1st UConn Champ Survived Single-Figure Win at Stanford

If you look at our all-time women's rankings you will see this match-up looks closer than our spread and seedings showed. While the UConn 1995 team that started the dynasty with the school's first title featured two top 40 all-time players in Nykesha Sales and Nykesha Sales but Stanford counters with our #24 best college player of all-time in Nneka Ogwumike - whose incredible front court included her sister Chiney Ogwumike and the female star of the legendary Tinkle family in Joslyn Tinkle.

Every player on both courts scored in the double figures and this game was much closer than the spread we posted indicated, with Tinkle coming on strong down the stretch to cut it to 57-55 with 12 possessions to play, 73-69 with three possessions to play.

This Stanford team wsa one of hte heartbreaks of all time. This team was their 5th straight to make the Final 4 but they did not get a title until years later. They also capped a third straight undefeated Pac-12 season - 18-0 each year for a 54-0 conference mark.

The reason this team had dropped so far in our all-time rankings was just a stunning upset loss against the 1999 Colorado State team in our game. We adjust based on each score in our all-time games, with a formula similar to KenPom.

 

Pos	Connecticut 1995	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Ht	Points, Reb, Ast
1-PG	Jennifer Rizzotti	12	3	1	1	1	2	6	0	2	5'5	12.5P,2.8R,4.6A,pro
2-SG	Nykesha Sales	6	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	1	6'0	11.4P,4.6R,2.1A,pro
3-SF	Jamelle Elliott	13	1	4	2	2	6	0	0	2	6'0	10.9P,8.1R,2.8A
4-PF	Rebecca Lobo	17	0	8	1	2	7	0	2	2	6'4	17.1P,9.8R,3.7A,pro
5-C	Kara Wolters	16	0	8	0	0	4	0	3	3	6'7	15.2P,6.2R,1.2A,pro
Pos	Bench	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Ht	Points, Reb, Ast
1-PG	Pam Webber	2	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	1	5'6	4.6P,2.6R,4.1A
2-SG	Kim Better	6	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	1	5'7	4.8P,2.8R,1.5A
3-SF	Carla Berube	4	0	2	0	2	3	0	0	1	6'0	8.5P,4.8R,1.9A
4-PF	Kelley Hunt	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'2	2.2P,1.8R,0.4A
5-C	Brenda Marquis	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'3	2.6P,1.2R,0.1A
	Turnovers 15	80	4	32	4	7	31	7	5	15
Pos	Stanford 2012	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Ht	Points, Reb, Ast
1-PG	Toni Kokenis	10	1	2	3	3	2	3	0	1	5'11	9.5P,3.2R,3.6A
2-SG	Amber Orrange	5	1	1	0	0	3	2	0	1	5'7	4.8P,2.7R,3.0A
3-SF	Joslyn Tinkle	12	2	2	2	2	7	0	0	2	6'3	8.7P,5.4R,1.3A,pro
4-PF	Nneka Ogwumike	12	0	6	0	0	6	1	2	2	6'2	22.5P,10.2R,1.8A,pro
5-C	Chiney Ogwumike	16	0	7	2	2	8	0	0	1	6'4	15.0P,10.1R,1.4A,pro
Pos	Bench	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Ht	Points, Reb, Ast
1-PG	Lindy La Rocque	5	1	1	0	0	3	0	0	1	5'8	3.6P,1.1R,2.3A
2-SG	Jasmine Camp	2	0	1	0	0	2	0	2	1	5'7	3.6P,2.0R,2.1A
3-SF	Bonnie Samuelson	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'3	4.6P,1.2R,0.4A
4-PF	Taylor Greenfield	5	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	6'3	3.6P,1.9R,1.3A
5-C	Sarah Boothe	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'5	3.0P,1.8R,0.7A
	Turnovers 16	71	6	23	7	7	35	6	4	12

Here is the scoresheet with the running score to show you how close it was throughout.