In the world of UConn women's basketball last names are really not necessary. So when Maya Moore and Tina Charles had their post-game, post-press conference interviews interrupted by a request to pose with a photo with "Kerry", there was no need for them to ask "Kerry who?"

Moore swung her head around after the request came from UConn women's basketball sports information director Randy Press after Saturday's win over Providence and her eyes lit up when she spotted Kerry Bascom armed with a camera and a huge smile. Both Moore and Charles gave Bascom a huge hug and chatted for a few seconds before posing for photos.

Moore's reaction was somewhere along the lines of "of course I won't mind sharing some quality time with one of the greats in UConn history."

Bascom brought some people down from New Hampshire with her and had Charles and Moore sign a few items and take some photos for keepsakes. The funny thing is that Charles and Moore might have gotten a bigger kick out of the brief interaction with Bascom than it being the other way around.

"We know how hard it is to play here," Moore said. "I am sure it was even harder when she was here so we absolutely have respect for a woman like that. It is a family so any time we see a former player, we get excited and feel this connection because they have been where we are now."

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma was asked during the live airing of his show on CPTV who he would like to take the last shot in the closing seconds with the Huskies down by two points and his answer was either Diana Taurasi or Kerry Bascom. Yet Bascom goes relatively unnoticed when she comes to UConn games. Unlike the UConn stars who came in after her, very few of Bascom's games were on television but the star of UConn's first Final Four team and the three-time Big East Player of the Year has always been and will always be one of Auriemma's favorites.

"It's always great when the players come back," Auriemma said. "It does keep you connected, they stay connected. It helps us keep that thread back to the beginning. Having Meghan (Pattyson Culmo) around, having Kerry around, having Rita (Williams) at practice (periodically), having Sue (Bird) when she comes up, it is really gratifying for me when I see that.

"Kerry comes down a lot. I always enjoy seeing her and it always reminds me that as good a player as she was, I don't think she ever played a game in this building. She happened to come along a little too soon for all of this but just at the right time for us. Somebody asked me the other day if I had one player to make a shot with 1 second left I would either have Dee (Taurasi) shoot it or pass it to Kerry that's how much that kid meant to our program, how many big shots and how many big plays she made. It was pre-TV, pre-national rankings, pre-everything but she still feels like this is a big part of who she is and all the kids on the team know her, she is like royalty."

LIGHTING IT UP
Switching gears from looking at one of the greats of UConn's past, here's an update on how some of UConn recruits fared last night.

Stefanie Dolson, a 6-foot-5 senior center at Minisink Valley in Slate Hill, N.Y., flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 26 points, 22 rebounds and 8 blocks in a 52-37 win over Amsterdam.

Lauren Engeln, a 5-foot-11 guard at Laguna Hills (Calif.) High, only made 1 of 7 shots but was 20 of 22 from the free-throw line in a 57-35 win over JW North. Engeln finished with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Samarie Walker, a 6-foot-1 wing at Chaminade Julienne in Dayton, Ohio, had a quieter game but since the Eagles only allowed 12 in a win over Monroe, she wasn't asked to light it up. Walker's seven points helped Chaminade Julienne to a 54-12 win to set up a game on Saturday against Oakwood in the Ohio Division II Springboro Regional.