When Bria Hartley's phone rang a couple days ago, UConn All-American guard figured her former high school coach was just checking up on his former star pupil. Little did she know that former North Babylon High coach Mike Petre was the bearer of bad news.

Before St. John's sent out a release that former North Babylon star Eugeneia McPherson suffered a season-ending knee injury, Petre reached out to Hartley to let her know about McPherson's injury.


"My high school coach actually told me that the other day and I was kind of surprised," Hartley said. "I think people tear an ACL, it happens too often in women's basketball. It was sad to hear because she is a really good player and I have been playing with her for so many years. I am sure she will recover, she will come back and she will be just as good."

McPherson and Hartley played together from the time Hartley was in eighth grade until she was a junior and they teamed up to lead North Babylon to the 2008 Long Island AA title.

Both players went on and became key players on top Big East programs. McPherson went from averaging 5.2 points as a freshman to becoming a pivotal player as a sophomore and junior. Hartley started as a freshman at UConn and hit the 1,000-point mark before the end of her sophomore season.

Since the injury happened so early in the season, McPherson is eligible to return for a fifth season of eligibility so the former high school teammates could square off on the court next season.