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Sunday, Dec. 5 1:00pm ET
Huskies hold off Penn State | |||||
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma feels a little better about life without Tamika Williams.
Auriemma was eager to see which player would fill the role of the Huskies' super sub, and Kelly Schumacher did the job Sunday as No. 1 Connecticut beat No. 14 Penn State 87-74 in the Honda Elite 4 Holiday Classic. Williams, UConn's 6-foot-2 forward, will be out 5-6 weeks after undergoing surgery on Thursday to have a screw inserted into her left foot to repair a stress fracture. Williams was getting 23.6 minutes a game as the team's first player off the bench, averaging 10.6 points and 5.8 rebounds. Schumacher showed she was up for the challenge, responding with 11 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes. "This was the best big game I've played," Schumacher said. "We all knew we had to step it up a little, especially the big guys." It was just the sort of performance Auriemma is hoping he can expect more of from the 6-foot-5 junior, who has been inconsistent during her career. "Everybody plays to their own personality type," Auriemma said. "Sometimes players talk themselves into being a certain way. Shu had to respond in a pressure situation. It's been hard for her to find what it is that gets her to play the way she played today. "We're just trying to get her to the point where she does what she did today every day. The secret is how do you do that? She's given us flashes where, boy, Shuey can be really, really something special. Then, for whatever reason, it gets away from her." Schumacher has the confidence of teammates who feel she can repeat Sunday's performance. "I know Shu has it inside of her," Shea Ralph said. "We've been waiting for it to come out. She had a couple of really great practices and you saw how well she can play in the game." Ralph was one of five players to score in double figures with 17 points, as Connecticut never trailed against Penn State. Penn State got within three points in the first half but never threatened Connecticut's lead again. The Huskies led by no fewer than 13 points in the second half and by as many as 23. Connecticut shot 54.0 percent in the game as Svetlana Abrosimova also had 17 points, and Swin Cash and Sue Bird had 13 point each. Penn State shot 42.4 percent for the game and was led by Andrea Garner with 22 points and eight rebounds. Maren Walseth added 20 and Lisa Shepherd scored 10. But Connecticut held a 40-28 rebounding edge, which Nittany Lions coach Rene Portland said made the difference. "Certainly the things that we didn't take care of were our rebounding situation," Portland said. "We did not do a good job on the boards which gave them transition buckets. I'm not sure (Connecticut) really scored a whole lot in their half-court offense because they didn't have to. They were busy running their full-court offense because we didn't get back on the boards." Connecticut opened up a 58-35 lead when Kennitra Johnson hit a layup with 13:56 remaining. Penn State then went on a 29-19 run to trail 77-64 with 3:53 left in the game. Bird answered with a 3-pointer to give Connecticut an 80-64 lead, putting an end to any Penn State comeback. | ALSO SEE Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
AUDIO/VIDEO   Shea Ralph gets the basket and the foul.avi: 625 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Swin Cash drives to the basket and scores.avi: 635 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||
