The www.lovewomensbasketball.com site found an interview to championat.com in which former UConn star Svetlana Abrosimova said she is ending her playing career as she embarks on the next stage of her basketball career which could include being named the Russian Basketball Federation President.

Former UConn star Svetlana Abrosimova, seen holding the championship trophy
at the 2011 European championships, is retiring as a player.

 “I think that if I really want to move to administrative work, I have to end my playing career," Abrosimova said. "I will work in that direction regardless of whether I will win the Russian Basketball Federation elections. It’s always better to go out on top. I know that I will not regret this decision.”

Abrosimova is one of the most popular and productive UConn players of all time. She came to UConn in 1997 sight unseen on a recommendation from Russian scout Boris Lelchitski. Had she not suffered a season-ending foot injury in a loss to Tennessee during her senior year she likely would have become the fifth Husky to score 2,000 career points. As it was, she ranked fifth with 1,865 points, seventh with 814 rebounds, fifth with 473 assists, third with 299 steals and sixth with 141 3-pointers in UConn history when she graduated.

She was taken by Minnesota in the first round of the 2001 draft. She averaged 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 263 regular-season games in a 10-year WNBA career spent with Minnesota, Connecticut and Seattle.

Abrosimova had a long career playing in EuroLeague and played in the 2000 and 2008 Olympics with Russia, helping her country win the bronze medal in 2008.