Former UConn star Jessica Moore's run with the Los Angeles Sparks ended when she was the final players cut from a team considered to be a favorite to win the WNBA title.

Moore, who began her career by playing six games with Charlotte in 2005, played in 106 games with the Sparks over the last four seasons. She started 50 games for the Sparks in the 2006 and 2007 seasons but simply got caught up in the numbers game in Los Angeles.

She is the third former Husky to be cut in the preseason. Kelly Schumacher was let go by Washington while Ketia Swanier was waived by Connecticut before getting picked up by Phoenix.

Swanier made the Mercury's opening-day roster, one of nine UConn players on WNBA rosters to start the season.

Connecticut (Barbara Turner and Asjha Jones), Minnesota (Renee Montgomery and Charde Houston), Phoenix (Swanier and Diana Taurasi) and Seattle (Sue Bird and Swin Cash) have two ex-Huskies while Ashley Battle will begin her fifth season with the New York Liberty.

By my unofficial tally (and followers of this blog know how great my math is and know that I will never be a candidate to become a CPA if I chose to change careers) Tennessee leads the way with 13 former Lady Vols on the opening-day rosters followed by Connecticut's nine, Georgia (seven), LSU and Rutgers (with six each) and North Carolina with five lead the list of top college feeder programs for the WNBA.

Bernice Mosby, who for a matter of hours was committed to play her college basketball at UConn before changing her mind, was waived by the Washington Mystics on Friday.

Mosby becomes the fifth 2007 first-round pick to be let go in the preseason.

The Connecticut Sun got down to the 11-player limit by waiving second-round pick Lyndra Littles, second-year forward Danielle Page and undrafted rookie Carrem Gay.

The Sun chose to keep guards Kristi Cirone and Kiesha Brown as well as forward/center Lauren Ervin.

The moves are a bit surprising considering the strong play of Page and Littles in the final preseason game. The feeling was that one of the guards (Brown and Cirone) would be among the cuts but Connecticut coach Mike Thibault does love his guards. When you look at the caliber of player available on the waiver wire, it will be interesting to see if the current roster of Asjha Jones, Lindsay Whalen, Tamika Whitmore, Erin Phillips, Chante Black, Amber Holt, Kerri Gardin, Barbara Turner, Cirone, Brown and Ervin will the one that takes the floor tomorrow for the season opener against Washington.

Two more players will have to go when Sandrine Gruda and Anete Jekabsone-Zogota join the team following the Euro

The New York Liberty opted to keep former UConn standout Ashley Battle as well as Erlana Larkins, cutting loose former No. 2 overall pick Jessica Davenport and Lisa Willis.

The waiving of Davenport is the latest hit for the draft class of 2007. While Davenport could be picked up by another team, she is the fifth first rounder in '07 not currently on a WNBA roster. The only first-round picks still with the team which selected them are Armintie Price (Chicago), Tiffany Jackson (NY), Bernice Mosby (Washington), Katie Gearlds (Seattle) and Sandrine Gruda (Connecticut). The No. 9 pick Alison Bales, No. 11 Ivory Latta and No. 12 Kamesha Hairston have all been cut in the preseason.

Look for more big names to be shown the door in the next two days as teams struggle to get down to 11 players.

UPDATED at 7:55 p.m.
Some more cuts impacting former UConn players have been made. Kelly Schumacher was let go by Washington two days before the Mystics were set to open the season at Mohegan Sun Arena versus the Sun. Ashley Paris and not ex-Husky Jessica Moore was let go by Los Angeles along with Marta Fernandez.

The Sparks are at 12 players. I have to plead ignorance in regards to its salary cap situation so I don't know whether LA needs to cut another player or if they can carry 11 players until Candace Parker reports to the team. If they have to keep just 10 players because of salary cap considerations, Moore's roster spot could still be in jeapordy.

Tan White, who averaged 9.2 points in four WNBA seasons, was cut by Indiana. With players like White, Fernandez, Latta and Davenport out there, something tells me it is going to be a crazy day tomorrow as teams get down to the 11-player maximum.

Ketia Swanier was the first of the former UConn players to get caught up in the numbers game. But will she be the only one?

Among the ex-Huskies who are probably walking on egg shells these days are Ashley Battle of the New York Liberty and Jessica Moore of the Los Angeles Sparks.

Before Sunday's exhibition game between Connecticut and Los Angeles, I spoke with Moore about the impact the move from 13 to 11 player rosters had on training camp.

"This year it is very difficult because it is not 13 anymore, it is 11 so it is always in the back of your mind," Moore said. "You can't dwell on that. All you can control is how you play, what you bring to practice every single day. As long as you can say to yourself that I am giving it my best, they can take it or leave it, what else can you do?"

Moore has played 106 games (starting 52) with LA over the last four seasons but the Sparks have added high-profile free agents Tina Thompson and Betty Lennox. Los Angeles also brought in veteran Vanessa Hayden and rookies Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Ashley Paris. On paper, it looks like Moore could be in some trouble but we will know soon. She very much wants to be there as Lisa Leslie plays her final season in the WNBA.

Moore has become very close with Leslie during her time with the Sparks.

"Playing with Lisa is like a dream come true," Moore said. "She was my all-time (favorite) player growing up and to actually get a chance to play with her, not only play with her but consider her one of my really good friends is awesome. I would be totally thrilled if I could be around her and be with her for the whole season."

I asked Moore to compare Leslie's basketball mindset to that of her former UConn teammate Diana Taurasi.

"What they do share in common is one thing they are great team players and will do anything for their teammates, they are not selfish and they bring that competitive edge on a whole different level," Moore said.

It is going to be an interesting couple of days as WNBA teams have some tough decisions to make to get down to the 11-player maximum.

As promised, I will share some of the highlights of my interview with UConn recruiting target Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis of Anaheim, Calif.

I found the most compelling part of my 6 minute, 41 second interview with Kaleena being the youthful exuberance she displayed about getting the autograph of swimmer Michael Phelps in her first day in Colorado Springs and reaction of being joined on the U.S. Under-16 national team by fellow Matei Dei High School stars Jordan Adams and Alexyz Vaioletama. But my reporting instincts push me to lead off with the info most pertinent to UConn.

She gracefully handled my inquiry of whether she was annoyed that Mike Flynn of Blue Star reported that he heard "whispers" that she committed to UConn, which much like his rumor that Stefanie Dolson was headed to Duke the day or two before she committed to UConn, was untrue.

"That is somebody who said I was going to go somewhere," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "It is not that big a deal as long as I get to set the record straight and let everybody know I haven't made a decision yet so I am not going to make a big deal over it."

As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, she probably won't a commitment until her senior year.

"I want to get a feel for all the colleges out there," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "I don't want put anybody out (of contention) because if I make a decision early, maybe my wants in a college will change by that time. If I make a commitment, I am not going to be one who wants to go back on my word so senior year is looking like the time I am going to make my decision."

Mosqueda-Lewis took advantage of Mater Dei's trip to New England to play a game in Springfield, Mass. by taking in a UConn practice in January. It was a couple of hours that she won't soon forget.

"It was very intense, non-stop talking, everybody working hard," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "Coach Geno getting on them after everything, passes are crisp, everything has got to be perfect in practice and I think that is a great thing, perfection and that is what Coach Geno expects from all his players. One of the best coach is Coach Auriemma because he pushes his players to be the best they can be and tries to make them be even more if they can be and that is exactly what I want. I need somebody to push me to that limit."

Mosqueda-Lewis has not seen Mater Dei's schedule but she said it was not likely they would come East again this year.

Now to the 15-year-old Mosqueda-Lewis acting like a 15-year-old. I could sense her excitement in getting Phelps' autograph coming through the phone line.

"I got his autograph when he was walking out of the dining area. I know there are a ton of great athletes out there, getting Michael Phelps' autograph, a man who got seven gold medals in one Olympics was incredible. I told everybody as soon as I got it."

She was also emotional about having three of the 12 members of the U-16 team being members of the Mater Dei squad.

"It is incredible, it makes it more comfortable to be able to interact on this team and have people here that I know are always going to be on my side and be with me," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "It is a great thing to have both of my teammates from high school here with me. At first we were all nervous, scared and we said if one of is makes it, two of us make it, if somebody doesn't we are still going to be together but when all three of us heard our names called, we weren't sitting near each other but when we all came together, we all started crying and all happy that we got to do this together."

I spoke with Betnijah Laney of Smyrna, Del. this afternoon. Laney, who also made the U-16 national team, was in the stands, sitting a couple of rows behind the UConn bench when the Huskies beat Seton Hall on Feb. 28 at the XL Center. It was the final regular season home game for Renee Montgomery, Tahirah Williams and Cassie Kerns.

"What I remember the most is that Renee Montgomery struggled (with her shot) in the first half but she stayed with it. I was impressed with that."

Like Mosqueda-Lewis, Laney said she would like to wait until a senior to make a commitment.

"I'd like to see what happens, see who the teams I am interested in recruit," Laney said. "If you commit (early) things can change so I think I will wait until I'm a senior."

Laney has been a regular at Rutgers home games "since she was a baby" since her mother was a member of Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer's team when Stringer coached at Cheney State in the early 1980s. Since entering high school, she has not been able to attend quite as many games. Her connections with Rutgers go a little deeper as her cousin Khadijah Rushdan was the Scarlet Knights' starting point guard.

Laney resisted the lure of basketball until she was 10, opting for cheerleading and dance. She said she came to her senses and has never looked back. Last season she broke the Delaware single-game scoring record with 52 points. Ironically, the owner of the record was Elena Delle Donne who announced today that she would be returning to the basketball court to play for Delaware.

"I think that it should be a really good season for them with her playing there," Laney said.

That is the extent of my Elena Delle Donne coverage in this blog. I am sure another paper in the state will provide more than enough coverage to make up for my lack of interest in this matter. I would rather spend my time focusing on players who will be or could be actually suiting up for UConn than those who will play their basketball for Delaware.

Other than Delaware women's basketball coach Tina Martin, who just added the most talented player in the Colonial Athletic Association to her program, nobody may be more joyous about the news that Elena Delle Donne has decided to restart her basketball career with the Blue Hens than UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Auriemma was in a tough spot in terms of commenting on Delle Donne, a kid he really likes. If he said what he truly believed, he would be accused of piling on a prodigy who was dealing with some issues which led her to leave UConn after spending just two days on the campus in June. Although Auriemma left the door open for Delle Donne to return publicly, privately he knew he did not need the distraction of a player not fully committed to the sport. When the subject was brought up by his former player Meghan Culmo in his television show in the winter, I took the opportunity to ask Auriemma about it. Here's what he said.

"It's funny, the way it was presented," Auriemma said. "Meghan is saying I can't tell you how many e-mails, I am flooded with e-mails that unimpeachable sources are telling us ... As soon as I hear that, I want to throw up. It is what it is. One of the unfortunate things that we've created, it is nobody's fault ... The story surrounding our seasons most of the time have nothing to do with our games because our games have become so predictable. There is too much boredom so let's go to everything else, no matter what that is because there is no mystery of how they are going to do Saturday, how are we going to do Monday. The mystery is all gone, the anticipation is all gone so the people on the Boneyard, the chat rooms hope we (win) on Saturday? We are struggling a little bit, we have to get back on track. What are they going to talk about? So it took me by surprise when Meghan said it. I was like 'what?' I was the most shocked person in the room, I think. I wake up every morning and want to read she is playing basketball at Delaware. She is not playing at Connecticut, if she was going to play at Connecticut, she'd be here by now. People generally just don't do that. You don't go, leave and then come back."

Now for a few of my thoughts.

First, there is no questioning Delle Donne's talent. She is a 6-4 or 6-5 kid with unlimited range on her jumper, a true offensive dynamo. However, when she held a press conference announcing her decision to play volleyball at Delaware, she said she was not ready to fully commit to playing basketball at UConn. I have not spoken to her since she left UConn and can't recall the last time I reached out to her or anybody in her camp but I hope she has regained the passion because if not, it sends a disturbing message that she won't need to give 100 percent to play at Delaware.

Second, I was always amazed when people asked me if Delle Donne would ever play at UConn again. Anybody who has any knowledge of how UConn does business must have known that the day Delle Donne summoned a friend to drive her off the UConn campus and back to her Wilmington, Delaware home marked the end of her UConn "career." I know it is hard for fans to come to terms with the national high school player of the year leaving UConn in her rear-view mirror and certainly a talent like Delle Donne would make any team better. But anybody who thought she was going to play at UConn agai was living in fantasy land. As Auriemma said, "she is not playing at Connecticut, if she was going to play at Connecticut, she'd be here by now. People generally just don't do that. You don't go, leave and then come back. Look at the history of any sport and then come back."

Finally, I hope she enjoys herself on the basketball court. It is still a game and should be fun. I remember when I did my first interview with Delle Donne at the USA Basketball U-19 trials in 2007 and she told me of her dad hiring her a personal trainer at the age of 7 and I cringed. Did her father push her too hard? I can't make the determination but Delle Donne has been searching for some peace and hopefully she will find it with the Blue Hens. It wasn't there in the brief time she was at UConn and since she gave up on college volleyball after her freshman season, that was not the answer either.

When undrafted rookie free agent Kristi Cirone got the call to replace Erin Phillips midway through the first quarter of Sunday's exhibition game against Los Angeles, the writing was on the wall for former UConn guard Ketia Swanier.

Even with the retirement of Jamie Carey, Swanier's play in the preseason just wasn't enough for her to stay with the Sun especially with the WNBA rosters cut from 13 to 11. The end came on Monday when Swanier and undrafted rookie guard Ashley Hayes were cut by the Sun.

The good news for Swanier is by getting cut early in the week, she has a chance to get picked up by another team.

The Sun will still need to make two more cuts by Friday. It figures to come down to Cirone, Danielle Page, Lyndra Littles, Lauren Ervin and Carrem Gay fighting for the final three spots.

While others may be clamoring for highly-touted Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis to make her college decision including one person spreading a rumor that the sophomore wing from Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif. has committed to UConn, Mosqueda-Lewis said she probably won't be committing until her senior season.

I'll have more on my interview with her including the excitement she felt in acquiring swimmer Michael Phelps' autograph and having two of her high school teammates joining her on the USA Basketball Under-16 national team at some point in the next day or two.

The days of UConn and Rutgers meeting twice in the regular season are over - for the time being.

After six seasons of the Huskies and Scarlet Knights playing a home-and-home series, the Big East has decided to change things up and make Notre Dame the only conference team the reigning national champions will play twice in the regular season. The only scheduled UConn/Rutgers game will be played in Connecticut. As result of the scheduling change is that UConn will play at Marquette for the second consecutive season.

UConn's home Big East opponents will be Cincinnati, Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, South Florida and West Virginia.

The road foes will be DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Syracuse and Villanova.

The other home and home series in the conference will be:
Louisville/Cincinnati
DePaul/Marquette
Georgetown/South Florida
Pittsburgh/West Virginia
Villanova/Providence
Rutgers/Syracuse
Seton Hall/St. John's

The dates of the games won't be known until the conference gets the OK from the television stations. That normally happens in early September.

Lyndra Littles was probably never more thrilled to finish a game 2 for 8 from the field than she was on Sunday.

The second-round pick was 0 for 5 from the field in the Connecticut Sun's first two exhibition games and then missed her first three shots in Sunday's exhibition finale against Los Angeles. Finally with 7 minutes to play, she had her first pro basket with a driving layup. The former Virginia star finished with eight points and a game-high eight rebounds as she finished the preseason schedule averaging 5 points and 4.7 rebounds.

Littles said her shooting woes did not carry over to the practice court which is good news in her bid to make the Sun 11-player roster.

"Yes, there it is was my thought," Little said of finally finding the range. "Like Coach (Mike) Thibault said, most of my shots were short and he wanted me to get them over the rim. I hit them in practice, I think it is being young, rushing them instead of taking your time."

Littles is going to do her best not to stress out about her future with Connecticut. She is aware that between now and Friday, four players will be cut.

"I am going to sleep, have a good time regardless of whether I make this team or not, I will make a team in the future and I will go overseas and play," Little said.

Thibault admitted that the cuts will not be easy ones. He is leaning towards not making any moves until after Tuesday's practice and intrasquad scrimmage at St. Joseph College in West Hartford (which will run from 6-8 p.m. and is open to the public).

Thibault is planning to hold onto Amber Holt, expected to miss a month with a hand injury. The starting five of Lindsay Whalen, Asjha Jones, Erin Phillips, Kerri Gardin and Chante Black as well as key reserves Barbara Turner and Tamika Whitmore will make up a solid seven-player rotation. Add in Holt and that leaves three spots for the other seven players in camp. Danielle Page and Littles were both assertive offensively. If Thibault keeps both of them, that leaves Ketia Swanier, Kristi Cirone, Ashley Hayes, Lauren Ervin and Carrem Gay fighting for one spot. It's a tough call. Do you keep another post player (Ervin) until Sandrine Gruda reports to camp? Or do you pick another point guard (Cirone or Swanier)? I guess that's why Thibault makes the big bucks.

Last item of the day is that 12 players including two (Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Betnijah Laney) who have attended either practice or a game at UConn last season have been named to the inaugural USA Basketball Under-16 national team.