FLAWLESS

SAN ANTONIO - Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma knew what he was talking about three months ago when he said Oklahoma would be a tough team in March.\nWhile Oklahoma missed a slew of inside shots Sunday night, Auriemma's Huskies still had to come up big to beat the determined Sooners 82-70 to complete a perfect season.\n"It was without question the most difficult game we have had to play," said Auriemma, whose team beat Oklahoma by 14 points on the road in December. "Oklahoma was unbelievably good. They were unbelievably good."\nOklahoma, making its first appearance ever in the championship game, never let the Huskies (39-0) get too far ahead and the Sooners trailed by only six points with 2:16 to go.\nThe Sooners (32-4) finished the best season in school history by making Connecticut work hard for their third national title and second undefeated season.\nThe Sooners were aggressive, driving to the basket, but they missed layups and easy putbacks when Connecticut didn't.\nAfter Connecticut's Asjha Jones drove along the baseline for a layup, Oklahoma's Caton Hill tried a similar move. She missed.\nThat's the way it was all night. Connecticut dominated inside while the outside shooting wasn't its best.\nBut Oklahoma couldn't shut down every phase of the Huskies' game.\nOklahoma was 24 of 62 from the field and 14 of 20 from the foul line.\nThe Sooners' perimeter defense couldn't have been better, holding Connecticut to 0-of-9 shooting from three-point range. And the Huskies had 21 turnovers that led to 23 points for Oklahoma. Connecticut outrebounded Oklahoma 44-25.\nThe Sooners lost at Connecticut 86-72 on Dec. 22, one of the Huskies' closest victories of the season. Oklahoma cut it to 55-50 with 9:22 left, but that was as close as the Sooners would get.\nAfter that game Auriemma said: "They're one of these teams that come March is going to be really hard for someone to play."\nThe Sooners are 0-4 against Connecticut, but believed the Huskies were beatable.\nAnd they played that way.\n"I don't know if there was a national championship game played so hard by both teams," Auriemma said.\nOklahoma All-American Stacey Dales had 18 points before fouling out. Rosalind Ross added 17, and Caufield had 14.\nThe teams first played in December 1999 in Norman, Okla., and the Huskies won 85-68. Connecticut won again in the 2000 regional semifinals by 22 points en route to the 2000 championship.\nDespite the loss, Oklahoma's program has come a long way.\nThe university disbanded the women's basketball program after posting a 7-22 record in 1989-90. It was reinstated eight days later after some administrators, community leaders and other women's basketball coaches campaigned against the move.\nThe team had three winning seasons in the next six years before coach Sherri Coale was hired in 1996. Her first season ended 5-22, but in two seasons the program was finally above .500.\nThe Sooners continued to improve, winning the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships this year for the first time in school history.