For somebody accustomed to winning during her time as a player and assistant coach at UConn, her first four seasons as Cincinnati's head coach have not always been all smooth sailing.

The Bearcats have lost between 16-20 games each season but with a team consisting completely of players she recruited Cincinnati is off to a 7-4 start including wins over Ohio State and Xavier.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said that Elliott has simplified things and put the ball in the hands of seniors Dayeesha Hollins and Jeanise Randolph.

"She is bright enough to take advantage of the fact that kid (Hollins) is hard to guard, she is hard to guard one on one, she is hard to guard in the ball screen and sometimes I think we make it really complicated," Auriemma said. "We throw 17 passes and then we end up with a ball screen so Jamelle said 'let's eliminate all of that stuff and let our two best players operate.' Obviously they have had a lot of success with it. Her teams have always played hard, compete, they are passionate just like she is. When they get in trouble they just struggle scoring points.

"For them to beat Xavier and Ohio State, that is huge for them given where they located."