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New faces add spice to Elite Eight rematch
While the names of the teams playing in the Elite Eight game might be the same as the ones who played in the same game in Kingston in 2012, the makeup of the UConn and Kentucky are significantly different.
Two of Kentucky's five starters in the 2012 game won't play today and Tiffany Hayes, who led the Huskies with 22 points in an 80-65 win by the Huskies, is now playing professionally.
Kentucky has the services of star guard Jen O'Neill who missed the entire 2011-12 season and forward DeNesha Stallworth, who had to sit out last season after transferring from California.
On UConn's side, the biggest additions is the much ballyhooed freshman class of Moriah Jefferson, Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck who combined for 35 points in the regional semifinal win over Maryland.
"They are not the same team as they were last year," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "I think getting the big kid (Stallworth) in the middle changed them a lot, both of their guards O'Neill and (A'dia) Mathies are real tough to handle, they are just really good with the ball."
Don't think that the coaches on both sides haven't reminded their teams of the craziness over the weekend when top seeds Stanford and Baylor bowed out with stunning losses to Georgia and Louisville respectively.
Game is supposed to tip at 7:35 p.m. and will air on ESPN.
The best news for UConn is that junior center Stefanie Dolson, who has a stress fracture in her right ankle, went through drills in today's shootaround, took part in pre-game drills and is in the starting lineup.
Two of Kentucky's five starters in the 2012 game won't play today and Tiffany Hayes, who led the Huskies with 22 points in an 80-65 win by the Huskies, is now playing professionally.
Kentucky has the services of star guard Jen O'Neill who missed the entire 2011-12 season and forward DeNesha Stallworth, who had to sit out last season after transferring from California.
On UConn's side, the biggest additions is the much ballyhooed freshman class of Moriah Jefferson, Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck who combined for 35 points in the regional semifinal win over Maryland.
"They are not the same team as they were last year," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "I think getting the big kid (Stallworth) in the middle changed them a lot, both of their guards O'Neill and (A'dia) Mathies are real tough to handle, they are just really good with the ball."
Don't think that the coaches on both sides haven't reminded their teams of the craziness over the weekend when top seeds Stanford and Baylor bowed out with stunning losses to Georgia and Louisville respectively.
Game is supposed to tip at 7:35 p.m. and will air on ESPN.
The best news for UConn is that junior center Stefanie Dolson, who has a stress fracture in her right ankle, went through drills in today's shootaround, took part in pre-game drills and is in the starting lineup.
Labels: Breanna Stewart, Geno Auriemma, Morgan Tuck, Moriah Jefferson, Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes
posted by Jim Fuller at
6:40 PM
1 Comments:
Can’t wait to hear the crowd’s reaction when refs allow Kentucky to maul Stewart, KML, and Dolson. Can’t wait to read all the ref hatred in the morning. NCAA has made it quite clear that mauling superstars is allowed. As long as it’s not Diggins. Hope that Geno throws his jacket – or chair – tonight
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