Norristown native Geno Auriemma led the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team to its 12th national championship, ending a nine-year title drought, writes Jonathan Tannenwald for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Under his leadership, the team won four titles in five years from 2000 to 2004, then captured six more over an eight-year span from 2009 to 2016. At the time, some critics called their dominance boring and claimed it was bad for the sport.
Auriemma disagreed, challenging other teams to improve and to beat his if they believed that. Over the next nine years, that finally happened, as five other teams took the title.
“I think the investment in women’s basketball in the universities, and then obviously the attention that is drawn because of the media writing and showing what it’s about, has certainly improved across the board,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon.
This year, seven teams entered March Madness with legitimate chances of claiming the top spot. UConn was among them, though not a No. 1 seed. Still, the team defeated three of the four No. 1 seed teams – UCLA, South Carolina, and Southern Cal – on its way to the title, making their victory even more impressive.
Read more about Norristown’s Geno Auriemma in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
