They'll bounce back

Despite loss, future bright for Huskies

Coach Geno Auriemma's expression told the story Sunday night as his Huskies fell to Stanford. (Doug Benc/Getty Images)

TAMPA, Fla. - About an hour after Connecticut's remarkable season - "a fairy tale," in the words of coach Geno Auriemma - had come to a crashing, unexpected halt, a university official who shall go nameless (for obvious reasons) offered up the following: "A bad night for the Huskies. But a good night for women's college basketball."

The official was correct. It was both. Every once in a while, it's healthy for the sport to see the Goliaths get their comeuppance, as Stanford showed in dismissing UConn from the NCAA Tournament. Or, as in 2005, to see Michigan State rally from a double-digit deficit in the second half and stun Tennessee, the Hatfield in women's hoops to UConn's McCoy.

We'll still see Tennessee in tonight's final, thanks mainly to ridiculously poor free-throw shooting by LSU and a defensive breakdown on the final play by the best defensive team in the country. UConn packed its bags soon after making the Final Four for the first time since 2004.

It is now four years running and no championships in Storrs. Hey, Pat Summitt made seven trips to the Final Four before she cut down her first net for Tennessee. She went nine long years between titles (1998 to 2007). Tara VanDerveer, the coach at Stanford, won titles in 1990 and 1992 but hadn't even graced a Final Four in 11 years until this season.

So while four years is a long time for the impossibly high expectations that UConn has, there's every indication that Auriemma won't have to wait much longer to add a sixth national title to his résumé. That's what happens when you convince the prep Player of the Year for three straight seasons to come to Storrs and add a few McDonald's All-Americans along the way.

"Somebody asked me, 'What are you going to tell your players?' " Auriemma said after Sunday night's 82-73 loss to Stanford. "I'm going to tell them we'll be back here next year, you can count on that. Then you sit here and it hits you that it's 365 days from now. That's a lot of practices. That's a lot of drills. That's a lot of drills. That's a lot of injuries."

With all due respect, Geno, that's a lot of @*%&$#.

Four seniors are gone, but only two of them, Ketia Swanier and Charde Houston, were close to reliable contributors at the end of the season. Brittany Hunter was too hurt to give UConn more than 12 minutes a game (she did not score against Stanford), and Mel Thomas was injured.

Auriemma will have three starters back, including All-Everything Maya Moore, who, lest we forget, has three more seasons of eligibility. Diana Taurasi didn't win a title in her freshman year, either. But she won the next three.

Auriemma also has 2006 High School Player of the Year Tina Charles for two more years. Sparkplug guard Renee Montgomery, whose shooting touch deserted her against Stanford, has one more year remaining, as does Kalana Greene, one of two starters lost to injury during the season. The other underclassmen didn't play much.

And then there's the incoming freshman class, led by the outrageously talented Elena Della Donne, a 6-foot-4-inch phenom from Wilmington, Del., and the consensus Player of the Year. Auriemma said she's the best prep player in the country skillwise.

"I don't think there is anyone in the country who can do what she does at her size," he said.

There's Floridian Tiffany Hayes, who Auriemma called "the best 2-guard in the country. She's as good a player as I've seen at that position in a long time."

Of the four main recruits, three are ranked in the top 11 by the recruiting website hoopgurlz.com. (Tennessee has three of the top eight and four of the top 15, which it might need, considering Summitt is losing Candace Parker, Alexis Hornbuckle, Nicki Anosike, Shannon Bobbitt, and Alberta Auguste. That's her starting five.)

The cupboard in Storrs is never close to bare. And UConn got within one win of the championship game this season despite losing Thomas and Greene during the season. Most programs wouldn't have been able to recover from such losses. UConn simply reloaded.

Auriemma talked before the Stanford game of how his team had been able to "mask and camouflage" the losses, but he worried at some point that the depth issue would do his team in. Stanford finally capitalized, getting Swanier in foul trouble and playing an intelligent, poised game that one normally sees out of UConn.

Yes, it was a bad night to be a Husky. But all indications point to those nights being fewer and fewer over the next few years. Auriemma is right about one thing. UConn will be back next season. And, yes, you can take that to the bank.

Peter May can be reached at pmay@globe.com