Pepperdine Hit by a Title Wave

Is it reasonable to compare Connecticut to the greatest teams in women’s college basketball after only two games?

It sure looked like it Tuesday night at Malibu, where the Huskies defeated the Waves, 98-63, before 2,437 in a game No. 1-ranked Connecticut could have seemingly scored 120 points.

And Pepperdine is no pushover. The Waves have nine players returning from a 21-10 team that made the NCAA tournament.

Pepperdine Coach Mark Trakh is convinced.

“That’s the best team in the history of women’s college basketball,” he said.

Here’s some bad news for the Tennessees, the Georgias and the Louisiana Techs of the women’s game:

Remember how Connecticut dominated Tennessee in last season’s national championship game at Philadelphia?

This Connecticut team looks better.

The Huskies not only have their first eight scorers returning from last season’s 36-1 team, they have added a freshman from Don Lugo High named Diana Taurasi, who made several flashy passes.

Taurasi is a 6-foot guard who adds another dimension to a team that was already stocked with talent.

In the final two minutes of the first half, she made four passes from the high post that would normally get more cheers than the basket, only in this case there were no baskets.

That’s right--so surprising were her passes that her startled teammates fumbled to gain control, missing four layups.

“Diana is that special kind of player who sees things happen on the court before they develop,” Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma said.

“She’s a great passer and as good a scorer as we’ve ever had come into our program, even though she didn’t show that tonight [no points in 20 minutes] because she was pressing a bit.”

Here are some more reasons why Connecticut is favored to repeat its title feat:

* In Sue Bird and Shea Ralph, Connecticut has the best backcourt in the country. And it looks as if the Auriemma can keep them fresh by shuttling Taurasi in and out of the lineup.

* A major difference in the men’s and women’s games is the speed with which men can get the ball up the court. It will always be that way, but the Connecticut women come closer to matching the speed of men than anybody.

* One of the fastest Huskies is 6-2 Svetlana Abrosimova. Two years ago in Pauley Pavilion, she had 20 points in the first nine minutes of a 113-102 Connecticut victory. She sat out the rest of that half because of foul trouble but finished with 39 points. Tuesday, she had a game-high 16.

* Chemistry. This team is bonded. Bird and Ralph have referred to slights by older teammates when they were freshmen and say they’ve gone out of their way to make Taurasi and the team’s three other freshmen feel welcome.

* Defense. The perimeter defense of Ralph and Bird was a Husky trademark last year. Tuesday, they helped force 31 Pepperdine turnovers. Taurasi isn’t yet at that level defensively, but Auriemma says she will be.

* Depth. With 5:30 left against Pepperdine and Connecticut ahead, 86-51, all starters were seated--yet the Huskies had five high school All-Americans on the floor. Auriemma played seven players at least 14 minutes.

And the Huskies were without Kelly Schumacher, the 6-5 starting senior center. She is sidelined another week because of a stress fracture in a foot.

In the NCAA title game, she had nine blocked shots and shut down Tennessee center Michelle Snow.