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2B – Daily News – Wednesday, December 22, 2010 Moore the difference on UConn’s historic night No. 22 Florida State 62 No. 1 Connecticut 93 HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — With a minute left, Maya Moore stood up on the bench and whirled a towel above her head, the grin on her face so bright it could light up all of Connecticut. Just when it seems there’s nothing more she can do, the senior All-Ameri- can finds a way to dazzle anew. In a game for the ages, Moore put on a performance that was more than equal to the occasion. ‘‘Every night when you need her to be at her best, she’s at her best,’’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. And because of that, top-ranked UConn has surpassed the 88-game win- ning streak set by John Wooden’s UCLA men’s team from 1971-74. Moore had a career-high 41 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night, setting the tone as Con- necticut blew by No. 22 Florida State 93- 62 for win No. 89 in a row. ‘‘You take those 41 away and it’s a lit- tle better ballgame,’’ Seminoles coach Sue Semrau said. ‘‘She’s as tough as nails.’’ Moore has been the constant in these 89 games, a streak that has spanned 2 1/2 seasons and two national titles. Like Diana Taurasi, Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird and all the other UConn greats who came before her, she is as driven as she is gift- ed. She takes over games when she needs to, finds ways to make her teammates better and never, ever stops working. Just as UCLA had Bill Walton, UConn has Maya Moore. ‘‘They are really a special, special team and with a leader like Maya Moore, they can do special things,’’ Semrau said. Florida State managed to stay close for the first 2 minutes, and that was long enough for Moore. With the game tied at 6, she scored seven points during a 15-2 run to gave Connecticut its first double- digit lead, and extended the lead to 34-15 with a fadeaway jumper from the base- line. Florida State (9-3) made a quick run to cut the lead to 11, but Moore and the Huskies weren’t about to let anyone spoil this night. UConn ripped off the next 16 points, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from freshman Bria Hartley and a pull-up by Moore. At halftime, it was Florida State 27, Moore 26. But even with the game in hand, Moore kept pushing. She hustled for rebounds, dove for loose balls and barked at her younger teammates when they missed their assignments on defense. Part of the reason UConn has been so spec- tacular for so long is the older players are as hard on the newcomers as Auriemma is, demanding they live up to the pro- gram’s tradition. Moore is no different. Her influence can already be seen on Hartley, who scored 21 points and shot 5 of 6 from 3-point range. ‘‘We value the intangibles,’’ Moore said. ‘‘To come to practice, to work as hard as we do, to focus as much as we do, to be aware, to pay attention, to put that much emotional energy and effort into everything we do on the court, it’s remarkable.’’ Only after scoring on a layup with 2:14 left to top the 40 points she scored against Syracuse on Jan. 17, 2009, did Moore begin to let loose. She pumped her first as the ball dropped through the net and, after Auriemma took her out about 30 seconds later, slapped hands and exchanged hugs with her coaches and teammates on the bench. She finished with three assists, three blocks and a steal. ‘‘It’s kind of cool that this game hap- pened not even in the middle of our sea- son,’’ Moore said. ‘‘Now we have this high, but we can still play. So I love it. I’m ready to play the next game, actual- ly.’’ As the final seconds ticked down, Moore drummed her hands on her thighs and yelled encouragement to her team- mates still on the floor. Perched on her seat like a coiled spring, she slumped back when a timeout was called, delaying the celebration. Finally, when the buzzer sounded, she jumped to her feet and sprinted onto the court. She and her teammates ran to the student section to exchange high-fives, then returned to the bench to don brand- new ‘‘89 and Counting’’ T-shirts. As Auriemma did his usual postgame prize giveaway for the students — befit- ting such a big night, Tuesday’s gift was a Wii — Moore and her teammates mugged for the cameras at center court. And when Auriemma showered praise on Moore and Tiffany Hayes, UConn’s other MCT photo Connecticut’s Maya Moore pulls down a rebound in Tuesday’s win. veteran star, the two players hugged while their teammates patted them on the head. ‘‘Maya, during all these 89 games, has been at her absolute best when it was absolutely needed,’’ Auriemma said. ‘‘I’ll always remember that and I’ll always admire her for that. Because that’s not easy to do.’’ Oregon’s Chip Kelly wins APcoach of year EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon athletic officials were so convinced that Chip Kelly was destined to be head coach of the Ducks they offered him the job before it came open. Smart move. In just his second season leading Oregon, Kelly is taking the second-ranked Ducks to the national cham- pionship game on Jan. 10 against No. 1 Auburn — and for that he was voted AP Coach of the Year on Tues- day. Kelly received 24 votes from the 60-member AP football poll panel to beat out his BCS title game counterpart, Gene Chizik of Auburn, who received 17 votes. Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh was third with five votes, TCU’s Gary Patterson, last year’s winner, and Mark Dantonio of Michigan State each received three votes. Getting one vote apiece were Nevada’s Chris Ault, Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy and Miami, Ohio’s Mike Haywood, who led the school to a Mid-American Conference championship SMITH (Continued from page 1B) Oct. 24 at Carolina and then kept the job even after the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick was healthy again. Then it was back to Alex Smith. Yet it was Troy Smith who led the 49ers to a 23-20 overtime win over St. Louis on Nov. 14, throwing for 356 yards and a touchdown on 17-for-28 passing. Alex Smith was sacked six times against the Charg- ers and 21 times for 122 lost yards in all this season. He is 179 of 298 for 1,974 yards and 10 touchdowns with 12 before taking the top job at Pittsburgh last week. One voter abstained and four did not return ballots. Kelly has made a rapid rise from FCS coordinator in New England to leading the Pac-10’s new power- house program to within a victory of its first national championship. Mike Bellotti, Oregon’s longtime head coach through the 2008 season, hired Kelly away from New Hampshire to run the Ducks offense in 2007. He installed an up-tempo, spread-option attack that has been growing more potent ever since. It didn’t take long for it to become clear that Bellotti had hired his heir apparent. When Bellotti was tapped to take over as the school’s ath- letic director, Oregon announced in December 2008 — as the Ducks pre- pared for the Holiday Bowl — that Bellotti would become full-time AD at some point and Kelly was the head-coach in waiting. That spring, Bellotti made it official and Kelly took over the Ducks. In his first season as head interceptions. Alex Smith is set to become a free agent after the season and will cer- tainly be elsewhere in 2011. The switcheroos are chal- lenging. ‘‘It’s been tough. It’s pret- ty much been like that since I’ve been here,’’ Davis said. ‘‘We’ve brought in several quarterbacks — using one, using the other. It’s definitely difficult, but it’s something you have to fight through. We have to fight through adversity and you have to manage to just overcome certain obstacles and fight through it. So that’s what we’re doing right now.’’ So, it’s anybody’s guess what Singletary has in mind, coach, Kelly led the Ducks to a 10-3 record and the Pac- 10 championship, tailoring his explosive offense to the dual talents of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and weath- ering the storm of negative publicity brought about when star running back LeGarrette Blount punched a Boise State player after an opening game loss. Oregon regrouped and went on to the Rose Bowl for the first time since New Year’s 1995. Kelly was met by more turbulence this past spring when both Masoli and run- ning back LaMichael James got into trouble. After Masoli pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge tied to the theft of a campus fraternity house, Kelly suspended him for the season. The coach later won praise for dismissing Masoli — considered to be a pre- season Heisman Trophy hopeful — when he was caught with marijuana in his car. With Masoli gone, Kelly developed sophomore Dar- ron Thomas into not just a replacement, but an because he has been chang- ing his so often. Rookie right tackle Anthony Davis wasn’t about to stir the pot. He said it doesn’t matter who is QB. ‘‘The head coach handles the quarterback situations,’’ he said. Note:The 49ers signed K Fabrizio Scaccia and OL Dennis Landolt to the practice squad. Boise St. NCAABASKETBALL Tuesday’s Top 25 results No. 2 Ohio State 96, UNC Asheville 49 No.7 San Diego State 62, San Francisco 56 UNLV63, No. 11 Kansas State 59 No.14 Purdue 77, IPFW 52 Southern Cal 65, No. 19 Tennessee 64 No.23 BYU 72, Weber State 66 No. 25 Texas A&M 86, Wagner 51 Today’s Top 25 games No. 3 Kansas at California, 8 p.m., CSNB No. 4 Connecticut vs Harvard, 4 p.m. No. 5 Syracuse vs Drexel, 4 p.m. No. 6 Pittsburgh vs American, 4 p.m. No. 7 San Diego State vs IUPUI, 7 p.m. No. 8 Villanova at Monmouth, 4 p.m. No.9 Missouri vs No.21 Illinois, 6 p.m., ESPN2 No.12 Mich.St.vs No.18 Tex., 4 p.m., ESPN2 No.13 Kentucky vs Winthrop, 10 a.m. No.15 Baylor vs San Diego, 2 p.m. No. 20 Florida vs Radford, 4 p.m., CSNC No.22 Notre Dame vs Maryland-BC, 4:30 p.m. No.24 UCF at Massachusetts, 4 p.m. Today’s other televised games Xavier at Gonzaga, 8 p.m., ESPN2 upgrade. James was suspended for the opener after pleading guilty to misdemeanor harassment for an alterca- tion with his ex-girlfriend — but Kelly maintained that James was both honest and contrite about what had tran- spired. Just as he had after Blount and the punch, Kelly had his team focused on moving forward in fall camp. The ability to reign in his team and shut out dis- tractions has become one of his trademarks. This season’s Ducks have fully bought into Kelly’s ‘‘Win The Day’’ philosophy. The motto is the last thing the players see above them as they emerge from the tunnel onto the field at Autzen Stadium. The acronym ‘‘WTD’’ graces the four corners of the stadium. And it will be written on the team’s hel- mets in the national champi- BOWLS Tuesday’s Bowl result Beef ’O’ Brady’s Bowl At St.Petersburg, Fla. Louisville 31, Southern Mississippi 28 Today’s bowl MAACO Bowl At Las Vegas Utah (10-2) vs. Boise State (11-1), 5 p.m. (ESPN) onship game. Oregon reached No. 1 in the nation for the first time in school history and Kelly has become college foot- ball’s genius du jour. While plenty of teams are pushing the pace at which they play offensively, nobody does it as well and as quickly as the Ducks. ‘‘Our vision is we want to play fast. We want to play hard. We want to finish,’’ he said. The Ducks led the nation in scoring during the regular season with 49.3 points per game. They were second in total offense with an average of 537.50 yards a game. Kelly was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year and won the Eddie Robin- son coach of the year award from the Football Writers Association of America. Kelly, 47, has a gruff exterior in those drive-by NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Dallas Ducks WL OT Pts GF GA 21 10 3 45 100 92 18 16 4 40 98 111 SHARKS 17 11 5 39 100 94 Kings 18 12 1 37 90 75 Phoenix 15 10 7 37 89 93 Central Division Detroit WL OT Pts GF GA 20 8 4 44 105 88 Nashville 17 9 6 40 83 79 Chicago 18 14 3 39 111 103 Columbus 17 13 3 37 85 91 St. Louis 16 12 5 37 86 93 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA ODDS Glantz-Culver Line For Dec.21 NCAAFootball Today MAACO Bowl At Las Vegas 17 (60) Thursday Poinsettia Bowl at San Diego St. 4 (60.5) at Hawaii Christmas Eve Hawaii Bowl 10.5 (73.5) NFL Thursday at Pittsburgh 13.5(37) Christmas 6.5 (45) Sunday 3.5 (41.5) Dallas at Miami at Tampa Bay 6.5 (44) New England 8 (44.5) at Chicago Baltimore at Green Bay OFF (OFF) N.Y.Giants San Diego 3 (48) 7.5 (44) Monday at Atlanta Off Key 2.5 (48.5) New Orleans Minnesota QB questionable Green Bay QB questionable Carolina at Arizona Detroit at Philadelphia OFF(OFF) Minnesota at Jacksonville 7 (45.5) Washington at St.Louis 2.5 (39.5) San Francisco Seattle 2.5 (36.5) at Buffalo N.Y.Jets at Kansas City 5 (42) Tennessee Indianapolis Houston 3.5 (39) at Cleveland 3 (47) at Cincinnati at Oakland at Denver Navy Tulsa Utah Vancouver 19 8 4 42 101 78 Colorado 19 10 4 42 121 105 Minnesota 15 13 4 34 79 91 Calgary 14 18 3 31 92 103 Edmonton 12 14 5 29 84 108 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Philadelphia 22 8 5 49 117 87 Pittsburgh 22 10 2 46 110 79 N.Y.Rangers 20 14 1 41 105 91 New Jersey 9 22 2 20 59 103 N.Y. Islanders6 18 6 18 65 104 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Montreal 19 13 2 40 89 77 Boston 17 11 4 38 89 68 Buffalo 14 16 4 32 89 97 Ottawa 14 17 4 32 81 106 Toronto 12 17 4 28 75 102 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Washington 20 12 4 44 109 100 Atlanta 19 12 5 43 117 104 Tampa Bay 19 10 4 42 104 109 Carolina 15 13 4 34 90 99 Florida 15 16 0 30 85 78 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Edmonton at San Jose, late Buffalo 5, Anaheim 2 Columbus 3, Calgary 1 Dallas 5, Montreal 2 St. Louis 4, Atlanta 2 Washington 5, New Jersey 1 Los Angeles at Colorado, late Today’s games Florida at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Vancouver at Detroit, 4:30 p.m., NHLN Nashville at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Monday’s late results Houston 121, Golden State 112 L.A. Clippers 113, Minnesota 90 Portland 106, Milwaukee 80 halftime interviews on tele- vision. A native of Man- chester, N.H., his wry and dry wit rarely makes catchy sound bites. At times it seems as if he fell right off the set of one of those Ben Affleck movies based in the Boston area. He isn’t much for talking about himself or deep analy- sis. Asked recently what reaching the national cham- pionship game meant to him personally, just a few years removed from his first big break, Kelly wasn’t much for being reflective. ‘‘I never really think of it that way,’’ he said. ‘‘I have a job. I love my job. I love to get up every morning and do it.’’ NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL Pct GB Lakers 21 7 .750 — Phoenix 13 14 .481 7.5 WARRIORS 918 .333 11.5 Clippers 8 21 .276 13.5 KINGS 520 .200 14.5 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 24 3 .889 — Dallas 23 5 .821 1.5 New Orleans16 12 .571 8.5 Houston 13 15 .464 11.5 Memphis 12 17 .414 13 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Okla. City 20 9 .690 — Utah 20 9 .690 — Denver 16 10 .615 2.5 Portland 15 14 .517 5 Minnesota 6 23 .207 14 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB Boston 22 4 .846 — New York 16 12 .571 7 Philadelphia 11 17 .393 12 Toronto 10 18 .357 13 New Jersey 9 20 .310 14.5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 21 9 .700 — Miami Atlanta 18 12 .600 3 Orlando 16 12 .571 4 Charlotte 9 19 .321 11 Washington 7 19 .269 12 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 17 9 .654 — Indiana 13 14 .481 4.5 Milwaukee 10 16 .385 7 Detroit 9 19 .321 9 Cleveland 8 20 .286 10 ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Golden State at Sacramento, late Chicago 121, Philadelphia 76 Dallas 105, Orlando 99 New Jersey 101, Memphis 94 Oklahoma City 99, Charlotte 81 Milwaukee at L.A. Lakers, late Today’s games Chicago at Washington, 4 p.m., NBATV Cleveland at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Detroit at Toronto, 4 p.m. Oklahoma City at New York, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston, 4:30 p.m. New Jersey at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Utah at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Denver at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Houston at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.