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A blog on UConn women's basketball.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Curious onlookers

A year from now Stefanie Dolson, Bria Hartley and Samarie Walker hope to be key members of a Connecticut squad headed to its fourth straight Final Four and if all goes well in the next week, will be going for a third national title in a row.

I caught up to the three UConn incoming freshmen to get their take on the success the 2009-10 Huskies are enjoying.

"I definitely like to admire what they are accomplishing this year but when I am sitting there (at UConn games), I kind of look from the outside in about what is going on with Connecticut basketball and I pay attention to some of the things that Geno does as a coach and try to experience as much as I can so I pay great detail to that," Hartley said.

Dolson, who has seen reports speculating that she could be UConn's starting center next season, was almost speechless when I asked her to talk about the run the Huskies are on.

"It is just crazy how awesome they are," Dolson said. "It will be cool to be part of a legacy of some sort, we are going after the 88 (game winning) streak of UCLA and
that will be crazy if we get to that.

"We are all very excited but we are real nervous about the streak, we have to uphold that. We will still have the three returning (starters) but the incoming freshmen, we have to keep it up. There is a lot of pressure but I think we will be OK. I feel so lukcy and grateful that we have five freshmen coming in because Kelly Faris, she is the only freshman and I can't imagine going in by myself. At least I know that I have girls around me in the same boat."

"I am extremely excited," Walker said. "I also got to see them play in Louisville (on Feb. 7), it is very exciting and I've seen them play on TV. It is completely different watching them on TV and in person and thinking it is going to be in a few months. It is a dream come true and now I am going to put a (UConn) uniform on."

Walker said she is planning to see a doctor after she gets back from the Final Four in San Antonio next week to see if she will need surgery to fix the torn meniscus in her right knee.

"I'll get an MRI and see if I need surgery," Walker said. "If I do, I will be out for a maximum of two months and I'll be ready to go. If they say it will be 100 percent (with a surgery), I'll get (the surgery) but if not I will just have to strengthen it. The meniscus, they heal on its own so if it's going to be better on its own I'll just have to do that."

Walker said she and Dolson are talking about rooming together when they are at UConn.

All three future Huskies played for the East team which lost 84-75 to the West. Hartley had 17 points, three 3-pointers, five steals but also five turnovers. Dolson had 12 points and eight rebounds while Walker failed to score but had two rebounds and an assist.

Tennessee incoming freshman Meighan Simmons had 21 points to earn MVP honors for the West while Florida State commit Natasha Howard was the East's MVP after scoring 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Walker and Hartley are headed to San Antonio as they will play in the WBCA High School All-American Game on Saturday at the Alamodome.

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