The last strand of the basketball net had yet to be snipped on Tuesday night when the talk likely had already commenced about the chance of a run at a second straight national title for UConn.

                                                                                              (Associated Press photo)
The return of All-Americans Stefanie Dolson and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis are
two reasons why UConn will be a serious threat to win a second straight title. 

With all due respect to the multi-faceted Kelly Faris whose absence will not be an easy one to contend with, all the pieces are in place for the Huskies. UConn will bring back three players who earned WBCA All-American honors (Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Stefanie Dolson this year and Bria Hartley in 2012) and anybody who watched even a snippet of the Final Four would be hard pressed not to think that Breanna Stewart is one of the very best returning players in the country. When you add in the return rising sophomores Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck and juniors to be Brianna Banks and Kiah Stokes to go with talented incoming freshman Saniya Chong and it would be a shock if UConn does not start next season as the No. 1 team in the country.


"I told them they can do it," Faris said. "They have more talent than anybody. I think they learned in the last month or so what it takes and you don't see that very often in young guys and from the bottom up everybody grew up a little bit. The fact that they were able to figure it out at a young age and they have a few more years with the younger ones and obviously Stef and Bria, they matured and they will be good."

Of course at this time last year Baylor was in a similar situation with the return of a nucleus off a team which went 40-0 and won the national title. Even with national player of the year Brittney Griner, All-American point guard Odyssey Sims, talented seniors Brooklyn Pope, Destiny Williams, Jordan Madden and Kimetria Hayden all back and a talented incoming freshman class coming in, there was a sense that Baylor had all the pieces to make a run at another title. Instead, the Lady Bears fell to Louisville in the Sweet 16.

After Tuesday's game Hartley and her teammates weren't about to entertain thoughts of what it will take to defend its national title..

"We'll worry about that next year," Hartley said after the title game. "We want to enjoy this moment and enjoy what is going on. You don't want to think about next year yet, just get some rest, regroup and (take it)
one step at a time."