The 1995 Huskies were 33-0 heading to their second Final Four in 5 years. And en route to Minneapolis, they never had to leave Storrs. The team they faced in the 2nd National Semi-Final was Stanford and Head Coach Tara vanDerveer. Who was sick and tired of hearing about UConn and the potential talk of a UConn-Tennessee Rematch in the title game by stating it'll be the Cardinal playing and not the Huskies....
Well the UConn front line of Senior All American Rebecca Lobo, Junior Jamelle Elliott and Sophomore All American Kara Wolters thought otherwise. As they just dominated the Cardinal in every phase. The Huskies jumped out 14-4 lead making six of their first eight shots, Wolters 4 for 4 and 8 points...Slowly the trio stretched the lead and as they did their thing, the Cardinal offense was non existent for the last seven minutes as Stanford scored one point while the Huskies took a 44-20 lead into the locker room. Assisting on 15 of 17 filed goals and shooting 55% with a steady dose of Wolters, who led the way with 15. The Cardinal 20 point first at the time equaled the Final Four low for points in a half (Note: UConn 2010 - 12 is the low, and they won the title)
And the onslaught continued in the second half...where the Huskies took advantage of 31 Cardinal fouls by making 34 of 46 free throws. The rebound margin was 50-43 and UConn assisted on 21 of the 25 field goals made in the 87-60 rout. Wolters a career high 31 with nine rebounds and 2 blocks, Elliott 21p-6r and Lobo added 17 & 9....The 27 point margin was the largest margin of victory in Final Four history...and apparently the Huskies gained more respect as a National threat in beating a two time Champion in Stanford.
Wolters transformation in Storrs is an amazing story. Overweight and not really recruited, Geno Auriemma took a chance on her...She didn't disappoint by losing 60 lbs and working hard to become the great player she became. By her senior year, she was the 1997 National Player of the Year...But on April 1, 1995, it wasn't a joke she dominated the Cardinal in Minneapolis.