Associated Press
ST. LOUIS ó One more game, and Connecticut has the perfect finish.
All those others who would stand in their way? They’re not even close.
Renee Montgomery scored 26 points, Maya Moore added 24, and unbeaten UConn cruised to its first title game in five years with an 83-64 victory over Stanford on Sunday night.
The outcome never in doubt, Connecticut overwhelmed Stanford, crushing the latest challenger to the Huskies’ bid for a third undefeated season and sixth national championship.
UConn (38-0) already has routed Louisville twice this year, including dismantling the Cardinals 75-36 in the Big East tournament championship game in early March.
“They’re not the same team,” Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. “Once you get into the NCAA tournament, your team changes.”
The Huskies have made almost everyone look silly this season, winning by nearly 31 points a game and not allowing a team to come within single digits.
With an imposing lineup that featured five starters over 6-feet, Stanford (33-5) was supposed to challenge Connecticut. The Cardinal were the last team to beat Connecticut, knocking them out of the Final Four last season.
That challenge didn’t last long ó just like most of the other ranked teams UConn has faced this season.
After Jayne Appel got off to a quick start, the Huskies swarmed the Stanford star on defense, sometimes sending four players at her. The Cardinal couldn’t stop Renee Montgomery on the other end, who sliced through Stanford’s defense with ease.
Appel finished with 26 points, but she had little help.
UConn had perfect seasons in 1995 and 2002. The Huskies also entered the NCAA tournament unbeaten in 1997, but fell to Tennessee in the regional final.
Besides Connecticut, only the Lady Vols and Texas have run through a season unbeaten.
This was the second straight season that Stanford and Connecticut met in the Final Four. The Cardinal walked away with a 82-73 win last season before falling to Tennessee in the title game.
On Sunday, they tried to run with the Huskies early and led 14-13 in the first half. Appel was unstoppable, scoring 10 of the team’s first 14 points on an array of post moves.
But then the Huskies clamped down, going on one of their vaunted runs. Connecticut scored 18 of the next 22 points to take a 31-18 lead. As she has been for most of the season, Montgomery was the catalyst.
The senior guard, who was the first UConn player to have her jersey retired while still playing, started the spurt with a 3-pointer. She had seven points during the burst that ended with Kaili McLaren’s putback with 5:39 left in the half.
The teams traded baskets for the rest of the first half as UConn went into the break up 37-24. It was the 32nd time this season that they held a double-digit lead at the half.
UConn put together a 13-0 run after intermission, holding Stanford without a point for the first 51/2 minutes of the second half. Moore, The Associated Press player of the year, had seven during the surge.