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80 and counting for the Huskies
Baylor gives UConn a huge scare in Hartford
richardkent@blackathlete.com •
View all articles by Richard Kent, BASN Staff Reporter
POSTED: Nov 18, 2010
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| UConn’s Maya Moore attempts to get a shot off against Baylor’s Brittney Griner in the second half. |
You see, UConn never loses. They never even fall behind as they hone in on the UCLA men's Division I record for consecutive wins. That's not the fault of head coach Geno Auriemma.
He is the best there is in the game. It is the fault of the rest of women's college basketball for not keeping up with him. That is the rest of women's college basketball except for Kim Mulkey and her Baylor Bears.
UConn defeated Baylor, 65-64 before a crowd of 12,628. Baylor had an amazing 19-1 run in the second half. The referees, led by all-timer Dee Kantner also didn't do the best job at the end.
There was a clear shot clock violation by UConn after a Maya Moore air ball at the end of the game. Baylor should have been awarded the ball out of bounds with about 6.1 seconds to go in regulation.
But the refs blew the call and ran off the court in haste or perhaps lack of realization.
There were other reasons that Baylor lost, most
importantly a dismal 5-of-13 showing from the free throw line by All-American and
6-foot-8 Brittney Griner, a 70% free throw shooter. She finished with 19 points and 9 blocks.
Moore had
30 points for UConn including 20 in the first half.
But back to Auriemma and Mulkey. They are the two most
charismatic coaches in women's basketball and maybe in all of college
basketball. Much has been written about Auriemma.
Much less has been written about Mulkey outside
of her native Louisiana and Texas. Auriemma owns seven National
Championships. Mulkey won one championship in 2004-05.
Mulkey, a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of
Fame, won two National Championships as a player at Louisiana Tech under
legendary Leon Barmore and an Olympic Gold medal for the USA in 1984 in Los
Angeles.
Perhaps more significantly, Mulkey was a high
school Valedictorian with a perfect 4.0 average and graduated college summa cum
laude.
She is equally adept at discussing the intricacies of a zone defense along
with the conspiracy theory behind the Kennedy Assasination in Dallas in 1963, one
year after she was born.
She's also a highly sought after motivational speaker.
Look for UConn and Baylor to play for the National Championship in April in Indianapolis. It is a game that women's college basketball deserves.
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richardkent@blackathlete.com
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