By Dave Solomon
Journal Register News Service

STORRS — It was the missing ingredient that separated the UConn women’s basketball program from a sixth national championship over past four years. The Huskies could beat you inside with power and depth; they could beat you from the perimeter with sweet strokes and unselfish ball movement; and they could match any program in the country, star for shining star.

But there was always a danger zone when UConn got against the elite teams with talent and speed at virtually every position. There weren’t many ways to beat UConn, even during their mini-title drought, but if you happened to be blessed with speed and quickness, you had a reasonable shot.

The problem is apparently solved in 2008-09 as UConn’s speed and quickness was on parade in a 106-78 rout of No. 4 Oklahoma Sunday night at Gampel Pavilion. This time around, speed is very much a part of UConn’s excellence, to go along with its continued ability to beat you inside, beat you outside, and beat you upside the head, too, as they did to the visiting Sooners.

“You pick your poison against Connecticut,” Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. “They got a lot of points because they beat us down the floor in transition. Their transition game is unlike any other — and we just played Carolina (an 80-79 victory by the No. 2 Tar Heels). Now, Carolina is known for their transition. But this was a different group, a different deal. And then you get so worried that they’ll go by you with their speed that you (concede the 3-pointer). I’m sitting there in the second half and saying, this is the best we’ve ever played against them. And we’re down 25. Nobody exposes you like Connecticut.”

For all intents and purposes, UConn had the game locked up with 18 fast-break points in the first half and a 50-39 halftime lead that had actually swelled to 22 at 48-26.

“If we play that style — pushing the ball every time whether it’s a make or miss — that will be ideal for us,” said UConn point guard Renee Montgomery, who was exceptional with 30 points and 13 assists. “We know our post players can run, so every time I caught the ball, I was just looking up court to see who was running.”

UConn has lost a total of 11 games over the last three years and no less than seven of those defeats were against speed/quickness teams — including four losses to Rutgers and two to North Carolina. Two other losses were to Tennessee with Candace Parker, and the other two losses occurred because UConn didn’t have the speed and quickness to put Duke (in 2005-06) and Stanford (in the Final Four last year) away.

“It is (the fastest team), in the sense that over the last four years we’ve not been as diversified as we are now,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “We can do a lot of things, play a lot of styles, and that wasn’t necessarily the case the last couple of years.”

There are several differences — from subtle to major — in the UConn lineup this year that accentuates that point.

One of the most obvious upgrades is in Tina Charles herself, who came back stronger, quicker and more aggressive than in her first two seasons. The Charles that returned for her junior season won’t be out-quicked by another center in college basketball, nor another power forward for that matter. The Tina Charles of Sunday (18 points, 10 rebounds) is the player that Auriemma vowed she could be — and which she was reluctant to embrace until this year.

Another major difference is at the power forward position, now manned by college’s best and most athletic talent, Maya Moore. Coupled with Charles, there’s no other team in the country that can match UConn’s front line in terms of speed and quickness. The fact that they’re also more talented creates a nightmare matchup for every other team in the country.

The third area in which UConn has vastly upgraded its speed component is simply in the return of starting shooting guard Kalana Greene, who played in just eight games last year due to a knee injury. Greene gives UConn a speed backcourt that can match up with North Carolina, a team built on three-guard quickness and no pure center.

Consider that Mel Thomas started 16 games at shooting guard before being injured last year, and while she had basketball savvy and a terrific stroke, her game was never predicated on speed. Against a small handful of teams, that could prove problematic in the most strategic area of the game — the backcourt.

Moreover, just look at the players that accounted for 38 minutes off the bench last year — Kaili McLaren, Brittany Hunter and Meghan Gardler — none of whose game was predicated on speed.

Still another factor this year is that Montgomery is able to return to her natural point guard position. UConn is just a much faster team when she has the ball in her hands.

With freshman Caroline Doty rounding out UConn’s starting lineup, there isn’t a single spot in the lineup in which you’d say — or think — ‘uh-oh,’ be that against North Carolina, No. 6 Baylor, No. 8 Texas A&M, or the always-quick Rutgers at No. 13.

“We don’t have (a lack of speed) at any position,” Auriemma said. “And because we have a lack of depth and can’t extend our defense as much as we like, our offense becomes the way we put pressure on people.”

The point was illustrated Sunday night. UConn’s speed is no longer a weakness to hide.

Dave Solomon, the Register sports columnist, can be reached at dsolomon@nhregister.com.