Connecticut Captures Big East Women's Title HARTFORD - Although XL Center was filled with thousands of loyal fans, the Connecticut women wore their road blue jerseys and were assigned to the visitors" bench Tuesday for the Big East Conference tournament championship game, another reminder that this season has not been so smooth. Notre Dame had earned the No. 1 seed, in part, because it had beaten the Huskies twice, including eight days earlier here. But UConn played with the resolve of UConn teams of old, defeating the Fighting Irish, 63-54, for another championship. "They're a little bit more grown up now than they were a week ago," Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma said after collecting the 800th victory of his 27-year coaching career. The Huskies (29-4), seeded third and ranked No. 4 in both national polls, reclaimed the lead midway through the second half from the Irish (30-3), ranked No. 3 nationally, and played ferocious defense down the stretch. The Fighting Irish, hoping to win their first Big East tournament championship, made only 8 of 29 shots in the second half. Skylar Diggins scored 16 points for Notre Dame, but she needed 19 shots to get them. Notre Dame's 54 points were a season low. "We just knew that we were better than we had played in the last couple of games," the UConn senior guard Tiffany Hayes said. After Hayes tore down an offensive rebound with four minutes left and had the presence of mind to call a timeout while on her back, she was immediately swarmed by her teammates, who slapped her on the back for making what coaches like to call hustle plays. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, a freshman guard from Anaheim Hills, Calif., came off the bench to lead Connecticut with 19 points, and she became the first UConn freshman since Diana Taurasi in 2001 to be named as the tournament's most outstanding player. "I think we just wanted it," Mosqueda-Lewis said. Connecticut has played Notre Dame for the conference championship six times, and has won all six. But this victory seemed especially sweet for Auriemma and his players because they struggled this season. They mobbed one another after the final buzzer, gleefully hopping around. Bria Hartley, UConn's polished sophomore guard from North Babylon, N.Y., helped Connecticut regain its traction midway through the second half after Notre Dame built a small lead. With the score tied, 37-37, Hartley pounded in a layup with 13 minutes 30 seconds left. Hartley scored again with 12:15 left and immediately stole the ball on Notre Dame's next possession, cruising in for a layup that delighted the crowd and stretched the Huskies" lead to 43-37. "I thought we'd be better in the second half, and we just didn't shoot it well," Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw said. Hartley made a jumper after abruptly changing directions to boost the Huskies" lead to 52-45 with 6:07 to play. Kelly Faris, who scored only 8 points, dropped in a 3-pointer seconds before the shot clock expired to boost UConn's lead to 55-46. "They knew our offense and were just keeping us out of it," Kayla McBride said. After the celebration, Auriemma began a news conference by exclaiming, "Whew." UConn had won its 18th Big East tournament title and its 5th in a row by ending a three-game losing streak against Notre Dame. Auriemma also needed only 928 games to reach 800 victories, 29 fewer than his rival, Tennessee's Pat Summitt. And, finally, his team had found its game. "The intangible stuff that came out this weekend were even more important," Auriemma said.