But that’s nothing compared to the Big-12, which is a perfect 7-0 in the first round. Texas will have a chance to send 8 Big 12 teams to the round of 32 in tonight’s second game here in Bridgeport. The Longhorns play Minnesota 25 minutes after this game ends.
–The city of Bridgeport I can do without. We took exit 25 (I think) off I-95 and ducked our heads under the windows. The arena is extremely nice, though, on first impressions. It’s comparable to driving into Newark, N.J. and seeing the Prudential Center out of nowhere. It’s very cozy, with 9,000 seats, but very few upper-deck seats. The actual arena reminds me of the Save Mart Center in Fresno, where UConn went in last year’s regionals.
Everything here appears to be very modern, high-class and spaced out nice. It’d be a nice place to see a hockey or arena football game. I just can’t imagine it gets too loud for basketball. There are hundreds of conspicuous empty seats behind each basket, but it is otherwise full. Lot of Cornell fans, too.
–Starting lineup notes: Tina Charles will not get the start for UConn. She’s had a string of bad practices this week, and Auriemma can afford to send the star center a message tonight. We’ll see if it gets through to the occasionally-inconsistent Charles. Speaking of inconsistent, Charde Houston is also not in the starting lineup. It’ll be Kaili McLaren and Brittany Hunter in the post for UConn.
STARTING LINEUPS
[1] UCONN (31-1, 15-1 Big East): PG Ketia Swanier, SG Renee Montgomery, SF Maya Moore, PF Kaili McLaren, C Brittany Hunter
[16] Cornell (20-8, 11-3 Ivy League): PG Lauren Benson (7.2 ppg, 5.4 apg), SG Allie Fedorowicz (6.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg), SF Gretchen Gregg (8.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg), PF Moina Snyder (9.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg), C Jeomi Maduka (14.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
Let it be known that Maduka is 6-foot-2, so the Big Red’s positions on the floor are more fluid than you might think.
Back with no more than five (this still is not in-competition, NCAA!) updates during the first half.
6:59 p.m.
Hello there, one and all.
Welcome to the beautiful Arena at Harbor Yard in the not-so-beautiful metropolis of Bridgeport, Connecticut. It’s NCAA Tournament time, and tonight’s first matchup (of two) features the Greensboro Regional’s No. 1 seed Connecticut taking on No. 16 Cornell.
Tip is scheduled for about 20 minutes from now, giving Trey Wingo just enough time to blather on about Maya Moore. You go, Trey. The liveblog is under a couple more restrictions than previous ones.
According to this official-looking sheet I was forced to sign at knifepoint (just kidding), I am allowed to post five times per half, once at halftime and twice if a game goes to overtime.
I could be a daredevil and post SIX times per half, but really, five is a totally sensible number that is not arbitary at all. Kudos, NCAA - way to protect this little old tournament from dangerous bloggers spreading information and awareness of the games. God knows women’s basketball doesn’t get enough coverage as it is.
Oh yeah, and just so the NCAA is aware - if they read these things - this is not an in-competition update. The game clock has not started, so I’ve still got five more to go.
Anyway, ranting aside, we should be in for a matchup that should be “fun”, if not at all close or exciting. Cornell, as well as their 250 or so fans, look just plum thrilled to be here in Bridgeport, ready to take on the nation’s best team. It’s the one redeeming quality of these lopsided 1-16 matchups.
So make sure you’re here at the DC Blog as we undermine the NCAA, one blog entry at a time. Also, if you want coverage of the game. Because we do that too.
Lineups and observations in 20.
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