Home Game Locations announced.

The defending national champion University of Connecticut women’s basketball team will play 9 of its 18 home games at Gampel Pavilion, 8 at the XL Center and 1 at a location (reports indicate Mohegan Sun Arena and the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport are the two finalists) to be announced shortly. The Huskies are 285-19 (.936) all-time at Gampel Pavilion and 136-14 (.907) at the XL Center.

He's Back...

While it won't become "official" until tomorrow, sources have already leaked what has long been speculated. That UConn Women's Basketball Head Coach Geno Auriemma will, in fact, return for a 2nd 4-year stint as Head Coach of the USA Women's Basketball Senior National Team. More to come tomorrow after the press conference which is scheduled to be held at UConn (if that doesn't give it away, I don't know what would) at 1pm ET.

Weekly Spotlight #5

UConn All-American Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis On Record Pace.

Weekly Spotlight #4

UConn Jr. C Kiah Stokes Emerging As Dual Threat.

The defending NCAA WCBB champions will begin their title defense on Sat., Nov. 9th as they take on former UConn Great Jen Rizzotti and the Hartford Hawks. The team will play 31 regular-season games, including a home-and-home series with all nine American Athletic Conference teams. Following a rigorous non-conference slate that includes six games against teams in the top-10 of last year's RPI and five games against teams that won their conference championship, the Huskies will partake in their first American Athletic Conference contest on Sun., Dec. 29th against Cincinnati. UConn will play games on a WCBB record 13 nationally-televised contests, 10 on the ESPN family of networks and three on CBS Sports Network

Weekly Spotlight #3

UConn All-American Sr. C Stefanie Dolson Poised to End UConn Career on High Note.

Weekly Spotlight #2

UConn Jr. G Brianna Banks On Her Way Back To The Court.

Weekly Spotlight #1

UConn All-American Sr. G Bria Hartley Is Back On Her Game.

The University of Connecticut women's basketball team put the finishing touches on its 2012-13 season with a trip to the White House for the third time since 2009 as President Barack Obama welcomed the team to the executive mansion to commemorate the Huskies 2013 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. UConn finished the season with a 35-4 record and claimed its record-tying eighth national championship with a 93-60 victory over Louisville on April 9. The Huskies have now won seven national titles since 2000 and have made 14 trips, including a record six-straight, to the Final Four.

USA U19 Gold

Behind a stifling defensive effort, as well as 16 pts., 9 rebs. 3 blks from UConn So. F Breanna Stewart (U19 Tournament MVP), the 2013 USA U19 World Championship Team (9-0) held France (7-2) to just 8 total points in the second half en route to a 61-28 victory and the USA's fifth-straight FIBA U19 World Championship gold medal on Sunday night in Klaipeda, Lithuania. The U.S. has claimed six of the last seven U19 gold medals and boasts a 54-4 record over that span, while owning an all-time 66-12 record in U19 play. Stewart's 152 points lists as the all-time USA U19 scoring record, surpassing the 147 points scored by Maya Moore in 2007. She also has the highest 3-point percentage of any USA U19 team member in history after shooting a sizzling 58.3 percent (14-24 3ptFGs), eclipsing the 57.1 percent shot beyond the arc by Cappie Pondexter in 2001. Fellow UConn So. F Morgan Tuck who averaged a USA second-best 13.1 points a game during the tournament, scored all of her six points in an 8-4 spurt to open the second half and with 14:45 remaining in the contest the USA led 37-24 while UConn So. G Moriah Jefferson was credited with game-highs of five assists and four steals. Stewart now has 6 gold medals for USA to her name while Tuck now has 4 and Jefferson has 2.

USA WUG Gold

UConn All-American Sr. G Bria Hartley scored a game-high 17 points and was 6-7 from the floor while UConn All-American Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 15 points to lead Team USA to gold at the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia with a 90-71 win over Russia on Monday night. USA now has won three-consecutive gold medals, and nine overall, at the World University Games. USA limited Russia to just 41.6 percent shooting (27-65 FGs) and 31.4 percent in the first half (11-35 FGs), and forced 20 turnovers, which led to 27 U.S. points. Hartley led USA in scoring for the WUG tournament with 13.5ppg and finished 2nd on the team in assists with 3.3ppg while Mosqueda-Lewis led the team in rebounding with 6.8rpg and finished 2nd on the team in scoring with 13.0ppg. Both Huskies now have 4 gold medals for the USA to their name.

(Via Rich Elliott's CT Post blog)

UConn incoming freshman Saniya Chong has been named the National High School Senior Athlete of the Year in girl’s basketball by the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA). She was one of 20 athletes honored nationwide. Chong, who was also named the Parade All-American Team’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year and a WBCA All-American, will be honored in the National High School Sports Hall of Fame Museum that will be built in Easton, Pa. She averaged 34.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 4.8 steals and 2.0 blocks last season in leading Ossining (N.Y.) High to the state Class AA championship.

“The 20 young men and women we are honoring today represent the thousands of success stories produced in high school athletics,’’ NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro Jr. said in a statement. “They have worked extremely hard to develop their skills and have become not just great athletes, but outstanding role models as well, and we are proud to be honoring them.’’ 

American Athletic Conference begins...

The Big East as we once knew it has officially gone. The dawn of the American Athletic Conference took place at midnight. The Catholic 7 (DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova) have broken off to form another version of the Big East along with Butler, Creighton, and Xavier. Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse have joined the ACC. Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, SMU and Temple have come aboard in all sports. Louisville (ACC) and Rutgers (Big Ten) will stick around one more year before leaving for their new home.

2013 ESPYs

UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma, who guided the Huskies to an NCAA record-tying eighth national championship this past season, is one of five nominees for the Best Coach/Manager ESPY Award. He is joined by Indianapolis Colts/Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, Duke lacrosse coach John Danowski, Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino and Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. The ESPYs will be held July 17 at 9 p.m. That is when the voting process will end.

Fans can cast their vote by clicking here.

And with the 11th pick in 2013 WNBA Draft the Connecticut Sun select...

 

Kelly Faris from the University of Connecticut

 

 

Victory Parade

The University of Connecticut women's basketball team partook in the Victory Parade around Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford Sunday afternoon. The parade was hosted by the Hartford Business Improvement District in an effort to congratulate the Huskies on winning the 2013 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship. The team tossed beads from the upper level of a double-decker bus to add a little New Orleans flavor to the even. Approximately 10,000 people turned out for the parade.

1-seed (3/3) Connecticut Huskies (35-4, 16-3 BE)

Results: Connecticut 93, Louisville 60
Player of the Game: Fr. F Breanna Stewart (23p, 9r, 3a, 3s, 3b, 30m)
Defensive Player of the Game: Sr. G Kelly Faris (8dr, 2s, 1b, 33m)
Freshman Player of the Game: Fr. F Breanna Stewart (23p, 9r, 3a, 3s, 3b, 30m)
Stat of the Game: 3pt. Shooting: UConn 13-26 (50%), Louisville 5-23 (21.7%)

Summary:  UConn is back on top. Led by Fr. Breanna Stewart, it might be a while before they relinquish that spot. Stewart scored 18 of her 23 points in a superb first half and Connecticut won its 8th NCAA WBB National Championship with a 93-60 rout of Louisville. It was the most lopsided victory in a title game (men's or women's). The title tied Auriemma and the Huskies with Pat Summitt and Tennessee for the most in women's basketball history. It might not take long for Auriemma to pass Summitt the way Stewart and the rest of his Huskies played. His star freshman was unstoppable, hitting shots from everywhere on the court to earn Most Outstanding Player honors for the Final Four (the first Fr. to win since 1987) after scoring a career-high 29pts. (most in Final 4 game by a Fr.) against Notre Dame in the National Semifinals on Sunday.

"The fact that I tied Pat Summitt's record puts you in the category of the greatest women's basketball coach that ever lived," Auriemma said. "I'm just thrilled for our seniors. This team accomplished an amazing feat this last month."

Senior Kelly Faris and 5th-year Seniors Caroline Doty/Heather Buck conclude their careers with their 2nd and 3rd NCAA titles, respectively. Faris was simply amazing in the Final 4 shutting down whomever she was in charge of guarding. Her defensive abilties and her heart/hustle is a thing of beauty. She will be missed by many (and by me especially). That girl is SPECIAL!!! I am so happy the world got to see just how special and that she got to go out on top. She is going to make some WNBA team very, very happy with their selection in this Monday's upcoming 2013 WNBA Draft.

The loss ended an unprecedented tournament run by Louisville. The Cardinals became the first No. 5 seed to make the championship game, pulling off the greatest upset in tournament history when they beat Brittney Griner and the defending champion Baylor Lady Bears in the regional semifinals. Jeff Walz's team then beat Tennessee in the regional final before topping Cal in the Final Four. The Cardinals just didn't have enough to beat their Big East foe. Louisville was trying to become just the second school to win both the men's and women's championship in the same season and the first since UConn in 2004.

2012-13 NCAA Women's Basketball National Champions!!!

2013 Final Four All-Tournament Team:
Sr. G Kelly Faris, Connecticut
Jr. G Bria Hartley, Connecticut 
So. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut
Fr. F Breanna Stewart, Connecticut (Most Outstanding Player)
Jr. W Antonita Slaughter, Louisville

2013 WBCA All-Americans

Today UConn All-Americans Jr. C Stefanie Dolson and So. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis were named to the 2013 WBCA Division I Coaches' All-America Team, which the Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced today in a ceremony held at the New Orleans Arena during the 2013 NCAA® Women's Final Four® Super Saturday festivities. Baylor, Connecticut and Notre Dame each placed two players on the 10-member team which was decided from a group of 52 finalists by the selection committee at an in-person meeting held during the 2013 WBCA National Convention.

2013 WBCA Division I Coaches' All-America Team:
Sr. F Elena Delle Donne, Delaware
Sr. G Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame
Jr. C Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut
Jr. G Chelsea Grey, Duke
Sr. C Brittney Griner, Baylor
Jr. G Kayla McBride, Notre Dame
So. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut
Jr. F Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford
Jr. G Odyssey Sims, Baylor
Jr. F Alyssa Thomas, Maryland

The 2013 Women's NCAA Tournament #1 Seeds:

1a. Baylor Lady Bears (Oklahoma City)

1b. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Norfolk)

1c. Connecticut Huskies (Bridgeport)

1d. Stanford Cardinal (Spokane)


The 1-seed Connecticut Huskies will face 16-seed WAC Champion Idaho (17-15) at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT on Saturday, March 23 at 1:30pm (ET) on ESPN2.

2012-13 Big East Awards part 1

The UConn women's basketball team had six Huskies earn postseason Big East honors as announced by the league office on Thursday afternoon. Sr. G Kelly Faris was selected the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and shared the Most Improved Player of the Year award with DePaul's So. G Brittany Hrynko, while also earning a seat on the All-Big East 2nd Team. UConn So. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was a unanimous All-Big East 1st Team Selection and was joined on the 1st Team by Jr. C Stefanie Dolson. Additionally, Jr. G Bria Hartley and Fr. F Breanna Stewart were named All-Big East Honorable Mention. Stewart and Fr. G Moriah Jefferson were selected to the Big East All-Freshman Team.

2012-13 Big East Women's Basketball Postseason Honors:

Big East Defensive Player of the Year:
Sr. G Kelly Faris, Connecticut

Big East Sixth Man Award:
Sr. G Carmen Tyson-Thomas, Syracuse

Big East Most Improved Player:
Sr. G Kelly Faris, Connecticut
So. G Brittany Hrynko, DePaul

Big East Sportsmanship Award:
Sr. G Anna Martin, DePaul

All-Big East First Team^:
Jr. C Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut
So. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut*
So. G Brittany Hrynko, DePaul
Sr. G Sugar Rodgers, Georgetown
Jr. G Shoni Schimmel, Louisville
Jr. F Natalie Achonwa, Notre Dame
Sr. G Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame*
Jr. G Kayla McBride, Notre Dame
Sr. G Nadirah McKenith, St. John’s
Sr. W Shenneika Smith, St. John’s
Sr. G Andrea Smith, South Florida*
Sr. C Kayla Alexander, Syracuse

All-Big East Second Team
RJr. G Dayeesha Hollins, Cincinnati
Sr. G Kelly Faris, Connecticut
Sr. F Katherine Harry, DePaul
Sr. G Anna Martin, DePaul
Jr. G Antonita Slaughter, Louisville
Jr. F Katherine Plouffe, Marquette
Sr. G Symone Roberts, Providence
Sr. G Brittany Morris, Seton Hall
Sr. G Andrell Smith, South Florida
Sr. F Laura Sweeney, Villanova

All-Big East Honorable Mention:
Jr. G Bria Hartley, Connecticut
Fr. F Breanna Stewart, Connecticut
Fr. G Jewell Loyd, Notre Dame
So. G Brianna Kiesel, Pittsburgh
Sr. G Erica Wheeler, Rutgers

Big East All-Freshman Team:
Fr. G Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut
Fr. F Breanna Stewart, Connecticut*
RFr. G Chanise Jenkins, DePaul
Fr. G Brooklyn Pumroy, Marquette
Fr. G Jewell Loyd, Notre Dame*
Fr. G Aliyyah Handford, St. John’s*
Fr. G Kahleah Copper, Rutgers
Fr. G Brianna Butler, Syracuse
Fr. G Brittney Sykes, Syracuse*
Fr. F Alisia Jenkins, South Florida

* - unanimous selection
^ - extra members added due to voting ties