In this era of women's basketball it's a foregone conclusion that players from programs like UConn's and Notre Dame's have a relationship that goes further than just butting heads during the season.

That is certainly the case this season as UConn guards Kelly Faris and Bria Hartley have been teammates with Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins on various USA Basketball squad.

Diggins and Faris, who were Indiana high school rivals, played together on the U-18 team in 2008 and the U.S. team which won the FIBA U19 World Championships in 2009.

“We talk when we are around each other and things like that,” Faris said. “She is a great player, obviously everybody knows that. She is a very talented, very smart player. She is not the easiest to defend sometimes. She has a quick release and she is a great shooter. I’m sure she will give us a run for our money.

“It is a friendly competitiveness We were constantly not necessarily going against each other, but when you have a highly talented player like that in your same state who is going to be around you and you are going to play with or against, yeah you are going to be friends. On the court you are going to compete, and they are going to push you and you are going to push them type of thing.”

This summer Diggins and Hartley were not only teammates but roommates on the U.S. team which won the FIBA 3x3 World Championships.

"She is funny, she was my roommate the entire team so we spent a lot of time together," Hartley said. "It was cool, it was only the four (Stanford's Chiney Ogwumike and former UConn star Ann Strother were also on the team) of us so we got to know each other and got to hang out with her outside of that It was fun. She is a good person, she has a great personality and she is a really hard worker."