A new powerhouse is born .281996.E2.80.932000.29 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball

1 new powerhouse born (1996–2000)

1.1 escalation of rivalry tennessee
1.2 nykesha sales controversy
1.3 arrival of tassk force
1.4 2000 national championship

a new powerhouse born (1996–2000)

after 1995 championship title, uconn rose national prominence 1 of powerhouses in women s college basketball, giving coach auriemma chance recruit star talents high school shea ralph in 1996 , svetlana abrosimova in 1997.

escalation of rivalry tennessee

starting 2 meetings in 1995, rivalry between tennessee lady vols , uconn escalated through late 90 s , 2000s, becoming marquee matchup in women s sports, , taking on parallels red sox-yankees rivalry in major league baseball. geno auriemma jokingly once referred pat summitt , tennessee evil empire , red sox president , ceo larry lucchino said of yankees.

in 1995–96 season uconn ended tennessee s home court winning streak @ thompson boling arena in knoxville. tennessee avenged in final 4 year in charlotte, defeating uconn 88–83 in overtime; game thought 1 of more memorable tournament games in tournament history many , forth swings of momentum.

uconn defeated tennessee during 1996–97 regular season; after season-ending injury shea ralph in first round of ncaa tournament, uconn reached regional final 2 teams met again, tennessee prevailing , ending connecticut s unbeaten season winning 91–81.

tennessee defeated connecticut again in 1997–98 regular season. mini controversy erupted in days after game when tennessee s chamique holdsclaw quoted in papers saying uconn looked scared during game; auriemma denounced quote. shea ralph , senior nykesha sales out entire season, freshman svetlana abrosimova led young uconn team ncaa tournament regional final lost north carolina state 60–52.

nykesha sales controversy

auriemma found himself in national debate following decision made during 1997–98 season. senior nykesha sales suffered season-ending injury in 1 of final games of regular season. @ time of injury, 1 point shy of kerry bascom s school scoring record. next game, bascom s blessing, , assistance friend , villanova head coach harry paretta, auriemma arranged have sales, on crutches, score basket , allow villanova score basket start game @ 2–2. sales held school scoring record.

many people weighed in on decision on both national , local levels. auriemma felt guilty put sales through ordeal , angry columnists chose fault , not him. auriemma criticized compromising integrity of game, defended decision saying school record , never had done without bascom s blessing.

arrival of tassk force

auriemma signed best recruiting class date in 1998 when signed 5 top-15 nationally ranked players. high school all-americans swin cash, tamika williams, sue bird, asjha jones, , keirsten walters dubbed tassk force connecticut fans, using players initials. class renewed hope of bringing more championships storrs after watching archrival tennessee win 3 in row.

the first season highly ranked class in 1998–99 , down , featured many injuries: sue bird tore acl , lost season after 10 games.

in 1999 meeting @ gampel pavilion, tennessee prevailed again. during game there scuffle involving tennessee s semeka randall , connecticut s svetlana abrosimova randall threw ball down, hitting abrosimova s head. uconn fans booed randall rest of game , tennessee fans later gave nickname boo. 1998–99 season ended in sweet sixteen round of ncaa tournament, uconn lost 64–58 iowa state, falling short of reaching final 4 third consecutive time.

2000 national championship

motivated previous disappointing season, uconn came in 1999–2000 clear goal of reaching championship level again. led upperclassmen shea ralph, kelly schumacher, svetlana abrosimova , tass force (the k dropped when keirsten walters had give basketball due knee problems), uconn went through regular season 27–1 record, loss being single-point defeat tennessee @ home—uconn had beaten tennessee earlier in season in knoxville, , first year teams met twice. huskies advanced first final 4 since 1996 , beat penn state in semifinals, reaching lady vols championship game in auriemma s hometown of philadelphia. despite 2 regular season meetings being close battles, uconn used tenacious defense , backdoor cuts overwhelm tennessee 71–52 second national championship. connecticut s final season record 36–1 , shea ralph named final 4 s mvp.