The 2008-09 Division I women’s basketball season wasn’t as much about whether Connecticut had the best team but whether anyone could truly give the Huskies a competitive contest.

Some teams had their moments against 39-0 Connecticut, such as Louisville in the first 10 minutes of the national championship game on Tuesday night, but in the end the Huskies had an answer for everybody. They capped their perfect run with a 76-54 victory over Louisville, marking the third time the Huskies have complete an undefeated run to a national title. It was also the program’s sixth NCAA championship.

“Ever since the 1995 team went 35-0 at Connecticut, every team after that was compared to that team, and the other teams couldn’t handle it,” said Huskies coach Geno Auriemma, who has led the program to all of its national titles. “They didn't want to handle it. After the 2002 team went undefeated, every team was compared to that team. And now this year, after these guys ran off a bunch of wins, they had to live with the whole aura of going undefeated and winning a national championship at Connecticut.”

The pressure wasn’t too much for this edition of the Huskies as they won all of their games by double digits.

Tina Charles, the tournament’s most outstanding player, scored 25 points and grabbed 19 rebounds against Louisville (34-5). She was benched by Auriemma in last year’s tournament for inconsistent play and bounced back with an all-American performance this season.

“I was always convinced ever since I went to Connecticut that I have the potential to become the best center in the country, if I wanted to be,” Charles said. “I just needed the players around me to help me, which they always do every time I was in practice. And I had coach in my ear, just pushing me all the time.”

Maya Moore and Renee Montgomery added 18 points apiece for Connecticut.

“I just couldn’t stop crying at certain points, because I was so happy to have won with every single one of my teammates,” Moore said. “This year we just sacrificed and put each other first and genuinely cared about each other.”

Louisville went toe-to-toe with Connecticut in the opening minutes. Angel McCoughtry led the offense, and the Cardinals used a half-court trapping defense to disrupt the Huskies.

Connecticut remained poised and eventually took a 39-25 lead into the break.

McCoughtry, who led Louisville with 23 points, and her teammates never threatened to win the game over the last 20 minutes.

“We had the tempo of the game going the way we wanted it,” said Louisville coach Jeff Walz. “Unfortunately, we missed some shots we normally make. Tina Charles did an outstanding job of intimidating us. I thought she made us alter a lot of shots that we really didn’t need to alter.”

Since Auriemma has coached three undefeated teams, he was asked to compare the 1995 and 2002 teams to this year’s squad.

“All three teams in and of themselves are separate, but they all had that one quality that they were really tight together and loved each other for the most part,” Auriemma said. “They were easy to coach, really easy to coach.”

Semifinals

Louisville 61, Oklahoma 59

Louisville – Candyce Bingham 5-13, 4-8, 4, 14; Angel McCoughtry 6-17, 6-6, 11, 18; Gwen Rucker 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Tiera Stephen 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Deseree Byrd 3-11, 0-0, 4, 7; Becky Burke 2-6, 3-3, 2, 9; Janae Howard 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Monique Reid 2-6, 0-0, 2, 4; Keshia Hines 4-7, 1-4, 10, 9. Totals: 22-61, 14-21, 39, 61.

Oklahoma – Nyeshia Stevenson 4-15, 1-4, 3, 10; Ashley Paris 6-12, 2-4, 8, 14; Courtney Paris 6-10, 4-5, 16, 16; Danielle Robinson 1-3, 4-5, 5, 10; Whitney Hand 3-11, 2-2, 5, 11; Abi Olajuwon 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Carlee Roethlisberger 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Amanda Thompson 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Jenny Vining 0-4, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 21-59, 13-20, 48, 59.

Halftime: Oklahoma 34, Louisville 22. Three-point field goals: Louisville 3-13 (Burke 2-6, Byrd 1-2, Rucker 0-1, Bingham 0-1, McCoughtry 0-3); Oklahoma 4-21 (Hand 3-8, Stevenson 1-8, Roethlisberger 0-1, Vining 0-4). Officials: Tina Napier, Lisa Jones, Cameron Inouye. Attendance: 18,621.

Connecticut 83, Stanford 64

Stanford – Kayla Pedersen 4-10, 1-1, 6, 10; Nnemkadi Ogwumike 6-10, 1-2, 12, 13; Jayne Appel 10-19, 6-12, 7, 26; Jeanette Pohlen 2-10, 0-0, 7, 4; Jillian Harmon 1-5, 0-2, 2, 2; Melanie Murphy 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Michelle Harrison 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Lindy La Rocque 1-1, 0-0, 0, 3; Rosalyn Gold-Onwude 2-6, 0-1, 2, 6; Ashley Cimino 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Sarah Boothe 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 26-62, 8-18, 39, 64.

Connecticut – Maya Moore 7-15, 8-9, 8, 24; Tina Charles 3-6, 2-2, 12, 8; Tiffany Hayes 4-7, 0-2, 2, 11; Renee Montgomery 11-22, 1-2, 2, 26; Kalana Green 5-9, 0-0, 5, 10; Tahirah Williams 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jacquie Fernandes 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Meghan Gardler 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Lorin Dixon 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Kaili McLaren 1-2, 2-2, 4, 4; Cassie Kerns 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 31-63, 13-17, 38, 83.

Halftime: Connecticut 37, Stanford 24. Three-point field goals: Stanford 4-11 (Gold-Onwude 2-2, La Rocque 1-1, Pedersen 1-3, Pohlen 0-5); Connecticut 8-21 (Hayes 3-5, Montgomery 3-8, Moore 2-8). Officials: Eric Brewton, Melissa Barlow, Felicia Grinter. Attendance: 18,621.  

Championship game

Connecticut 76, Louisville 54

Louisville – Candyce Bingham 4-14, 2-2, 11, 10; Angel McCoughtry 9-24, 3-4, 6, 23, Gwen Rucker 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2; Tiera Stephen 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Deseree Byrd 1-10, 0-0, 5, 2; Becky Burke 2-4, 0-0, 3, 5; Janae Howard 1-2, 0-0, 0, 3; Mary Jackson 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Laura Terry 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Monique Reid 2-9, 3-4, 3, 7; Keshia Hines 1-3, 0-0, 3, 2. Totals: 21-68, 8-10, 38, 54.

Connecticut – Maya Moore 7-18, 3-4, 9, 18; Tina Charles 11-13, 3-3, 19, 25; Tiffany Hayes 2-4, 0-0, 1, 5; Renee Montgomery 5-14, 6-10, 3, 18; Kalana Greene 4-7, 1-1, 5, 9; Tahirah Williams 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Jacquie Fernandes 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Meghan Gardler 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Lorin Dixon 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Kaili McLaren 0-1, 1-2, 1, 1; Cassie Kerns 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 29-58, 14-20, 43, 76.

Halftime: Connecticut 39, Louisville 25. Three-point field goals: Louisville 4-11 (McCoughtry 2-4, Howard 1-2, Burke 1-3, Bingham 0-2); Connecticut 4-14 (Montgomery 2-7, Hayes 1-2, Moore 1-4, Dixon 0-1). Officials: Lisa Mattingly, Dee Kantner, Clarke Stevens. Attendance: 18,478.