HARTFORD, Conn. -- The odds were stacked against No. 23 Louisville last night heading into the Big East women's basketball tournament championship. So much so, it almost seemed almost unfair.

The Cardinals were making their first appearance in the title game and had played three tough games on consecutive days. And their coach, Jeff Walz, is a rookie with 33 games under his belt.

Their opponent was No. 1 Connecticut, a team that has appeared in the conference title game 14 times in the past 15 seasons and was well rested after two blowout wins. And Geno Auriemma is one of the all-time great coaches in women's basketball.

One more thing, the Huskies were playing at their home away from home, the XL Center in Hartford, and about 98 percent of the 9,982 in attendance were clearly on their side.

The Cardinals (24-9) might have been able to overcome any one of these disadvantages, but together they proved to bean unbeatable combination as Louisville a 65-59 loss.

Connecticut (32-1) played near flawless basketball in the first half, got sloppy in the second, then showed a champion's poise, making big play after big play down the stretch to seal the win. It is the Huskies' 14th Big East tournament championship and their third in the past four seasons.

It marked the first time since 2002 that the regular-season conference champion also won the tournament, but it is the 11th time the Huskies have done both. Three of those years (1995, 2000, 2002), the Huskies (32-1) won the national championship, too.

Auriemma believes this group can repeat.

"It is a good feeling to know that these players have done something that hasn't been done in a long time, winning the regular season and tournament championships," Auriemma said.

"We played well at times and lousy at times, but, when it was time to win the game, we made the plays we needed to win. I told our girls, we proved over the five months we are the best team in the conference, now we need to do it again this weekend and we did."