STORRS — For just the 57th time since the end of the 1993 NCAA Tournament, Geno Auriemma convened practice this week with one foremost aspiration. It was time for the Huskies to move on.
Granted, Monday’s overtime loss at Stanford was profound, as are most UConn losses since they are so infrequent. It ended UConn’s 47-game winning streak, third-longest in its history. And come Monday, it will bounce the Huskies from the top spot in The Associated Press poll.
Still, it probably bothered the fan base more. The common thread on message boards was incredulity about how the two-time defending national champion could have struggled in so many facets.
But aside from his dissatisfaction with guard play and lack of all-around scoring in support of Breanna Stewart and Saniya Chong, who combined for 43 of the 86 points, Auriemma didn’t seem particularly troubled.
And here’s why: His 30 seasons have proved that sometimes things aren’t always as good – or bad – as they appear in November.
“They were disappointed,” Auriemma said. “When you consider what it was like for them the last time they had been out there [102-43 win at UC Davis], to play poorly and lose was disappointing. But I think the disappointment was more about some of the things we didn’t do as opposed to those we did that defied explanation.”
Who knew Texas would have UConn’s back? The Longhorns upset the Cardinal 87-81 in overtime Thursdayat Maples Pavilion. It was their first win over an AP Top 10 team since they dropped fourth-ranked Baylor on Feb. 1, 2009.
And if you were wondering, yes, Texas celebrated the way Stanford did after its win over UConn, rushing the floor and jumping into each other’s arms. The only thing missing this time was the Cardinal student body, hardly thrilled with the end of its team’s 28-game home winning streak.
It’s November. It happens.
“Up 10 with just over 6 minutes to play [at Stanford] we should have won the game,” Auriemma said. “But it’s not wise to put too much into the loss. It’s a fine line. You want to be sure they understand what the fine line is.”
And on Sunday, UConn has its first chance to play since the defeat by opening the home schedule against Creighton (2-1) at Gampel Pavilion.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, who was just 3 of 11 from the field after scoring 30 at UC Davis on 10 three-pointers, has not practiced the past two days because of a touch of the flu. She is expected to play Sunday.
And Sunday will also be the first start for freshman Kia Nurse. Nurse, who played so well for Canada’s senior national team at the world championship in Turkey, will take over Chong’s starting role in hopes of bringing more defense to the team at the start.
The odds for a nice comeback seem to be in UConn’s favor: The Huskies have gone 21 seasons and 773 games since losing back-to-back contests.
Creighton, in its second year in the Big East, opened its home schedule with a 64-56 victory over Utah on Thursday in Omaha, Neb.
Junior Marissa Janning, the reigning Big East player of the year, led the Bluejays with 15 points. Senior Alexis Akin-Otiko added 14 points. But perhaps the most impressive thing was that Creighton had just two turnovers, one in each half.
“When I think of Creighton, the first thing I think of is [Janning],” said Natalie Butler, the UConn center who is sitting out this season after transferring from Georgetown, where she was Big East freshman of the year last season. “She’s a great offensive player, one who can penetrate very well and is a great shooter.”
Janning averaged 17.6 points last season, 19.9 against Big East teams.
“She is a very creative player,” said Seton Hall coach Tony Bozzella, against whom the Bluejays open conference play on Dec. 3. “She has excellent three-point range [11 of 16 this season, 35.1 percent last season] and is a very good leader. She takes whatever the defense gives her.”
Tuesday’s win followed a big road triumph Tuesday. With 28 points coming off the bench, Creighton ended South Dakota State’s 22-game home winning streak with an 88-81 win. The Bluejays never trailed.
