It went on for almost 1,000 days, but UConn women's winning streak ended on Thursday night. Stanford was the last team to beat the Huskies before the 90-game winning streak began, They did it again on Thursday, winning 71 to 59.
Stanford led all night, sometimes with a point spread in the double digits, and ended the longest winning streak in basketball history.
As the second half began, ESPN asked when Maya Moore, the team's standout will show up. It proved to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest game UConn fans have seen her play.
"We just gave it away too much tonight," she said, explaining the loss.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said going into this, his team was focused on taking things one game at a time, and tonight's game was not likely to be a breeze.
"We didn't feel any pressure (while going for the national record of 89). If we felt pressure, the Ohio State game (No. 88) wouldn't have gone the way it did and the Florida State game (No. 89) wouldn't have gone the way it did. The same approach that has worked for us all this time has worked for us now," Auriemma told the Day of New London.
He was positive, even after the loss.
"At some point, reality has to set in and today reality set in and i'm OK about it. I'm not distraught," he said. "I would've loved to be 98-97 in triple overtime and both teams played great, but it wasn't meant to be."
The Huskies were in a tough fight with No. 9 Stanford at a sold-out Maples Pavilion, where the Cardinal had won 51 straight games, the Mercury News reports. Make that 52.
In the stands, Stanford had some well-known fans, including former U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice.
The last time Stanford beat UConn was in the April 2008 national semifinals in Tampa, although UConn has beaten them since.
UConn and Stanford have met in the last three Final Fours.
The Huskies were expected to play without senior backup guard Lorin Dixon, who suffered an ankle injury during practice, but she did ultimately play.
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