By John Altavilla, Hartford Courant
NASHVILLE – While Notre Dame and UConn rolled to the Final Four over the last two weekends, Stanford’s perspective of the situation shifted.
Stanford kids are smart. They knew a national championship game between the Huskies and Irish was widely anticipated. It would not only be a rematch of former Big East rivals but the first title game between unbeatens in the history of the sport.
The Cardinal slowly went from simple consumer of news to a team that didn’t want to be consumed to make it.
“If we’re going to be someone’s hors d’oeuvres, we’re not going to get swallowed easily,” Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said on Saturday.
But what are you going to do in a world where the food chain is so clearly defined? As badly as the Cardinal tried to avoid it, as hard they worked to steer clear of it, UConn gobbled them up, 75-56, in second national semifinal game at the Bridgestone Arena.
And now, here we go: UConn (39-0) and Notre Dame (37-0), the closest thing this sport has to cold war make appointment television when they play for the national championship on Tuesday on ESPN.
Breanna Stewart, the Associated Press player of the year, led the Huskies with 18 points. Bria Hartley added 13 in a game the Huskies trailed for more than 13 minutes in the first half.