Mad Dash Seals Huskies’ Run Late Surge Secures Title, Perfect Year For Uconn

Never was a season at Connecticut as much fun as this one. Never was the team taking phone calls from the president. And never was Jennifer Rizzotti driving the floor like this.

Rizzotti, at 5-foot-5 the smallest player in the game, zipped the length of the court for a layup that broke the final tie in the NCAA women’s championship game and sparked Connecticut to a 70-64 win Sunday over Tennessee.

There was still 1:53 to play when Rizzotti scored for a 63-61 lead, but the No. 1-ranked Huskies had the break they needed. They went on to beat the Volunteers and finish as just the second unbeaten team in 14 years of women’s NCAA play.

“We don’t always have the most talented players on the floor,” Rizzotti said. “But we always find a way to play together and have fun and win.”

The Huskies finished 35-0 to join Texas as the only unbeaten women’s national champions and become the first Division I team, men’s or women’s, to go unbeaten with 35 victories. Texas won the 1986 women’s title with a 34-0 record.

Connecticut won it under adverse conditions, overcoming foul trouble in the first half and a nine-point deficit in the second half.

Leading scorer Rebecca Lobo went to the bench with her third foul with 11:58 left in the first half and didn’t return until the second half. Kara Wolters, Connecticut’s 6-foot-7 center, also spent time on the bench with foul trouble, as did Rizzotti.

“My players were really given the opportunity to show what kind of character they had,” said Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, who got a congratulatory call from President Clinton. “It would have been very easy for us to fold and feel sorry for ourselves and we never did that.”

Lobo’s strong second half - 11 points in the final 20 minutes to finish with a game-high 17 - was critical for Connecticut, as was the Huskies’ defense.

Connecticut held Tennessee (34-3) to three field goals in the final 10 minutes. One of those came on Tiffani Johnson’s three-point play, which gave Tennessee a 61-59 lead with 4:09 left. But the Lady Vols didn’t get another basket until Johnson scored with 10.5 seconds left and by then, it was out of reach.

“This is just a picture-perfect way for someone to end their career,” said Lobo, a 6-4 senior who was named the outstanding player in the Final Four. “We’re undefeated, we’re national champions and I did it with the people I love.”

Connecticut tied the score on Jamelle Elliott’s double-pump layup with 2:20 left. Then, after Tennessee’s Nikki McCray missed a baseline jumper, the ball came out long to Rizzotti, who was near the left of the key.

Rizzotti turned up court and had Tennessee’s Michelle Marciniak waiting near the free-throw line. Undeterred, Rizzotti faked left, then drove to her right around Marciniak and made a layup for a 63-61 lead with 1:53 to play.

“I didn’t think she’d have the position to get an offensive foul on me, so I took it in,” Rizzotti said. “I just wanted to be aggressive with it. When we’re aggressive, that’s when our game is at its best.”

Connecticut then wrapped up the title at the free-throw line, Lobo making four and Rizzotti and Carla Berube sinking two each. After Berbue made her first shot with 9.9 seconds left, Tennessee coach Pat Summitt slammed her hand down on the scorer’s table and groaned, “I really hate this.”

Moments later, the Connecticut players were hugging each other and crying at midcourt and Tennessee was walking dejectedly to its dressing room.

“We’re a very close team. We’ve been through a lot together,” Summitt said. “Because of our senior class and its commitment to get to the Final Four and win the national championship, my heart goes out to this team.”

Rizzotti finished with 15 points, 11 in the second half. Elliott scored 13 and Wolters had 10. Latina Davis’ 11 points led Tennessee, which began the season ranked No. 1 then lost that spot after its 77-66 loss at Connecticut in mid-January.

Dana Johnson scored nine points for the Lady Vols. McCray, a firstteam All-American, managed only seven.

“We were wide open. We just couldn’t hit the key jump shots,” McCray said. “That really broke our backs because we couldn’t get the offensive boards.”

Lobo, who went 24:30 during the middle part of the game without scoring, got four baskets during a 4-minute stretch to start Connecticut’s final charge.

Rizzotti’s layup after she stole the ball from McCray cut the lead to 58-57 and Elliott’s two free throws put Connecticut up 59-58 with 5:44 left - the Huskies’ first lead since midway through the first half.

Johnson then converted her three-point play to give Tennessee its last lead. Less than 2 minutes later, it was tied and Connecticut was on its way to the title.

“It’s really hard for me to express how I feel,” the normally glib Auriemma said. “To play that game the way it was played and to beat the team that I thought going into the game was as good a team as I’ve ever seen in college basketball, to win that game - it’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever had.”

UConn 70, Tennessee 64 TENNESSEE (34-3)

McCray 3-12 1-2 7, Thompson 1-1 2-2 4, D.Johnson 3-11 3-3 9, Marciniak 3-11 1-3 8, Davis 5-12 0-1 11, Ward 2-5 2-2 6, T.Johnson 3-7 1-1 7, M.Johnson 2-3 0-0 5, Milligan 1-3 2-2 4, Conklin 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 24-66 12-16 64.

CONNECTICUT (35-0)

Elliott 5-7 3-4 13, Lobo 5-10 7-8 17, Wolters 4-9 2-4 10, Rizzotti 6-8 2-2 15, Webber 0-1 0-0 0, Sales 4-12 1-4 10, Berube 1-6 3-5 5. Totals 25-53 18-27 70.

Halftime-Tennessee 38, Connecticut 32. 3-Point goals- Tennessee 4-14 (Conklin 1-1, M.Johnson 1-2, Davis 1-4, Marciniak 1-6, McCray 0-1), Connecticut 2-10 (Rizzotti 1-2, Sales 1-4, Webber 0-1, Berube 0-1, Lobo 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Tennessee 37 (D.Johnson 10), Connecticut 43 (Lobo 8). Assists-Tennessee 16 (Marciniak 5), Connecticut 15 (Elliott, Rizzotti, Sales 3). Total fouls-Tennessee 22, Connecticut 18. A-18,038.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with story: Division I unbeatens The nine unbeaten champions of NCAA Division I basketball: Men 1956: San Francisco 29-0 1957: North Carolina 32-0 1964: UCLA 30-0 1967: UCLA 30-0 1972: UCLA 30-0 1973: UCLA 30-0 1976: Indiana 32-0 Women 1986: Texas 34-0 1995: Connecticut 35-0