Young Red Storm No Match For UConn

Thursday, 13 January 2011 11:57

By Geri Falzon

With a difficult start to the BIG EAST season, the Red Storm lost to the No. 2 Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden following earlier losses to Louisville and DePaul as the team now searches for answers to get back to their winning ways.

“Our players had a false sense of security,” said head coach Kim Barnes Arico. “We had a great group coming back and we started really strong in the non-league, and I think they got a little comfortable.”

The Storm was out-matched in their 84-52 loss to the reigning NCAA Champions. Senior Maya Moore and Tiffany Hayes each scored 21 points in a balanced attack with Samarie Walker and Kelly Faris both scoring in double figures coming off the bench.

“They are a GREAT basketball team and we obviously didn’t do a good job of playing a good game against them,” said Arico. “We really struggled and they did a terrific job.”

At one point in the first half, the Huskies led by 34 points as the Red Storm could not get its game into gear. UConn shot 64.3% from the field in the first half and finished the game at 57.1%.

The Storm could not get their all-important transition game going as they were held scoreless in fast break points.

“We couldn’t get anything going in transition,” remarked forward Da’Shena Stevens. “That’s how we play and when we aren’t getting easy baskets it’s harder for us to get momentum.”

The Storm also struggled on the boards. The Huskies took total command out-rebounding St. John’s 41-18.

“They play extremely physical on the glass,” said Arico

The young Storm (12-5, 1-3 BIG EAST), have not exactly had the schedule on their side this season. Three of the their five losses have come from the hands of teams ranked in the Top 15 in the country, however they have seemingly lost their confidence and need to find it again real soon as they get deeper into conference play.

“We have played some tough teams and the schedule has not been in our favor,” said Arico. “But I hope we are able to mentally stay strong.”

St. John’s has dropped out of the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time this season and now need to work hard to turn things around.

“We need to get back to where we were and start running on teams.” said Stevens. “We’ve lost a little confidence but we have a lot more games and we can only get better from here.”