Jayne Appel limped to Stanford's bench, her already aching right ankle hurting even more. She wasn't about to let her great career end like this.
Appel got a shot to help with the pain, but it wasn't enough to fix the rest of her game.
She was 0 for 12, the first scoreless game her coach could ever remember, and ended a terrific career by losing in the national championship game for the second time in three years, as the Cardinal fell to Connecticut 53-47 Tuesday night.
``My dad told me that there have been only nine schools in my four years that have even made it to the Final Four, so I feel blessed,'' she said. ``These girls are my family. We gave it our all.''
Appel grabbed seven rebounds to finish as the Pac-10 career leader with 1,265.
``She really battled,'' coach Tara VanDerveer said. ``She was in a lot of pain. She kept going at it, but the ball was not dropping for her.''
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WHITE HOUSE, HERE WE COME: UConn star Tina Charles was finished being interviewed during the trophy presentation ceremony when she asked to say one more thing.
She had a message for President Obama: ``We're baaaaaack!''
When UConn visited the White House last year, Obama shot some baskets with them.
Having another excuse to get out on the court isn't the only reason he might be looking forward to seeing them again.
After all, he correctly picked in his bracket that they would beat Stanford in the finals.
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GOING OUT ON TOP: Tuesday's title game marked the end of a winning era for Connecticut senior Tina Charles and junior Lorin Dixon.
And not just because they're UConn Huskies.
The two have been friends since they were 13 and growing up in New York City, becoming high school teammates who led Christ the King to back-to-back No. 1 rankings in USA Today.
Dixon said she probably wouldn't have landed at UConn if not for Charles.
``It's more of a depressing thought when I think about it,'' Dixon said of Charles graduating. ``I'll never let her know that. I tell her I don't care if she leaves, but it's more like, 'No, don't.'''
When they were younger, Dixon said she never imagined she and Charles would play together for so long. But not because they liked different colleges.
``Growing up, Tina really wasn't that good,'' Dixon said. ``I don't even think she thought she would be here.''
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VP OF BASKETBALL: Security around the Alamodome was heightened Tuesday because of Vice President Joe Biden, who was expected to attend the championship with his wife, Jill.
It's not the game's only political connection. When the Bidens stand for the national anthem, it'll be sung by Ayala Brown, a senior guard at Boston College and daughter of Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts.
Sen. Brown dealt a blow to the agenda of Biden and the Obama administration with his surprise special-election victory to fill the seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. Brown later challenged Biden's boss to a pickup game: Scott and Ayala versus President Barack Obama and the teammate of his choice.
UConn's Maya Moore, the Wade Trophy winner, has said she'd be happy to serve as the president's ringer.
``It is my patriotic duty to help him,'' Moore said last month.
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CARDINAL FAN: No question who former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was rooting for in the title game.
The former Stanford professor and provost wore a Cardinal-red blouse while speaking to a packed ballroom Tuesday to wrap up the Women's College Basketball Association convention, which coincides with the Final Four.
Rice bid the crowd goodbye with a loud ``Go Cardinal!'' But she was more talkative about another sport: college football and its lack of a playoff system.
Rice has said her dream job would be NFL commissioner. But she said she'd be happy to roll up her sleeves to make changes in the college game.
``You never would've had Butler and Duke in college football,'' said Rice, referring to the unlikely Bulldogs making the men's basketball championship.
Rice said she has some ideas.
``I even got a system designed,'' Rice said. ``But we can talk about that some other time.''
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ANOTHER REMATCH: Get used to Stanford playing Connecticut, because it's a rivalry that's not going away anytime soon.
The teams will meet again next season at Stanford, and Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said plans are already being made to extend the series.
Tuesday's meeting was the third between the powerhouses in the past year.
``I think it's really good for us. I don't know if it's good for women's basketball,'' VanDerveer said. ``But I think you have the East Coast/West Coast, and Geno does just a great job with their team and program.''
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DRIBBLING AROUND: UConn has now trailed for 115 minutes during its 78-game streak, and a total of 9:17 during the second halves of those games. ... Huskies coach Geno Auriemma improved to 77-15 in NCAA tournament games. That ties Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski (77-22) for the most wins and keeps him in first place for best winning percentage (.837, opposed to .778). ... Auriemma also is 7-0 in title games. That includes four of the six unbeaten seasons by any women's basketball team. Texas and Tennessee have the others. ... The last time Stanford scored fewer than 50 points? The last time it was in a championship game, against Tennessee in 2008. ... The all-tournament team was UConn's Maya Moore and Tina Charles, Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike and Kayla Pedersen and Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson.
