1995 National Championship Game

[bags27]

Well, I'm going to give this a shot in hopes of staying with basketball over the next 10-11 days:
see the thread below for details
Here's something (maybe) cool to do between now and March 18/19

so, rewatching for the first time in years, the 1st NC:
http://uconnhuskygames.com/wbb-4219...ncaa-womens-tournament-national-championship/

some notes to start a potential conversation:
how young is Geno? so modest and nervous in pre-game interview

pay attention to the pre-game interview with the referee, how committed she is to letting the players play. Ha! Ha!

the main themes of the game:

• refereeing really sucked, esp. 1st half
  
• both teams exhausted because they played the night before and this was an entirely ask no, give no quarter
  
• it's a great, great game. if you haven't seen it in some time, do yourself a favor and watch it.

our starting line-up
jamelle elliot
rebecca lobo
kara wolters
jen rizzotti
pam webber
our whole team: Co-Captain Rebecca Lobo, Co-Captain Pam Webber, Jill Gelfenbien, Kim Better, Jamelle Elliott, Jennifer Rizzotti, Carla Berube, Sarah Northway, Missy Rose, Kara Wolters, Kelley Hunt, Brenda Marquis, Nykesha Sales.

how tough is Jen Rizzotti?
Tenn really owning the offensive boards early
Lobo with that early 3rd foul. wow.

Interesting that Lobo and Wolters played so many minutes the day before against Stanford even though UConn won easily. Today's Geno likes to play his stars in close games, but has learned to rest them otherwise.

both teams really packed in tight on D.
6:00 left in the first and UConn looks like toast: down 3 and so much foul trouble--and it will only get worse....

how important is Nykesha, off the bench, keeping UConn close in the 1st half? Down by 6 at half with so much foul trouble. WE ARE GOING TO LOSE!!

And then there's Jen's immortal fast break...

 

[Plebe]

Wow! I have never seen this game—only highlights. Thank you for linking to this.

I've only watched the preliminary stuff so far, but wow, I don't know if I've seen a more bizarre pregame interview than the one with Pat and Geno sitting so uncomfortably, side by side on a small bench next to the interviewer.

I never knew that Sheryl Swoopes had ever made a foray into broadcasting. I can see why she didn't stay there.

 

[warbler1055]

OMG!!! So much memories, so young!!! Thank you bags27!!!

 

[CBear01]

I also have only seen highlights so thanks for an extra push to watch this classic!

Around the 41 min or so mark you hear the announcer talk about the men's 95 championship and how UCLA is playing and they have the most basketball championships of all time. I was taken back when I realized this was said a mere 20 years ago, before we had even ONE championship...and it's just so serendipitous that as I watch I know with a win this year our huskies can now own that record =D

 

[bags27]

I also have only seen highlights so thanks for an extra push to watch this classic!

Around the 41 min or so mark you hear the announcer talk about the men's 95 championship and how UCLA is playing and they have the most basketball championships of all time. I was taken back when I realized this was said a mere 20 years ago, before we had even ONE championship...and it's just so serendipitous that as I watch I know with a win this year our huskies can now own that record =D

Great catch. At the end, I think it's local CT TV attached to this film, where some announcer says how great this is even if UConn never wins another championship....
Yeah, sure!

 

[CBear01]

At least one announcer got it right....

A few minutes after winning the championship they announce Rizzotti (and Davis for TN) player of the game and he states "As long as they are talking UCONN basketball they will be talking about Rizzotti's driving layup to the basket"

Unforgettable play in our history of Champions

 

[Sonny44]

My only regret as a fan is that we never get treated to that kind of game and finish anymore. Probably next year though.

 

[noirwestern]

People who complain about today's officiating should watch games from the days of two officials. Man. I had forgotten just how poorly this game, a title game, was officiated.

 

[Plebe]

People who complain about today's officiating should watch games from the days of two officials. Man. I had forgotten just how poorly this game, a title game, was officiated.

I was shocked to see it officiated by only TWO refs. Ann Meyers called it "a joke".

 

[ballhawk]

Thanks for the replay. What a gritty game. Jen and Jamelle were warriors.

 

[jimazee]

It seems like only yesterday...and yet so long ago and far away.

Thanks for the refresher course.

 

[Blueconn]

Watching this game is much more enjoyable when one takes the time to also watch the MLK epic and then finishes by seeing SNY's Birth of a Dynasty. This trifecta should be mandatory viewing for younger fans. For geezers it recaptures the magic that came to the fore that January...a magic that has lasted for 21 years !

I remember feeling pretty desperate in the fist half when Rebecca got her third foul and was benched. And then Jen got in foul trouble and also had to sit. Our marquee players gone. The next minutes were when I got educated about the coaching skills of Geno and CD. Concern but no panic. The group that held the fort until half-time were prepared to meet the challenge because collectively and individually they were products of the "we don't practice til we get it right, we practice til we can't get it wrong" culture that was and is the hallmark of the program.

Each time I watch the '95 games I see, learn, and remember something other than how Rizzotti's layup had my wife and I bellowing triumphantly in unison.

The cool and solid play of Pam Webber and Carla Berube. Was the Pride of the Valley, then a grade-schooler, watching at home ?

And what about the heroic ferocity of ultimate board warrior Jamelle, who simply refused to lose. Was young Tournament Shea watching the game down in Tar Heel Land ?

Or how number 50 came back on stage in the second half and for a critical stretch carried the team on her back. Dee must have been watching in Chino and must have remembered 8-9 years later.

 

[Beemer]

Jen Rizzotti's layup made her immortal.

She faked Michelle Marciniak right out of her shoes.

It was beautiful.

 

[Beemer]

Thanks for the replay. What a gritty game. Jen and Jamelle were warriors.

I always loved Jamelle Elliott. I have always said that if I was a basketball player I would be her. No nonsense, hard nosed and doing the necessary dirty work to help her team win.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Watching this game is much more enjoyable when one takes the time to also watch the MLK epic and then finishes by seeing SNY's Birth of a Dynasty. This trifecta should be mandatory viewing for younger fans. For geezers it recaptures the magic that came to the fore that January...a magic that has lasted for 21 years !

I remember feeling pretty desperate in the fist half when Rebecca got her third foul and was benched. And then Jen got in foul trouble and also had to sit. Our marquee players gone. The next minutes were when I got educated about the coaching skills of Geno and CD. Concern but no panic. The group that held the fort until half-time were prepared to meet the challenge because collectively and individually they were products of the "we don't practice til we get it right, we practice til we can't get it wrong" culture that was and is the hallmark of the program.

Each time I watch the '95 games I see, learn, and remember something other than how Rizzotti's layup had my wife and I bellowing triumphantly in unison.

The cool and solid play of Pam Webber and Carla Berube. Was the Pride of the Valley, then a grade-schooler, watching at home ?

And what about the heroic ferocity of ultimate board warrior Jamelle, who simply refused to lose. Was young Tournament Shea watching the game down in Tar Heel Land ?

Or how number 50 came back on stage in the second half and for a critical stretch carried the team on her back. Dee must have been watching in Chino and must have remembered 8-9 years later.

Blueconn: I've never heard of the Pride of the Valley. To whom does that refer?

 

[Blueconn]

Blueconn: I've never heard of the Pride of the Valley. To whom does that refer?

Maria Conlon, native Nutmegger from Derby in the lower Naugatuck River valley. High school star at nearby Seymour High. Capable and dependable guard with a penchant for knocking down 3-pointers. Rarely committed turnovers in big games.

Believe I'm correct in recalling Geno saying of Maria : "She may be short, but she's slow." Think that's more or less accurate. But he loved her smarts and dependability.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Maria Conlon, native Nutmegger from Derby in the lower Naugatuck River valley. High school star at nearby Seymour High. Capable and dependable guard with a penchant for knocking down 3-pointers. Rarely committed turnovers in big games.

Believe I'm correct in recalling Geno saying of Maria : "She may be short, but she's slow." Think that's more or less accurate. But he loved her smarts and dependability.

Thanks. She was definitely someone to be proud of.