Neither Connecticut nor Louisiana Tech resemble the teams they were the last time they played.
On Jan. 7, UConn went to Ruston, La., and brought home a convincing 71-55 victory. The Huskies had their two senior All-Americans on the court for more than half the game.
Svetlana Abrosimova played 27 minutes and had 12 points, and seven rebounds, and Shea Ralph played 29 minutes and had five points, five rebounds and four assists.
When the No. 1 seeded Huskies face off against No. 3 Louisiana Tech tonight (7, ESPN) in the NCAA East Region final at Mellon Arena, Abrosimova and Ralph will be on the bench with season-ending injuries..
It will change the look of the team the Lady Techsters remember playing in January. But it may not change the outcome.
"Obviously, Connecticut is the defending national champions and they will be until someone knocks them off," Louisiana Tech junior Brooke Lassiter said. "When we played them back in January, we were pretty tired. We used a lot of energy and emotion. I don't think anyone could look at that effort and fault it."
The reason why the Lady Techsters (31-4) were so tired is because three of their starters -- Lassiter, junior guard Essence Perry and junior forward Ayana Walker -- played the entire 40 minutes.
The Lady Techsters got to the foul line 30 times and sank 19 free throws to stay close, but they essentially lost the game in the low post.
The Huskies outrebounded the Lady Techsters 53-30 and got 56 of their 71 points from their post players. Junior forward Swin Cash led UConn with 19 points and 14 rebounds in that game.
"We learned a lot from that game," Walker said. "We're not scared. We got better on defense."
The Lady Techsters have not lost a game since losing to the Huskies. They have won 20 straight, including their ninth straight regular-season Sun Belt Conference title and sixth straight Sun Belt tournament title.
Louisiana Tech is making its 16th appearance in a regional final with a chance to reach its 14th Final Four. However, coach Leon Barmore is staying grounded.
"It's no secret what we're playing," Barmore said. "We're playing the defending national champions, we're playing the No. 1 seed, we're playing 95 percent of their fans in their own backyard. I'd walk around cocky too if I had all that."
While the Lady Techsters are playing their best basketball, so are the Huskies. In spite of the losses of Ralph and Abrosimova, the Huskies have won 14 straight games, including their eighth straight Big East regular season and tournament titles.
They are making their seventh Elite Eight appearance in the past eight years in hopes of reaching their fifth Final Four.
The Huskies are focused, they are determined and they are on a mission to prove they are still the No. 1 team in the nation, even with their top two players on the bench.
The post players, in particular, are on a mission.
The inside play of Cash (11 points, 11 rebounds), Asjha Jones, Tamika Williams and Kelly Schumacher in the Sweet 16 game was not up to the Huskies' standards. They believe they can do better and they want to prove it.
"You have to play at the highest level because the teams that are left are great teams," Cash said. "Louisiana Tech is a very physical team inside. The regular-season game is just a measuring stick for what comes down the road. Every team gets better. What we have to do is just worry about ourselves."
UConn coach Geno Auriemma is worried. His concern is that the Huskies give a better performance than they did against N.C. State.
In the second half Saturday, five players battled foul trouble and were limited in their ability to play defense. It's a situation UConn must avoid against Louisiana Tech.
"Walker and Lewis are huge inside," Auriemma said. "I think we have to play as a team inside and we didn't do that (Saturday). There are a lot of things that we did in the low post that if we do them (today), we're going to get killed. We have to give those (players) a little bit of help because Louisiana tech is just too good."
