Nov. 26, 2007 — The University of Connecticut's Lady Huskies — the No. 2-ranked team in the country — cruised past the No. 8 Duke Blue Devils 74-48 Sunday night on their way to claiming the women's championship title in this year's Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament.
Both teams were undefeated coming into the game, which made for a highly anticipated championship game. As the game started, both teams' fans were on their feet, chanting and trying to give their side some loud support. As the night went on, however, the volume on Duke's side grew softer as UConn began the game with a 24-10 run and managed to push their lead all the way to 17 with 1:37 left in the half. UConn took a 40-24 halftime lead, with every player who took the floor in the first half scoring at least one point.
The second half mirrored the first, with UConn continuing to roll and push their lead all the way to 27 points with about six minutes to go in the game. UConn outscored Duke in the paint 34-24 and in second-chance points 17-7. The Huskies shot 53 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line for the game. The Blue Devils shot 36 percent from the field for the game and 39 percent from the line.
Tina Charles led the Huskies with 13 points and eight rebounds. Freshman forward Maya Moore followed, scoring 12 points off the bench. Moore was also named Most Valuable Player for the tournament.
For Duke, Chante Black — the only bright spot for her team — scored 16 points and had three rebounds, one block and three steals.
In the most exciting game of the night, third place was up for grabs as Temple University took on Stanford. Temple took a 39-22 lead into halftime, rallying behind magnificent first halves from Lady Comfort, who had 14 points and six rebounds, and Ashley Morris, who had 13 points and two assists.
The second half was a different story, however, as Stanford came back from a 17-point halftime deficit, behind the scoring of Candace Wiggins and Jayne Appel, to tie the score at 39 with 13 minutes to go in the game. A reverse layup by Kayla Pendersen gave the Cardinals their first lead since the 13:58 mark of the first half.
Morris finally ended the Owls' seven-minute scoreless drought to tie the score at 41 all. The game remained tight until the two-minute mark, when Jillian Harmon made a layup to push Stanford's lead to nine. Two more free throws by Harmon with 41 seconds to go pushed the team's lead to 11 and sealed the deal for Stanford, which held on for the 63-54 victory.
The Cardinals outscored the Owls 22-6 in the paint and 12-2 off the bench in the second half. Wiggins ended the game with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists. Appel had 16 points and five rebounds. Harmon had a double-double: 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
For the Owls, Morris finished with 19 points and two assists, while Comfort finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Fighting for fifth place, Old Dominion University defeated Purdue 66-53 in the first game of the day. ODU took a 29-17 lead into halftime, but the Boilermakers started the second half on a 12-0 run and tied the score off of a tip-in by Brittany Dildine with 15:46 to go in the game.
The Lady Monarchs, behind guard TJ Jordan's 10-point second-half effort, went on a 15-0 run to push their lead back up to 44-29. Purdue would get no closer than 13 points for the rest of the game. Jordan led her team with 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal. She was followed by teammate Tiffany Green, who had 11 points and seven rebounds.
For the Boilermakers, Danielle Campbell had 19 points, four rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Lakisha Freeman followed with 18 points and one rebound.
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
