Best season in Oklahoma history ends as national runner-up

SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ Sherri Coale winked at Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma as time ran out in the NCAA championship game. <br><br>The Sooners wanted to be close to the Huskies late in Sunday's title

Monday, April 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ Sherri Coale winked at Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma as time ran out in the NCAA championship game.

The Sooners wanted to be close to the Huskies late in Sunday's title game, and the Oklahoma coach knew her team had accomplished its goal.

The Sooners closed within six points with just over two minutes left, but weren't able to prevent Connecticut from claiming its third national championship and completing an undefeated season, as the Huskies prevailed 82-70.

``I'm happy for Geno,'' said Coale, who befriended the Huskies' coach when he recruited a member of her high school team. ``It's an unbelievable, amazing accomplishment to go undefeated, not just once but twice in your career.

``But I'll tell you what: I think we scared them.''

Oklahoma (32-4) capped the finest season in school and Big 12 Conference history by making Connecticut work for its 39th straight win.

The Huskies dominated nearly ever opponent this season. Virginia Tech came the closest to an upset, losing to UConn by just nine points on Jan. 29.

The Huskies beat Old Dominion, Tennessee and Oklahoma by 14 points, and advanced to the title game after defeating the Lady Vols by 23 points in the semifinals Friday night.

``I never thought the game was over until the buzzer went off. I know those Oklahoma kids, and I know they never give up,'' Auriemma said. ``We had a couple of chances to put the game away, and when we didn't I knew they were coming back.''

Oklahoma's first appearance in the championship game was a memorable one. The Sooners trailed by as many as 16 points, but closed within 10 with 8:32 left.

LaNeisha Caufield made two free throws with 3:24 left, cutting the deficit to 71-65, and All-American Stacey Dales got the Sooners within six with 2:16 remaining.

Diana Taurasi completed a three-point play after Dales committed her fifth foul, and Sue Bird made six free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

The Sooners' strategy of driving aggressively to the basket backfired when they missed layups and easy putbacks.

The Sooners defended Connecticut well on the perimeter, but couldn't take away the Huskies' inside game.

Connecticut had 30 defensive rebounds and outrebounded Oklahoma 44-25.

While the matchup between guards Dales, Caufield and Rosalind Ross of Oklahoma, and Bird and Taurasi of UConn received plenty of pregame hype, the frontcourt was the difference.

The Sooners' forwards, 6-foot-1 Caton Hill and 6-2 Jamie Talbert failed to match up against Connecticut's 6-2 threesome of Asjha Jones, Swin Cash and Tamika Williams.

``We are undersized, and they start three posts,'' Hill said. ``Swin is an agile post. Neither Jamie nor I are true posts at all. So we don't match up well with that. But I think we played with them there until the end. We just couldn't capitalize on opportunities we had.''

The Sooners' perimeter defense held Connecticut to 0-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. Oklahoma converted 21 UConn turnovers into 23 points.

``We played with them this whole game,'' Hill said. ``We just couldn't get past that six-point barrier.''

Despite the loss, the Oklahoma program has come a long way.

Coale, hired in 1996, was 5-22 her first season. In two seasons, the program was above .500.

The Sooners won the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships this year for the first time in school history.

Coale and her players cried after the championship game. The tears were not for a loss in the national title game, instead they were for the seniors who helped reinvigorate the program.

``I'm upset that I'm going to have to leave these guys and (Coale) because she's taught me a lot about basketball and more about life,'' Dales said.