Colony High School grad nets third national championship

The University of Connecticut women's basketball squad earned its three-peat and Jessica Moore is now 3-for-3.

Moore, a Colony High School graduate and two-time winner of the Alaska state player of the year award, scored 14 points and pulled-down a game-high nine rebounds in a 70-61 win over Tennessee on Tuesday. The win earned the Huskies their third straight NCAA Division I national championship, and fifth overall. Moore has now ended her freshman, sophomore and junior seasons at UConn, a national champion.

Her teammate, All-American Diana Taurasi, scored 17 points and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, but Moore's play proved to be just as pivotal in the Huskies' championship win.

Moore scored 12 of her 14 points and registered seven of her nine rebounds in the second half.

Early in the second half the Huskies watched as Tennessee chipped away at UConn's 16-point lead. The Vols cut the Husky advantage to just four points, but Moore's play on the offensive end of the court returned the momentum to UConn. Soon after Tennessee cut the lead to four points, Moore hit a reverse lay-up and scored the Huskies' next six points. Moore's eight points early in the second half and a Taurasi three-pointer gave the Huskies a comfortable 10-point lead.

"I think that the way that our offense was set up and the play that we were running, we did a great job of running it and really being patient and I think that I did a really good job of using the screens and they were just great screens and I just happened to get open," Moore said at a press conference following the game.

After UConn was out-rebounded 22-13 in the first half, Moore -- the Huskies' starting center -- led the Connecticut charge inside.

"I don't think Jessica's an easy matchup. But we didn't give them a chance in the first half. And in the second half, some of the rebounds that Jessica and Barbara (Turner) got, they were amazing," UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said during the press conference.

In addition to the team's prize, Moore was named to the All-Final Four team. Moore not only was key in the championship win, but also in UConn's victory over Minnesota to advance to the championship game. Moore grabbed a game-high eight rebounds in the win over the Golden Gophers and was praised for her work containing Minnesota All-American Janel McCarville.

Moore started 33 games for the Huskies during her junior campaign, averaging 9.4 points and a team-high 7 rebounds per game.