Congratulations Geno on 600 WINS!!!

5/5 Connecticut Huskies (11-0)

Results: Connecticut 82, Sacred Heart 40
Player of the Game: Fr. PF Kaili McLaren
Defensive Player of the Game: Jr. PG Ketia Swanier
Freshman Player of the Game: Fr. PF Kaili McLaren
Stat of the Game: Rebounds UConn 57, Sacred Heart 20

With CP3 & Tennessee only a week away, UConn anticipates Charles' first dunk. Charles (who can dunk and has dunked once in high school) says she is more focused on getting healthy and hitting lay-ups than dunking on Parker (who we all know can dunk and has dunked 5 times in college).

It's Official, Phillips UConn career IS NOT over, but the basketball part of it IS. She has decided to continue her education at UConn for now, but finally admits that she was not at all prepared to handle this level of basketball. All the best to Phillips in whereever life now takes her!!

Game notes (pdf) for today's game vs. Sacred Heart Pioneers.

Today, Geno is on the verge of 600 wins. He will try to become the fastest coach to reach 600...this will be Geno's 716th try. He would move ahead of Pat Summit, who is currently the record holder at 600 wins in 734 tries.

UConn struggled with UHart...for a while in the 1st half, Montgomery and Greene finally stepped and helped the Huskies surge past Hartford eventually pulling away for a 62-36 win. UConn found enough energy to bring Geno within ONE victory of 600 career wins. The 5'10 Greene finished with her 2nd consecutive career double-double finishing with 14 pts. and a career-high 16 rebs. helping the Huskies run away in the 2nd half.

5/5 Connecticut Huskies (10-0)

Results: Connecticut 62, Hartford 36
Player of the Game: So. SF Kalana Greene
Defensive Player of the Game: Fr. PF Kaili McLaren
Freshman Player of the Game: Fr. PF Kaili McLaren
Stat of the Game: Assists - UConn 13, Hartford 3

Last night, it was the Maya Moore show on Versus as she tops herself again. She single-handedily led her #1 Collins Hill HS team to a 45-36 halftime lead over #11 St. Elizabeth's in the T-Mobile Invitational Championship game outscoring St. Elizabeth's herself 38-36. After getting 10 hours of sleep, a rested Moore lifted CHHS to a 74-63 title win...finishing the game with a career-high 48 pts. to go along with 13 rebs. and 7 stls. It is hard to imagine how good she actually is until you see her in action and then she ends up being way better than ever imagined.

With the Huskies depleted upfront with injuries and the departing of Phillips from the team, the UConn backcourt will need to step up big as they take on Hartford. And add Gardler to the injured list as she injured her elbow fooling around at home during X-Mas break.

Game notes (pdf) for today's game vs. Hartford Hawks.

The Williams twins are closer than most and most don't even know Williams is a twin since her twin is male, who doesn't play basketball or attend UConn. Both are great athletes and play for top Division I sports in their respective sport. Her younger (by a minute) brother, Isaiah, starts at wide receiver for the Maryland Terrapins. She comes from a very athletic family as her older brother played football at Wake Forest and her father played football at Rutgers.

Update: Per the Courant and Geno, Phillips' very brief UConn career is apparently...OVER.

Phillips remains in North Carolina at her home. She says she still has not made a decision on whether she will come back to UConn and that decision doesn't seem to be coming any time soon. She has not withdrawn her name from the school or decided if she will transfer or not. Everyday that goes by though, makes the likelihood that she will ever put a Husky uniform on again get smaller and smaller.

Of note, Hunter and Charles still remain questionable against Hartford, who look up to UConn, as of last night's first practice since X-Mas.

UConn-bound Maya Moore fought through some serious fatigue last night to led her team (27 pts. and 15 rebs.) to an OT victory 60-58 over #15 Winter Haven HS and remain an undefeated 14-0 on the season. With the nation's best girls basketball player, #1 Collins Hill HS was down, but never out as Moore stole a pass with 16 secs. remaining in OT and got fouled while she hit the game winning lay-up (she missed the and-one free throw). Moore and CHHS will now play #11 St. Elizabeth's HS led by Rutgers-bound Khadijah Rushdan, who beat Issaquah HS 58-37, tonight in the T-Mobile Invitational Championship game. This will be CHHS 8th game in a 14 day span after playing the 15th & 16th, the 18th thru 21st, and now the 27th & 28th of December (not to mention flying back and forth between time zones for Christmas) and making Moore's incredible play that much more impressive.

Charles was named Big East Freshman of the Week today after averaging 12 ppg, 6 rpg, and 2.3 bpg and helping UConn to a 3-0 record last week.

Auriemma vs. Summit...through the years.

Some good news from the holiday break, Hunter says knee feels better, but she isn't sure if it is well enough to practice on yet. No word yet on Charles' shoulder; also the status of McLaren, Montgomery, and Houston's sore feet is unknown.

All is quiet this holiday break with the current Huskies but not with a future Husky. Fresh of her MVP performance at the Nike TOC, Maya Moore, who is simply the best, heads to Seattle to kick off the inaugural T-Mobile Invitational. She leads her #1 ranked Collins Hill HS team in their pursuit of an undefeated, national championship.

["She makes everyone around her better," Collins Hill head coach Tracey Tipton said. "Maya raises the level of play of everyone around her. The great thing about her is how selfless she is. All she cares about is winning." "Maya is the best teammate," Texas Tech signee and Collins Hill teammate Jordan Jones said. "She has this way to inspire people to perform at the highest possible level. She's a very unselfish player. She realizes the value of her teammates." Last season, Moore became only the second junior to win the Naismith Award, given to the nation's best player. (Current Tennessee star Candace Parker is the other.) She was a consensus All-American, the Georgia state player of the year, and was a member of the United States' Under-18 team that won a gold medal last summer at the FIBA Americas Tournament. She entered this season as the unquestioned No. 1 player in the country in one of the deepest recruiting classes in years. "The closest comparison I can find to her is a young Tamika Catchings," said Chris Hansen, the national recruiting director at Scout.com. "There are not many players who can do the number of things she can, especially in terms of rebounding and defense. She really gets after it on both ends of the floor."]

NOTE: For those of you with DirecTV Sports Package, you can check Moore out live on Ch. 608 Wed. 12/27 at 4pm ET (1pm PT).

With Greene believing in her talent, a new star has emerged for the Huskies. The player Geno says has improved the most since last year and played the best this preseason is finally translating all her off season success onto the court. Averaging 17.3 ppg, 10 rpg, 2 apg, and almost 2 spg while shooting over 70% from the field this past week just shows us some of what the 5'10 slasher is capable of. It seems that as long as she continues this kind of play, UConn will be in the running for a 2nd consecutive Big East Most Improved Player (although she's getting some very tough competition from fellow slasher, Louisville SF Angel McCoughtry).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

The Huskies proved to be too athletic for Oakland yesterday afternoon. Led again by Greene (13 pts. and 14 rebs.) as UConn dominated Oakland 85-53. Great 1st halves by Hunter and Charles were interrupted by 'tweaks' to their knee and shoulder injuries, respectively and forced both of them to the bench for the game. The post domination didn't stop with both centers on the bench the entire second half as Greene and McLaren took over. All the girls will now go home for a short holiday break, heal their wounds, and then come back to get ready to face a Husky of Honor and Hartford.

6/6 Connecticut Huskies (9-0)

Results: Connecticut 85, Oakland 53
Player of the Game: Jr. C Brittany Hunter
Defensive Player of the Game: So. SF Kalana Greene
Freshman Player of the Game: Fr. PF Kaili McLaren
Stat of the Game: 2nd Chance points - UConn 25, Oakland 5

Game notes (pdf) for today's game vs. Oakland Grizzlies.

Huskies of old and present spent last night celebrating now & then. Reminiscing about fights, coach yelling, why they came to Connecticut in the first place, and why they wore the number did with former teammates or older/younger players while watching the current undefeated 6th ranked Huskies isn't a bad added bonus. All the good and bad times are now memories that shine through the years for those who were honored.

Last night, the Huskies past the test with honors in front of 6 of the 10 former UConn Kodak All-Americans as they shut down the Rams (at least in the post) winning 93-58. Led by the backcourt trio of Montgomery, Thomas, and Greene (19, 19, and 17 pts. respectively), the Huskies lived up to the predecessors on a very special night where UConn's 10 Kodak All-Americans were honored with banners that now hang in the rafters of Gampel Pavilion. It was fitting that the 1st player honored was the one success started with, #24 Bascom. Don't be suprised if Montgomery joins the high honor roll one day with a banner of her own as she added 7 asts., 5 stls., and no TO's on a night the was definitely worth the wait. The current Huskies put on a show for their special guests and efficently disposed of the Rams behind all 5 starters being in double figures for the 1st time since 2002 (4 were had 10 by halftime and Houston had 8). Post play was also improved in the rout despite being short handed as Hunter was a DNP (due to her knee acting up that afternoon).

Even the Big East Conference is grateful to these 10 wonderful athletes for the evolution of a powerful women's basketball conference as they helped pave the way for what is now considered one of the best women's basketball leagues in the country which won 5 NCAA titles in a row from 2000-04.

In some UConn recruiting news, #1 HS player and UConn signee 6'1 SF Maya Moore led her 1^/2* Collins Hill HS team to the Nike Tournament of Champions title over 2^/1* Long Beach Poly averaging 34.3 ppg in 4 games in 4 days 3 of which where against Top 15 teams and being named Tournament MVP. Scout writer and National Director of Scouting Chris Hansen says, "We get it Maya, you are the best high school player ever. Yes - EVER!" after she led her team back from 12 down with under 3 minutes to go in the quarter-final game to beat 14^/6* Notre Dame Academy in OT finishing with a career-high 42 pts., 11 rebs., 6 blks., 5 asts., and 2 stls. Jamelle Elliot and Chris Dailey were even among the spectators of the TOC on Tue (Qtr-final) & Wed (Semi-final) to see Moore's phenomenal performances, but they had to miss Mon & Thu (Championship) due to UConn games.

Fellow UConn signee 5'4 PG Lorin Dixon led her 12^/4* Christ the King HS team to a 4th place finish in the same division as Moore. UConn hopeful 6'5 SF Elena DelleDonne led her 10^/7* Ursuline Academy HS team to an 8th place finish playing in the same Black Division of the Nike TOC as Moore and Dixon which featured 11 teams ranked in the ^USA Today Girls HS Basketball Top 25 rankings (as of 12/13) and 11 teams ranked in the *Scout FCP Girls HS Basketball Top 25 rankings (as of 11/22). These rankings will surely shuffle because of the TOC with Collins Hill the clear favorite at this point to win their 1st (mythical) HS National Championship.

6/6 Connecticut Huskies (8-0)

Results: Connecticut 93, Colorado State 58
Player of the Game: So. PG Renee Montgomery
Defensive Player of the Game: So. PG Renee Montgomery
Freshman Player of the Game: Fr. C Tina Charles
Stat of the Game: Points in the Paint - UConn 42, Colorado State 6

Ms. All-Everything/All-World and UConn Great Taurasi (or as I call her, DT3), who will be honored tonight as one of 10 Kodak All-Americans, was just named the 2006 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year. Congrats Dee on yet another honor!!!

Geno says his Huskies success in the balance is and will be the difference this season. "You know why our team is really good?" Auriemma said Wednesday after practice. "Our team is really good because I said to them, `Look, we've got to do a couple things here to make sure that we get Mel more shots. Now, it may not be that important to you guys that we get Mel more shots if we're going to keep winning by 40.' Charde was the first one to say, `No, that ain't right.' I said, `Darn right it's not right. We got a huge weapon here that we have to figure out a way to take advantage of.' They're all, `Yeah.'" Hunter claims she knows what Geno wants best, better and more consistent post play.

Speaking of Thomas and Houston, tonight they'll watch as Thomas' number (25) will be unveiled on a banner honoring Abrosimova and Houston, who will meet UConn's 1st Kodak All-American for the 1st time tonight, will watch as her number (24) will be unveiled on a banner honoring Bascom. The 3rd current Husky whose number will be honored tonight is Greene, who's game is on target as she continues finding her touch. She will watch her number (32) be unveiled on a banner honoring Cash.

Game notes (pdf) for today's game vs. Colorado State Rams.

Geno admits that even with the team coming off a great game on Monday down in Virginia, there are flaws still evident with his team...especially in the post.

In the second bit of bad news this season, Phillips is leaving the team for an indefinite amount of time. She obviously apparently is having a difficult time adjusting and needs time to clear her head. There is no news on whether or not she is transfering. My guess would be that she will transfer, but will likely end up at a junior college or Div. III school...if she decides to keep playing at all. I truly hope I'm wrong because I don't ever like to see anyone fail and she seemed very intelligent from her Italy diary...I wish her all the best in whatever she decides.

Next up is Colorado St. with the post game ceremony honoring the 10 Kodak All-American and former Huskies on Thursday at Gampel. The debate of to retire or not to retire ultimately was turned into these honors since Geno was afraid UConn might run out of numbers if they started retiring the Greats. The new banner system is being installed as we speak and will be ready for Thursday's game.

A Greene light means go and that's exactly what the Huskies did last night as they blasted past a decent Virginia team, 96-60. In her break through game, they were led by the career highs of 21 pts. and 9 rebs. of Greene. UConn won handily, handing the Cavaliers their worst victory in almost 23 years. All of the Huskies looked crisp in their return to the court after an 11-day layoff for exams. Montgomery finished with 17 pts. and 9 asts. and Charles finished with 12 pts., 7 rebs., and 6 blks. as the entire team shot lights out at a 5-yr high of 66% from the field.

6/6 Connecticut Huskies (7-0)

Results: Connecticut 96, Virginia 60
Player of the Game: So. SF Kalana Greene
Defensive Player of the Game: Fr. C Tina Charles
Freshman Player of the Game: Fr. C Tina Charles
Stat of the Game: FG% UConn 65.6%, Virginia 27.4%

Game notes (pdf) for today's game at Virginia Cavaliers.

Rizzotti, Harry, Agnus, Bruno, Essence, Mel, Tonya, and Geno weigh in on the very hot and controversial topic in the women's hoops world of banning male practice players. As a male I really shouldn't offer an opinion because I think it should be left to the decision of the female players the NCAA CWA feel are being wronged, but I will give one anyway (since this is my blog).

Why in the World would anyone think that playing against men everyday doesn't make women better or that it is unfair to non-starters?

Men don't like to lose to women and women want to win just as bad...that sounds like everyone making everyone better. Many of the greats in the women's game have said on numerous occasions of playing with the guys back in the day or their father teaching them everything they know or their brothers beating up on them when they were growing up. The reality is this: the 2nd and 3rd strings on college teams will probably never make the 1st string better except for maybe a couple top-tier teams who have 10 HS All-Americans, but male practice players will most likely make them better.

Plus, then what will the teams with only 6, 7, or 8 healthy players do and when will anyone on a team ever get a break during practice?

Today is a chance for old friends to get reacquainted as the Huskies visit Virginia in their brand new arena the John Paul Jones Arena. Geno is returning to his coaching roots and Tonya is returning to her old playing ground. He also says he's jealous of the new arena and will be taking notes to bring back to CT in hopes of maybe getting a new and improved Gampel Pavilion. This will only be the 5th meeting and first since the biggest game in UConn history when the undefeated Huskies rallied late in Storrs to defeat the Cavaliers 67-63 and moved on to their 2nd Final Four & 1st NCAA Championship 1995 between the two storied programs, but this time it's UConn doing Virginia the favor.

Tomorrow's game in Virginia will feature a more perfect reunion between former fellow Virginia coaches, current Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan and former Virginia asst. coach and current UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. Things weren't always "perfect" when Geno was an assistant back in the early 80's between the two since he didn't always like playing second fiddle to Ryan. The cocky 20-something year old thought he knew everything and wanted things done his ways. The game is also a homecoming for former Virginia star guard, UConn asst. coach Tonya Cardozza.

Freshman year in college is a tough transition for most, but it is starting to boarder on excruciatingly painful (even to watch) for Phillips who won't be traveling with the team for the third straight game and hasn't practiced with the team for about 3 weeks now. At this point, no one (even Geno) knows her status except for her name still being listed on the roster. A decision should be made by the time X-Mas break is over on where she officially stands with the team. Her high school coach also sheds some light onto what might be causing her problems.

Houston and Montgomery have been named 2 of the top-50 candidates for the Naismith National Player of the Year award. The list will be narrowed down to 30 in January. I don't know who is on the committee that decides the list, but they need to check some boxscores before they go placing players on the list. They also need to check and find out who is actually still playing and if they even play for that team----hello and wake up committee----Angela Clark left St. John's like 6 weeks ago----read a newspaper or at least a message board for that matter!!!! And the sick obsession with Maryland's entire starting 5 has to stop...i mean they are all good and all, but they are all NOT player of the year candidates...I would say only Coleman, Langhorne, and Toliver.

The Courant reads between the lines of each member of the 2006-07 Huskies...discussing how they've played so far and what they need to work on for the remainder of the season.

In UConn recruiting news, high school phenom Elena DelleDonne has cut her college list down to 5...Connecticut, Duke, Maryland, Tennessee, and Villanova. She says she won't make a decision until at least the spring and that she would love to be a roommate with her current AAU teammate and UConn-commit Caroline Doty (but that it won't be a major factor in her decision).

UConn's current team is looking to try and repeat chemistry in order to bring home a 6th NCAA banner to Gampel Pavilion. This team has the talent and athleticism capable of winning a championship; they just need to keep everyone healthy and figure out a way to handle opposing teams' pressure (especially the pressure put on by the UNC's and Tenn's of the WCBB World).

The Huskies will spend the next week in exams, but they will also meet for some light practices in hopes of resting the ailing and finding a way to get Thomas open for some more shots behind the arc. They return to action Mon. Dec. 18th in their first ever trip to Virginia in a homecoming for Geno (coach) and Tonya (player). The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Last night, the Huskies brought a new meaning to the word 'domination' as they stomped on Georgetown in the Big East (Road) Opener. They were led by Houston and Charles, who scored 14 pts. a piece without even breaking 20 minutes (or a sweat), in the 84-26 win. When I began watching the game the score was 15-9 and at halftime the game turned into a rout with the score, 55-12. Charles is beginning to find her way after struggling the past couple of game. It was a homecoming for McLaren, who is looking good for a girl no one thought could play at the college level (pace).

7/7 Connecticut Huskies (6-0, 1-0 BE)

Results: Connecticut 84, Georgetown 26
Player of the Game: Jr. PF Charde Houston
Defensive Player of the Game: So. SF Kalana Greene
Freshman Player of the Game: Fr. C Tina Charles
Stat of the Game: Bench points - UConn 31, Georgetown 2

Game notes (pdf) for today's game at Georgetown Hoyas.

For the Husky fans with Colorado St. tickets who leave games early, the unveiling of the inaugural class for the "Huskies of Honor" will be during a POST-game ceremony on Dec. 21st vs. Colorado St. to accommodate late arrivals Bird and Taurasi.

The University of Connecticut proudly announces the 10 members of the inaugural class for the Huskies of Honor. Eight of the 10 will be in attendance for the unveiling of the banners representing each of UConn's Kodak All-Americans on Thursday, December 21st at the Colorado St. game.

The Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" inaugural class honorees include:

Coach Geno Auriemma: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee (Class of 2006); Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee (Class of 2006); Five-time National Coach of the Year (1994-95, 1996-97; 1999-00; 2001-02; 2002-03).

Kerry Bascom (1987-1991): 1990-91 First Team All-American; 1991 NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player; Three-Time Big East Conference Player of the Year (1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91; 1989 Big East Championship Most Outstanding Player; Led UConn to first appearance in the NCAA "Final Four" (1991).

Rebecca Lobo (1991-1995): 1994-95 National Collegiate Player of the Year; Two-time First Team All-American (1993-94, 1994-95); 1995 NCAA "Final Four" Most Outstanding Player; Two-time Big East Conference Player of the Year (1993-94, 1994-95); Led UConn to 1995 NCAA National Championship with perfect 35-0 record; 1996 USA Olympic Gold Medalist.

Jennifer Rizzotti (1992-1996): 1995-96 National Collegiate Player of the Year; Two-time First Team All-American (1994-95, 1995-96); Two-time NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player (1995, 1996); 1995-96 Big East Conference Player of the Year.

Kara Wolters (1993-1997): 1996-97 National Collegiate Player of the Year; Two-time First Team All-American (1995-96, 1996-97); Two-time Big East Championship Most Outstanding Player (1995, 1996); 1996-97 Big East Conference Player of the Year; 2000 USA Olympic Gold Medalist.

Nykesha Sales (1994-1998): Two-time First Team All-American (1996-97, 1997-98); 1997 Big East Championship Most Outstanding Player; 1997-98 Big East Conference Player of the Year; UConn Career Scoring Leader (2,178 points).

Svetlana Abrosimova (1997-2001): Three-time First Team All-American (1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01); 2000 NCAA "Final Four" All-Tournament Team; 2000 NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player; 1998-99 Big East Conference Player of the Year.

Shea Ralph (1996-2001): 1999-2000 First Team All-American; 2000 NCAA "Final Four" Most Outstanding Player; 1999 Big East Championship Most Outstanding Player; 1999-2000 Big East Conference Player of the Year.

Sue Bird (1998-2002): 2001-02 National Collegiate Player of the Year; 2001-02 First Team All-American; 2002 NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player; 2001-02 Big East Conference Player of the Year; 2004 USA Olympic Gold Medalist.

Swin Cash (1998-2002): 2001-02 First Team All-American; 2002 NCAA "Final Four" Most Outstanding Player; Three-time Big East Championship All-Tournament Team (1999, 2000, 2002); 2004 USA Olympic Gold Medalist.

Diana Taurasi (2000-2004): Two-time National Collegiate Player of the Year (2002-03, 2003-04); Three-time First Team All-American (2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04); Two-time NCAA "Final Four" Most Outstanding Player (2003, 2004); Two-time Big East Conference Player of the Year (2002-03, 2003-04); 2004 USA Olympic Gold Medalist.

Of Note:
Bird and Taurasi will fly home (4,600+ miles) from Russia and arrive the morning of the game after playing a game for their offseason Russian team Spartak Wednesday, Dec. 20th (talk about world travelers). "It is obvious how much this ceremony means to Sue and Diana based on the tremendous efforts they are taking to get here for the event," says UConn Director of Athletics Jeff Hathaway. "We always knew that a ceremony like this would mean a great deal to our basketball programs, the people that are being honored and UConn fans around the world. Sue and Diana's ambitous plans to get to Storrs are a testament to that."

The only two not in attendance will be Abrosimova and Ralph who have prior commitments. Abrosimova, a St. Petersburg, Russia native, plays on the same team as Bird and Taurasi, but will be unable to attend due to a commitment for an event in St. Petersburg, Russia that will celebrate the 100th anniversary of women's basketball in Russia. Ralph, an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh women's basketball team, will be with the Panthers as they participate in the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico. "We believe this will be a very special night with eight of our ten former student-athletes and Coach Auriemma attending in person. Svet and Shea will be part of our inaugural class unveiling and we will also pay special honor to (them) when their schedules permit them to be her in person," says Hathaway.

Last night, the Huskies got a little bit more than they bargained for from their long time rival, Holy Cross, a 3-5 team that put up only 36 on the board in its previous game vs. BC defeating them 83-64. UConn let its guard down and the Crusaders came out on fire hitting their 1st 6 3-pt FG's and finished 10-23 from long distance. They used an 11-0 run to take an 11-4 lead (that they kept until the game became tied at 33 all) and eventually a 33-25 lead when Houston took over and led the Huskies on another 17-2 run to end the half to go into the locker room up 42-35. Houston continued her assertive and consistent All-American-type play finishing with 22 pts., 6 rebs., 3 asts., and 4 stls. on 11-14 shooting. Her coach says, "She had a purpose. She knew exactly where she wanted to go. And she knew where she wanted to get and there was no hesitation when she got it." She is also getting involved and contributing in more ways than just scoring which is the true sign of her maturity. Her teammate Phillips, on the other hand, is so far into the doghouse that she not only was a DNP for the 3rd straight game, but didn't even make the trip to Worchester with Geno sighting PUP (Physically Unable to Perform). Charles also continues to struggle, especially (along with the entire team) from the free-throw line.

7/7 Connecticut Huskies (5-0)

Results: Connecticut 83, Holy Cross 64
Player of the Game: Jr. PF Charde Houston
Defensive Player of the Game: I don't think there was one!
Freshman Player of the Game: Fr. C Tina Charles
Stat of the Game: UConn 2-8 3-pt FG's, Holy Cross 10-23 3-pt FG's

The Huskies hit the road tonight for 3 games following their 11-pt home win over Purdue starting at Holy Cross. They will continue to try to rest the palyers being nagged by injuries as well as give their freshmen more playing time. Someone who is especially looking to improve is Charles, saying, "I have to be more aggressive. There's just little things that I have to work on. That wasn't my game and I was really disappointed in myself, the way I came out. But there's other games. I can't let that bring me down." Someone who has been steadily improving is Houston, saying, "Last season I would have been sitting on the bench. I wouldn't have played at all just because I would've got frustrated because I wasn't scoring and that leads to not rebounding, not stealing the ball and not playing defense. So this year I understood that when things like that happen there's enough players on this team to make up for my deficit." McLaren will go against her former HS teammate 5'10 Fr. SG Briana McFadden, who incidentally was recuited by Geno for the Crusaders.

Game notes (pdf) for today's game at Holy Cross Crusaders.

In some recruiting news, my hometown newspaper discusses Geno's recent success the past few years recruiting down South. They also discuss parity creeping ever so slowly into the women's game. I'll believe parity when I see it...thank you...and NOT just in a few minor upsets here and there or when someone other than UC or TN wins titles!!!

For Geno, he has no real complaints about the way his team played Thursday night in its win over Purdue. He is being very positive, happy with the defense, and asked the players themselves to judge how well they think they played. Their answer...nobody felt they played to the best of their ability. Especially Greene and Charles, both of whom spent most of the 2nd half on the bench. For Greene, Geno says, "she's trying, but just going to fast--she's going 100 mph." For Charles, maybe it was Purdue's big frontcourt or tight zone that didn't allow her a lot of touches on offense or perhaps it was the ESPN2 cameras or maybe she just had a bad game. Both will be back in the starting line-up Monday against Holy Cross.

The Huskies have 8 games and 5 weeks to the day to get ready to take on their next Top 10 opponent, Tennessee and CP3 (the one who dunks)!!!

UConn passed its first test of the season, but only with a "C" for gaining confidence. Great defense, poor shooting, rebounding, and TO's were the story of the game as the Huskies were led by Montgomery (26 pts, 3 asts, 9 TO's) in the defeat of #9 Purdue in a low scoring affair 66-55. They played great basketball for the second half of the first half breaking a tied game at 18-18 open with a 17-2 run to end the first half 35-20. They only received a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 from their coach, but he was happy with the game and understands it was only Nov. 30th. He was pleased to get a great win using hounding defense over a great Top 10 opponent especially since no one on the team is anywhere near as good as they should be come Jan./Feb. Besides Montgomery, another player who played great was Thomas who shut down Sr. All-American candidate and potential 1st Rd. draft pick SG Katie Gearlds. Gearlds came in averaging 20 ppg after 6 gms. to 4 pts. on 2 of 18 shooting (0-9 from 3-pt land). Some shots she missed were wide open shots, but credit Thomas for getting into her head early and making life miserable for the rest of the game as both players played the entire 40 mins.

UConn made a statement, but most importantly so too did Houston, who struggled to get shots off early against Purdue's other All-America candidate Lindsey Wisdom-Hylton, but shrugged off a slow first half not allowing it to affect the rest of her game as she played a career high 35 minutes finishing with 9 pts., 7 rebs, 5 asts. (career high), 4 blks. (career high), and 4 stls. proving once again and day-by-day that she is focused on 'the game' and not just scoring points. Hunter, Greene, and McLaren played well at times and unfortunately Charles appeared shell-shocked in her first nationally televised game of her career finishing with season lows of 6 pts., 3 rebs., and 1 blk. Before the tip-off, Geno was honored with the unveiling of his two Hall of Fame banners as well as the 5 National Players of the Year...up next are the 10 female 1st team All-Americans (Dec. 21st vs. Colorado St.).