By Joseph Manniello
STORRS, CONN. — Just minutes before the St. John’s University women’s basketball team departed for its showdown with the defending national champion and No. 4 ranked University of Connecticut Huskies, coach Kim Barnes Arico asked her two-year old son Trevor where the team was traveling to on Friday.
With a little help from mom, who started him out with, “U…,” Trevor yelled, “Conn!”
Before losing 82-49 to the Huskies, his shouted response made Saturday’s matinee sound as if St. John’s was heading to Disney World for a magical and fun one-day stay.
But Barnes Arico and the Red Storm knew what they were getting themselves into when they walked into Gampel Pavilion: St. John’s had not won at Connecticut sine 1988; lost its last 19 contests to the Huskies; lost by a combined 178 points in its last three trips to Storrs.
Last year’s 41-point loss at Alumni Hall didn’t help matters either.
For 16 glorious first-half minutes, the Red Storm was even with UConn, leading by as many as four and holding a one-point lead with just under six minutes remaining before ultimately succumbing to UConn in front of a sellout crowd of 10,167.
“I thought we battled … I thought we stepped up to the challenge, especially in the first half,” Barnes Arico said, “but we played a fantastic team in UConn and they were able to show the weaknesses we have as a team.”
With All-American guard Diana Taurasi limited to just 12 minutes due to back problems, sophomore guard Ann Strother picked up the slack, scoring a career-high 27 points as UConn followed up a 9-0 first half run with a 16-6 run in the second half.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for a game like that with Ann, before you start to wonder, ‘Does she have it in her?’” Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. “We had a lot of open shots and Ann’s were the only ones going in.”
Added Barnes Arico: “I think we caught UConn off guard for the first couple of minutes, but UConn did a great job at adjusting and … Ann Strother had a terrific game.”
More like a career game. Her 19 first half points, including five three-pointers and seven rebounds, were the sole reason the Huskies went into halftime with an edge.
“Yeah, I think so,” Strother said when asked if she got a sense early on that her shot was on target. “It’s kind of weird … when you’re out there you feel like the basket is huge and you can’t miss it. I really felt like I was wide open most of the time and I didn’t have to work to get most of my shots.”
Although St. John’s (8-11, 2-6) trailed by nine at halftime, the Red Storm played inspired basketball. Players were penetrating, finding teammates for open shots and getting to the free throw line with ease.
Scoring 14 points in the paint and nine points off turnovers, the Red Storm’s aggressive play had the sellout crowd sitting for most of the first half.
“As a team, we are getting better in our performance during the first half of games and we are noticing that,” Barnes Arico said. “I don’t think that we have the horses and we need to get tougher both physically and mentally to allow us to play better in the second half.”
With superior size and skill, it was just a matter of time before Connecticut (16-2, 7-1) pulled away. Behind 56 total rebounds — 20 offensive — the Huskies outmuscled and outhustled St. John’s, winning the battle of the boards by a margin of 26, (20-8 offensive).
For the Storm, the two halves were a matter of night and day. SJU was limited to just four field goals in the second half and converted their last basket with seven minutes remaining.
Adding to their woes, the Red Storm shot only 17 percent over the final 20 minutes, missing all eight of its three-point attempts, and had trouble getting good looks at the basket, something the SJU players accredited to the opposition’s size.
“I really didn’t have good opportunities at an open look because of their length and size,” said graduate student guard Kim MacMillan, who, along with sophomore Danielle Chambers, led St. John’s with 11 points. “UConn does a great job at guarding you close up.”
After hosting defending Big East tournament champion Villanova in a game scheduled for Wednesday night, the Red Storm welcomes Providence Sunday at 2 p.m.
Reach contributing writer Joseph Maniello by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
