The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UCONN’S HISTORY IN NO. 1 VS. NO. 2 MATCHUPS
South Carolina and UConn climbed to No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP women’s basketball poll, respectively, ahead of Monday’s showdown at Gampel Pavilion.
The Huskies are 21-3 all-time in 1 vs. 2 games. Here’s a look back at those matchups:
Jan. 16, 1995: No. 2 UConn 77, No. 1 Tennessee 66: The Huskies and Lady Vols meet for the first time in Storrs before a sellout crowd and national TV audience on Martin Luther King Day. Voting for the Associated Press poll is delayed a day to account for the final.
Jan. 10, 1999: No. 2 Tennessee 92, No. 1 UConn 81: Semeka Randall is booed mercifully by the UConn faithful after getting tangled with Svetlana Abrosimova.
Jan. 8, 2000: No. 1 UConn 74, No. 2 Tennessee 67: Sue Bird scores a career-high 25 points to hush a raucous crowd of 20,789 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
April 2, 2000: No. 1 UConn 71, No. 2 Tennessee 52: The Huskies take down the Lady Vols in Philadelphia for their second NCAA title.
Dec. 30, 2000: No. 1 UConn 81, No. 2 Tennessee 76: Bird scores 15 points, including four free throws in the final 35 seconds, to help UConn weather a (snow)storm in Hartford.
March 6, 2001: No. 2 UConn 78, No. 1 Notre Dame 76: Bird sinks a fade-away jumper at the buzzer to lift the Huskies to their 10th Big East championship.
March 30, 2001: No. 2 Notre Dame 90, No. 1 UConn 75: Freshman Diana Taurasi has a performance to forget, shooting 1-of-15 from the floor, and Notre Dame rallies from a 16point halftime deficit to beat the Huskies in the Final Four in St. Louis.
Jan. 5, 2002: No. 1 UConn 86, No. 2 Tennessee 72: Taurasi pours in 32 points — and punches the orange-padded basket stanchion at Thompson-Boling Arena.
March 31, 2002: No. 1 UConn 82, No. 2 Oklahoma 70: The Huskies win their third NCAA title in San Antonio, capping a 39-0 season.
Feb. 1, 2003: No. 2 UConn 77, No. 1 Duke 65: UConn runs its win streak to 59 games by beating Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Jan. 19, 2009: No. 1 UConn 88, No. 2 North Carolina 58: Renee Montgomery scores 21 points, handing the Tar Heels their worst loss in almost six years.
April 5, 2009: No. 1 UConn 83, No. 2 Stanford 64: The Huskies take down Stanford at the Final Four in St. Louis, en route to another undefeated season.
Dec. 23, 2009: No. 1 UConn 80, No. 2 Stanford 68: UConn wins its 49th straight game before 16,294 in Hartford.
April 6, 2010: No. 1 UConn 53, No. 2 Stanford 47: The Huskies score only 12 points in the first half, but heat up just enough to repeat as national champs in San Antonio.
Nov. 16, 2010: No. 1 UConn 65, No. 2 Baylor 64: Maya Moore scores 30 points. The Huskies need every last one of them to hold off Baylor.
Dec. 18, 2011: No. 1 Baylor 66, No. 2 UConn 61: Brittney Griner narrowly misses a triple-double with 25 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks.
Dec. 29, 2012: No. 2 UConn 61, No. 1 Stanford 35: UConn rolls into Maples Pavilion and snaps Stanford’s 82-game home winning streak.
Dec. 13, 2013: No. 1 UConn 83, No. 2 Duke 61: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis has 21 points and a career-high seven 3pointers.
April 8, 2014: No. 1 UConn 79, No. 2 Notre Dame 58: The Huskies cruise to their record ninth national championship, passing Tennessee.
Feb. 9, 2015: No. 2 UConn 87, No. 1 South Carolina 62: Mosqueda-Lewis scores 23 points and Breanna Stewart adds 22.
April 7, 2015: No. 1 UConn 63, No. 2 Notre Dame 53: Mosqueda-Lewis and Moriah Jefferson score 15 points apiece as UConn wins its third straight national championship. It’s also the 10th for UConn coach Geno Auriemma, tying legendary UCLA men’s coach John Wooden.
Feb. 8, 2016: No. 1 UConn 66, No. 2 South Carolina 54: Stewart, Jefferson and Morgan Tuck account for 53 points as UConn extends its win streak to 60.
Dec. 7, 2016: No. 1 UConn 72, No. 2 Notre Dame 61: Victory
No. 83 in a row for UConn.
Dec. 2, 2018: No. 2 UConn 89, No. 1 Notre Dame 71: Freshman Christyn Williams erupts for 28 points.