NCAA WOMEN UConn achieves 24-hour sweep

The Huskies beat Tennessee for their third straight national championship.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Both teams were No. 1 at the beginning, and now they're both on top at the end. For Connecticut, this was a basketball season like no other.
Two teams, two titles and one unprecedented feat.
The Connecticut women completed a championship sweep for the school and further enhanced their stature as the nation's dominant program by beating Tennessee 70-61 Tuesday night for their third straight NCAA title.
The night before, UConn defeated Georgia Tech in San Antonio to win the men's championship. A Division I school had never before won both titles in the same season.
"We don't even understand the magnitude of our own win, let alone what both programs have accomplished in the same year," UConn's Maria Conlon said. "Hopefully in a couple of weeks, when we settle in, we'll understand how special this is."
Thanks to Diana Taurasi and a terrific supporting cast, the Huskies got it done. And they did it against the only other school that has won three straight titles, the program the Huskies have usurped to become the nation's best.
Tennessee won three in a row from 1996-98, but hasn't had a title since. Connecticut has won four since 2000 and has five overall, one short of Tennessee's record total. Four of the Huskies' championships have come with victories over Tennessee in the title game.
"Tennessee's been great for so long and as a little kid, that's the team everyone looked at and now, I think we made it," Taurasi said. "I think we're the top program out there. I don't care what anyone says anymore."
Good, bad stretches
Tuesday night's game wasn't easy, though it certainly started that way. Making shots from everywhere, the Huskies stormed to a 17-point lead in the first half. Then they went scoreless the final 61/2 minutes of the half and Tennessee got within six at the break.
"We had a lot of confidence when we made our runs," Tennessee's Shanna Zolman said. "We were excited."
The Lady Vols got even more excited when they pulled to within two on Brittany Jackson's long 3-pointer midway through the second half.
But Connecticut had too many answers.
"I thought we were going to come back, but every time we made a defensive mistake, Connecticut capitalized on it," Tennessee's Tasha Butts said. "We had too many breakdowns."
Taurasi, the Final Four's outstanding player for the second straight year, led UConn with 17 points and showed off another talent when she punted the ball, with some serious hang time, into the stands after the buzzer sounded.
Jessica Moore scored 12 of her 14 in the second half and grabbed nine rebounds, while Strother also had 14. Barbara Turner finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.
"They were making runs and every time we needed a big play from someone, we got it," Taurasi said. "Someone made a big play every single time."
Zolman led Tennessee with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Ashley Robinson scored 12.
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