Monday, March 31, 2014

1/1 Connecticut Huskies (38-0, 21-0 AAC)

Results: Connecticut 69, Texas A&M 54
Player of the Game: Sr. C Stefanie Dolson (14p, 10r, 3a, 1s, 8b, 39m)
Def. Player of the Game: Sr. C Stefanie Dolson (9dr, 1s, 8b, 39m)
Fr. Player of the Game: none
Stat of the Game: Blocks: UConn 10, Texas A&M 2

Summary: UConn won its 44th straight game and are now headed to Nashville, TN to compete in their NCAA WCBB DI-record 7th straight Final Four (and 15th overall). Led by Lincoln Regional MOP and UConn All-American Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis' 17pts and 7rebs as well as All-American Sr. C Stefanie Dolson's 14pts., 10rebs, and career-high 8 blocks, UConn again pulled away early in the 2nd half to defeat Texas A&M, 69-54. In this game, Dolson also tied Stanford's Kayla Pedersen for all-time starts in NCAA DI WCBB history with 150 starts and UConn as a team set the NCAA DI record for blocked shots in a single season with 311 (Baylor 310, 2011-12, 40 games).

2014 Lincoln All-Regional Team:
Sr. C Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut
Sr. G Bria Hartley, Connecticut
Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut, MOP
So. G Courtney Walker, Texas A&M
So. G Courtney Williams, Texas A&M

2013-14 USBWA All-American Team

The trio of All-American Sr. C Stefanie Dolson, Sr. G Bria Hartley, and So. F Breanna Stewart have earned spots on the 10-member 2013-14 United States Basketball Writers Association All-America Team as announced by the USBWA today. The USBWA Women's All-America Team is the nation's best ten players, regardless of position, as selected by the USBWA membership based on regular-season performance. These ten standouts are finalists for the USBWA's Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the national player of the year, which will be announced Sunday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., at 3:30 p.m. ET prior to the start of the NCAA Women's Final Four. Dolson earns her second-straight USBWA All-America Team selection while Hartley and Stewart earn the honor for the first time. Huskies have had at least one selection on the 10-member team in six of the last seven seasons. Dolson is the fifh Husky to earn multiple selections to the team, which began in 1996, joining former UConn Greats Nykesha Sales, Svetlana Abrosimova, Diana Taurasi, and Maya Moore.

2013-14 USBWA All-American Team:
Sr. C Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut
Sr. G Bria Hartley, Connecticut
So. G Jewell Loyd, Notre Dame
Sr. G Maggie Lucas, Penn State
Sr. G Kayla McBride, Notre Dame
Sr. F Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford
Sr. G Shoni Schimmel, Louisville
Sr. G Odyssey Sims, Baylor
So. F Breanna Stewart, Connecticut
Sr. F Alyssa Thomas, Maryland

Game notes (pdf) for today's NCAA Elite 8 game vs 3-seed Texas A&M Aggies (27-8).

Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, NE)
Time: 9:30pm (ET)
TV: ESPN
Internet: ESPN3
Radio: UConn IMG Radio Network/WTIC
Live Stats: GameTracker

Saturday, March 29, 2014

1/1 Connecticut Huskies (37-0, 21-0 AAC)

Results: Connecticut 70, BYU 51
Player of the Game: Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (19p, 13r, 4a, 1s, 36m)
Def. Player of the Game: Sr. C Stefanie Dolson (10dr, 2s, 4b, 36m)
Fr. Player of the Game: none
Stat of the Game: 2nd Chance Pts.: UConn 27, BYU 9

Summary:  UConn All-American Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis followed up her triple-double with a double-double of 19pts and 13rebs (career-high 8 offensive) as UConn pulled away midway through the SECOND half to defeat BYU, 70-51. UConn season scoring leaders Breanna Stewart and Bria Hartley overcame slow starts, with Stewart having 12 of her 16 in the second half and Hartley all 12 after halftime. At the end of the day, it wasn't pretty or easy (it isn't supposed to be), but a win is a win and UConn now moves onto the Elite 8 and awaits the winner of the Texas A&M-DePaul winner.
Game notes (pdf) for today's NCAA Sweet 16 game vs 12-seed BYU Cougars (23-9).

Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, NE)
Time: 4:30pm (ET)
TV: ESPN
Internet: ESPN3
Radio: UConn IMG Radio Network/WTIC
Live Stats: GameTracker

Thursday, March 27, 2014

2014 Wade Trophy finalists

The UConn trio of All-American Sr. C Stefanie Dolson, All-American Sr. G Bria Hartley, and All-American candidate So. F Breanna Stewart have been named as finalists for the 2014 Wade Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding Division I women's basketball player as announced on Thursday. The candidates were selected by a vote of committee members consisting of leading basketball coaches, journalists and administrators. The committee will select the winner of The Wade Trophy from among the 12 finalists who also are named to the 10-member WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America Team when it is chosen in April. The winner will be announced during the WBCA Awards Show, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. ET Monday, April 7, 2014.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

2013-14 WBCA All-Region 1 Team/COY

The UConn trio of All-American Sr. C Stefanie Dolson, All-American Sr. G Bria Hartley, and All-American candidate So. F Breanna Stewart have been selected to the 2013-14 All-Region 1 Team as announced by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on Tuesday, March 25.  This marks the second selection for both Dolson (2013) and Hartley (2012) and the first for Stewart. The WBCA All-America selection committee will select the 10-member WBCA Division I Coaches’ All-America Team from these 52 All-Region picks and will be announced on Saturday, April 5, 2014 during the Final Four in Nashville, TN.

Today UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma has been selected as the 2013-14 Region 1 Coach of the Year, as announced by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Auriemma is one of eight Russell Athletic/Regional Coaches of the Year and is now a finalist for the inaugural Pat Summitt Trophy to be presented to the 2014 Russell Athletic/WBCA NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year. The other seven finalists for the award are Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw (Region 2), South Carolina’s Dawn Staley (Region 3), Bowling Green’s Jennifer Roos (Region 4), Baylor’s Kim Mulkey (Region 5), Indiana’s Curt Miller (Region 6), Colorado State’s Ryun Williams (Region 7) and Oregon State’s Scott Rueck (Region 8). The 2014 Russell Athletic/WBCA NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year will be announced during the fourth annual WBCA Awards Show on Monday, April 7, in the Omni Nashville Hotel’s Broadway Ballroom. This event is part of the WBCA National Convention and is held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

1/1 Connecticut Huskies (36-0, 21-0 AAC)

Results: Connecticut 91, St. Joseph's 52
Player of the Game: Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (20p, 10r, 10a, 31m)
Def. Player of the Game: So. G Moriah Jefferson (8dr, 3s, 5b, 33m)
Fr. Player of the Game: Fr. G Saniya Chong (1r, 1a, 11m)
Stat of the Game: Free Throws: UConn 11-12, St. Joe's 2-2

Summary:  UConn All-American Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis has struggled this season with injury and illness. But everything felt fine on Tuesday night. She recorded UConn's first ever triple-double in a NCAA Tournament game as she scored 20 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and had 10 assists to lead the Huskies to a 91-52 rout of Saint Joseph's in the second round of the NCAA tournament. It was the second triple double for UConn this year, the third in program history, and just the 14th in the history of the women's NCAA tournament. She led five players in double figures for the top-ranked Huskies, who won their 42nd straight game. UConn All-American candidate So. F Breanna Stewart added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and All-American Sr. G Bria Hartley also chipped in 20 points for the defending national champions, who are trying to win a record ninth NCAA tournament.
Game notes (pdf) for today's NCAA 2nd Rd game vs 9-seed St. Joseph's Hawks (23-9).

Location: Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, CT)
Time: 7:00pm (ET)
TV: ESPNU
Internet: ESPN3
Radio: UConn IMG Radio Network/WTIC
Live Stats: GameTracker

Sunday, March 23, 2014

1/1 Connecticut Huskies (35-0, 21-0 AAC)

Results: Connecticut 87, Prairie View A&M 44
Player of the Game: So. F Breanna Stewart (19p, 10r, 4a, 1s, 2b, 28m)
Def. Player of the Game: So. G Moriah Jefferson (3dr, 5s, 26m)
Fr. Player of the Game: Fr. G Saniya Chong (9p, 4r, 2a, 18m)
Stat of the Game: Rebounds: UConn 52, Prairie View A&M 28

Summary: UConn's players had a couple of presents for coach Geno Auriemma on his 60th birthday. The first was a video in which they altered the words to the Commodores classic song "Brick House" to have a little fun at his expense. The second was an 87-44 rout of Prairie View A&M on Sunday, giving Auriemma his 92nd NCAA tournament win. UConn All-American candidate So. F Breanna Stewart led a balanced offense with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead five Huskies in double figures. Fellow So. G Moriah Jefferson had 14 points, four assists and five steals.
Game notes (pdf) for today's NCAA 1st Rd game vs 16-seed Prairie View A&M (14-17).

Location: Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, CT)
Time: 8:00pm (ET)
TV: ESPN
Internet: ESPN3
Radio: UConn IMG Radio Network/WTIC
Live Stats: GameTracker

Friday, March 21, 2014

2013-14 Naismith Award finalists

UConn All-American candidate So. F Breanna Stewart has been selected as one of four finalists for the 2014 Naismith Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation’s top collegiate basketball player, as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The fan voting component of the award’s selection process will begin next week. Stewart is joined by Notre Dame’s Kayla McBride, Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike and Baylor’s Odyssey Sims. The finalists were chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s National Voting Academy, which determined that the player performances throughout the 2013-14 regular season stood out among a host of great women’s basketball players. The 2014 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year presented by AT&T will be awarded to one of these four finalists on April 7, 2014, in Nashville, TN. For the 10th consecutive year, fans will have the opportunity to vote for the player of their choice and help determine the 2014 Naismith Trophy winner. Beginning March 24 and running through April 5 fans can cast their vote through the online and mobile optimized site www.NaismithVote.com. The fan vote represents 25 percent of the selection process – the largest fan impact of any collegiate basketball award.

Monday, March 17, 2014

The 2014 Women's NCAA Tournament #1 Seeds:


1a. Connecticut Huskies (Lincoln)

1b. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (South Bend)

1c. Tennessee Lady Vols (Louisville)

1d. South Carolina Gamecocks (Stanford)


The 1-seed Connecticut Huskies will face 16-seed SWAC Champion Prairie View A&M (14-17) at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT on Sunday, March 23 at 8:00pm (ET) on ESPN.

Friday, March 14, 2014

espnW 2013-14 WCBB National Player of the Year

Today UConn So. F Breanna Stewart was selected by a panel of WCBB media members as the espnW 2013-14 WCBB National Player of the Year by espnW while senior center Stefanie Dolson and senior guard Bria Hartley each earned espnW All-America status, as announced on Friday.  UConn led the way with 3 players named to each of the two 5-player teams as Stewart was selected as a First Team All-American while Dolson and Hartley each earned Second Team honors. All 3 players were unanimous selections.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

2014 James E. Sullivan Award list

Today UConn Sr. All-American G Bria Hartley was selected as one of 19 nominees for the 2014 James E. Sullivan Award, which honors the nation’s outstanding amateur athlete, as announced by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).  Cast your vote for Bria at aausports.org! Tuesday marks the first day of voting to find the winner of the 2013 AAU Sullivan Award. Voting is open to the public and will account for one-third of the athlete’s overall score. The nominees were nominated by someone who thought they fit the requirements of outstanding athletic ability, strong character, leadership and sportsmanship. Three finalists will be named no later than March 28th and the winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on Friday, April 11 at the AAU National Headquarters in Orlando, FL. The Sullivan Award has been presented annually since 1930, and is based on character, leadership and sportsmanship. Notable recipients of the AAU Sullivan Award include: Mark Spitz, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Florence Joyner, Peyton Manning, Michael Phelps, J.J. Redick, Tim Tebow, Shawn Johnson and Missy Franklin.

Monday, March 10, 2014

2014 AAC Tournament Champions

1/1 Connecticut Huskies (34-0, 21-0 AAC)

Results: Connecticut 72, Louisville 52
Player of the Game: So. F Breanna Stewart (20p, 9r, 6a, 2s, 4b, 36m)
Def. Player of the Game: So. F Breanna Stewart (9dr, 2s, 4b, 36m)
Fr. Player of the Game: Fr. F Emmonnie Henderson, Louisville (2p, 2r, 11m)
Stat of the Game: Free Throws: UConn 16-22, Louisville 3-3

Summary: UConn So. sensation and All-American candidate F Breanna Stewart was everywhere on both sides of the court (even ending up with a SportsCenter Top 10 (#9 to be exact) highlight block on her way to being named the inaugural American Tournament MVP as she led UConn to yet another 20-point victory over Louisville, 72-52. Stewart was helped by fellow All-Tournament members UConn All-Americans Sr. G Bria Hartley (16 points and 6 assists), Sr. C Stefanie Dolson (10 points and 16 rebounds), and Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (13 points and 4 rebounds). The Huskies have now won 40 straight games - the third-longest streak in school history. It was the third straight game that UConn put a team away by the end of the first half. Shoni Schimmel led Louisville with 20 points, but was 7 for 25 from the field. She had little help as no other Cardinals player reached double figures. Once again, Louisville had no answer for the Huskies, losing for the third time this season and the 16th straight time overall. The Cardinals have only beaten the Huskies once and that was in the first meeting between the schools back in 1993.

2014 American Athletic Conference Tournament Champions!!!

2014 All-Tournament Team:
Sr. C Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut
Sr. G Bria Hartley, Connecticut
Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut
Sr. G Shoni Schimmel, Louisville
So. F Breanna Stewart, Connecticut (Tournament MVP)

Friday, March 07, 2014

American Post-season Honors (part deux)

UConn nearly swept the American Athletic Conference's Women's Basketball major awards as sophomore forward Breanna Stewart was named the 2013-14 American Player of the Year and Head Coach Geno Auriemma received 2013-14 American Coach of the Year honors. Rutgers guard Tyler Scaife took home the American Freshman of the Year award. Stewart, the American Preseason Player of the Year and AP Preseason All-American, averaged 8.5 rebounds and a team-best 19.8 points per game in conference play. The Syracuse, N.Y. native finished second in the league in scoring and become the fifth sophomore in UConn history to hit the 1,000 career-point mark. Stewart was a unanimous all-conference first team selection and led her team to the inaugural American regular-season championship. She was named the 2013 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year and is a finalist for the Naismith, Wade and Wooden Awards.

In his 29th year of coaching, Auriemma led his team to an unbeaten regular season and the inaugural league title. His squad finished 31-0 for their ninth-consecutive 30-win season and is ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls. His team boasts three Naismith National Semifinalists, four players on the Wade Trophy Watch List and two Nancy Lieberman Award finalists. UConn has won 37 conference championships and are currently on a 37-game win streak dating back to last season. The streak is the third longest in program history.

2013-14 American Player of the Year:
So. F Breanna Stewart, Connecticut

2013-14 American Freshman of the Year:
Fr. G Tyler Scaife, Rutgers

2013-14 American Scholar-Athlete of the Year:
Sr. F Antonita Slaughter, Louisville

2013-14 American Coach of the Year:
Geno Auriemma, Connecticut

Thursday, March 06, 2014

American Post-season Honors

The UConn women’s basketball team placed seven players on American Athletic Conference regular season teams in awards announced Thursday afternoon by the league. Stefanie Dolson headlined the group, earning Defensive Player of the Year, the American Sportsmanshp Award and a spot on the All-Conference First Team. Joining Dolson as First Team selections were Bria Hartley, Moriah Jefferson and Breanna Stewart. Juniors Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Kiah Stokes landed on the All-Conference Second Team while rookie Saniya Chong received was an All-Freshman team choice.

2013-14 American Defensive Player of the Year:
Sr. C Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut

2013-14 American Most Improved Player of the Year:
RSr. F Asia Taylor, Louisville

2013-14 American Sportsmanship Award:
Sr. C Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut
RSr. G Tia Gibbs, Louisville

2013-14 American Sixth Player of the Year:
Jr. G Rateska Brown, Temple

2013-14 All-AAC First Team:
Sr. C Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut*
Sr. G Bria Hartley, Connecticut*
So. G Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut
So. F Breanna Stewart, Connecticut*
Jr. F Sara Hammond, Louisville
RSr. F Asia Taylor, Louisville
Sr. G Shoni Schimmel, Louisville*
So. G Ariel Hearn, Memphis
So. G Kahleah Copper, Rutgers
So. G Courtney Williams, South Florida
Sr. G Keena Mays, Southern Methodist*

2013-14 All-AAC Second Team: 
Jeanise Randolph, Cincinnati, Sr., F
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, UConn, Jr., F
Kiah Stokes, UConn, Jr., C
Bria Smith, Louisville, Jr., G
Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, Jr., G/F
Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, Fr., G
Alisia Jenkins, USF, So., F
Inga Orekhova, USF, Sr., G
Akil Simpson, SMU, Sr., F
Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, Fr., G
Natasha Thames, Temple, R-Sr., F

2013-14 AAC All-Freshman Team:
*Zykira Lewis, UCF, Fr., G
Bianca Quisenberry, Cincinnati, Fr., G
Saniya Chong, UConn, Fr., G
Emmonnie Henderson, Louisville, Fr., F
Breigha Wilder-Cochran, Memphis, Fr., G
Mooriah Rowser, Memphis, R-Fr., G
*Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, Fr., G
Ariadna Pujol, USF, Fr., G
*Kiara Perry, SMU, Fr., G
*Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, Fr., G
Taylor Robinson, Temple, Fr., C

* denotes unanimous pick 

2014 John R. Wooden Award final list

UConn All-Americans Sr. C Stefanie Dolson and Sr. G Bria Hartley as well as All-American candidate So. F Breanna Stewart have each been selected to the final ballot for the 2014 John R. Wooden Award, as announced today by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.  Maya Moore (2009, 2011) and Tina Charles (2010) are former Huskies to earn the prestigious award. UConn was one of only two schools to place multiple student-athletes on the 15-member ballot as Notre Dame placed two.

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Player of the Week

UConn So. All-American candidate F Breanna Stewart was named the American Player of the Week for the fourth time this season after she combined for 65 points (21.6 per game) in a 3-0 stretch for the Huskies that included conference wins over SMU, No. 24 Rutgers and No. 3 Louisville.