Over the years I have spent my share of quality time with some of the greatest women's basketball players of all time.

I've seen Sue Bird move by the knee injury that cost her most of her freshman season at UConn and become a four-time Olympic gold medalist. Now she stands 101 assists shy of Ticha Penicheiro's WNBA career record. I still remember my phone conversations with Diana Taurasi during her recruiting process and the time that thanks to the folks at USA Basketball, I was able to spend about 30 minutes with Maya Moore before she played her first game at UConn.

Between UConn, the WNBA and USA Basketball, I've interacted with UConn greats so many times. Normally, it is a case of a nosy reporter like me asking the questions and them providing the answers. In those scenarios, they are in their element and so am I. However, it is impossible to know how they will react when we meet in other situations whether it is a case of me staying in the same hotel, boarding the same flight or being at the same hotel. Even the most accomodating of former and UConn player can reach the point when they've seen enough of me and some may say that takes place in the first minute or two that they first meet me. However, I always find it interesting to see how they react when we have chance meetings.

I remember at the 2016 Final Four, it was a who's who of UConn women's basketball waiting to greet the team after the Huskies won the national championship. I was among the media waiting outside the locker room. One by one they walked by, a few would give a polite wave or say hello but the only one who stopped, reached out to shake my hand and ask how I was doing was Tina Charles.

Fast forward to Tuesday night and I was leaving Mohegan Sun Arena after the Connecticut Sun/Los Angeles Sparks game. I turned the corner and started down the hallway leading to the parking garage when I heard a familiar voice say, "hey, what's up." It was Breanna Stewart with a few of her Seattle Storm teammates. Had she kept walking without acknowledging me, I wouldn't have given it a second thought but that is not her way. "You're coming Thursday night, right" she asked as if she needed to ask that question.

When a group of Connecticut media got to speak to her before Thursday's game, she was just as jovial. It speaks volumes into the type of person that she is. If you've met her parents, you would expect her to act the way she does. I still remember when Stewart was a junior and at the Final Four, the press conference to announce the Associated Press player and coach of the year was fast approaching. As I was walking in that direction, her parents asked me where the event was being held so I led them into the room. We all went to the back of the room and I remember her mom asking, "what if is she isn't the winner." I laughed and said if you look around the room, there was only Connecticut media and officials. Then I said, "you'll be the parents of the year if you are here to watch Jewell Loyd win national player of the year." Heather Stewart's response was, "I love Jewell Loyd."

Stewart was among the first of the Seattle players to emerge from the locker room at halftime. The Storm played had every expectation of being able to run onto the floor and get some shots off. However, Katie Douglas, Rebecca Lobo and Nykesha Sales were finishing up a question and answer session as part of the Sun honoring its 15th season. Stewart quickly began to applaud as the three players wrapped up the event. Soon many of her teammates followed Stewart's lead. It was impressive to see.

I've said this before and I will say it again. In all the years I've covered UConn, there has never been a better class to deal with that Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. Not once in four years did they roll their eyes at a question, seem annoyed to talk to us or send out any vibes about them having better things to do that talk to us.

It was more of the same on Tuesday when I sat down with Tuck for a story I am working on documenting the impact of 15 seasons of the WNBA at Mohegan Sun and specifically how UConn and the Connecticut Sun have benefited from both being in this state that loves its women's basketball. Her answers were thoughtful and she was accommodating as always.

As for Stewart's time with the media, she spoke about the warm welcome she receives when she returns to Connecticut.

"It is really special to be here," Stewart said. "I am walking through and everybody stops me, 'I loved your career at UConn and I still follow you.' That feels good and to see a lot of people here tonight whether they have UConn gear, Seattle gear, I am just happy to be back."

See spoke about her "offseason" playing in China.

"I liked Shanghai and China," Stewart said. "I'm going back next year with a lot of the same players so it is exciting.

"Just continuing to feel more and more comfortable and aware of the pressure. I had to do a lot with my team, bringing the ball up, coming off screens, shooting the 3 off the dribble or just creating something. You have full range to do whatever you want."

Then there was talk about her being more willing to voice her opinion on matters both on and off the court.

"Continuing to become a professional, be a professional and hold myself to professional (standards)," Stewart said. "You have (responsibility) on the court but off the court, using my platform to speak and vocalize my thoughts, just doing things as a pro would."

Stewart rarely spoke on subjects outside of basketball during her time at UConn.

"You don't think about it, there are so many things going on," Stewart said. "CD (UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey) has you doing so many things and when I was done with the season at Seattle, there were things that needed to be talked about, when I was at the ESPYs, it seemed like there was a lot happening in our world and instead of spending time (just) saying thank you very much, I was thinking about something that is really important and (speaking) from the heart."

With Stewart and fellow UConn legend Sue Bird returning with Seattle and the game promoted heavily due to the 15th season celebration, the crowd of 8,868 was not only the largest of the season for the Sun but largest since 9,110 turned out when Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury came to town exactly four years earlier.

The WNBA release to first set of voting returns for the July 22 WNBA All-Star Game and not surprisingly, UConn players are favorites among the fans.

Currently, not only is Maya Moore the leader in votes but fellow former Huskies Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Tiffany Hayes and Diana Taurasi would start if the voting finishes the way it currently stands. Jonquel Jones of the Connecticut Sun is also in position to be a starter.

EASTERN CONFERENCE -- EARLY RETURNS LEADERS

 

Backcourt: Tiffany Hayes (Atl) 4,288; Tiffany Mitchell (Ind) 4,202; Kristi Toliver (Was) 3,498; Sugar Rodgers (NY) 3,480; Courtney Williams (Con) 3,239; Cappie Pondexter (Chi) 2,967; Tayler Hill (Was) 2,794; Jasmine Thomas (Con) 2,696; Shavonte Zellous (NY) 2,128; Ivory Latta (Was) 2,042; Allie Quigley (Chi) 1,939; Briann January (Ind) 1,531; Erica Wheeler (Ind) 1,507

 

Frontcourt: Elena Delle Donne (Was) 19,280; Tina Charles (NY) 12,055; Jonquel Jones (Con) 10,585; Candice Dupree (Ind) 4,965; Stefanie Dolson (Chi) 3,170; Alyssa Thomas (Con) 3,038; Kiah Stokes (NY) 2,567; Tamera Young (Chi) 1,924; Morgan Tuck (Con) 1,740; Imani Boyette (Chi) 1,730; Natalie Achonwa (Ind) 1,385; Bria Holmes (Atl) 1,320

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE -- EARLY RETURNS LEADERS

 

Backcourt: Sue Bird (Sea) 16,139; Diana Taurasi (Phx) 15,207; Skylar Diggins-Smith (Dal) 11,462; Seimone Augustus (Min) 11,198; Lindsay Whalen (Min) 10,131; Jewell Loyd (Sea) 9,639; Allisha Gray (Dal) 5,766; Alana Beard (LA) 5,003; Kelsey Plum (SA) 4,221; Chelsea Gray (LA) 3,975; Moriah Jefferson (SA) 3,823; Kayla McBride (SA) 3,034; Jantel Lavender (LA) 2,002

 

Frontcourt: Maya Moore (Min) 19,949; Candace Parker (LA) 17,127; Sylvia Fowles (Min) 15,159; Breanna Stewart (Sea) 13,793; Nneka Ogwumike (LA) 13,563; Brittney Griner (Phx) 12,818; Rebekkah Brunson (Min) 6,236; Glory Johnson (Dal) 5,680; Ramu Tokashiki (Sea) 2,653; Karima Christmas-Kelly (Dal) 2,651; Alysha Clark (Sea) 2,517; Crystal Langhorne (Sea) 2,046

 

Former UConn star Morgan Tuck missed her eighth straight game with the Connecticut Sun due to a bone bruise.

Tuck said before Tuesday night's game against defending WNBA champion Los Angeles that she is nearing a return to the court. Tuck also pointed out that the bone bruise issue she is dealing with is not related in any way to the problems she as a sophomore at UConn when she underwent season-ending surgery due to pain in her knee.

"It is different," Tuck said. "It is a bone bruise so it is not anything that they'd have to go and have surgery, it is really just rest. That is basically what I have been doing is resting it and it will heal itself. It is just a bruise and not in the joint so it is not something that is taking a lot of pounding or anything like that. If I am going to have an injury, this one is not too bad to have."

Tuck can't pinpoint what caused the bone bruise but she is eager to be back on the court soon.

"I think I am really close to being back, I am feeling good," Tuck said. "I just have to make sure I am getting some court time before I try to get back in the game. I know a lot of people have been asking me when I am going to be back but we are playing really well so I want to make sure I am ready when I get out there."

Tuck loves what she has seen from the Sun, winners of five in a row before Sunday's loss at Dallas.

"We are playing team basketball," Tuck said. "JJ (Jonquel Jones) is playing amazing, she is showing what she can do and she is playing her game. I think what is making her successful is we are playing team basketball, you'll see five or six players in double figures in games that we are winning so for us, we have kind of figured out how we have to play to be successful and that is not a one-man show but everybody contributing."

Watching some of women's basketball's greatest players led UConn to a record 11 national titles, it's no wonder that year after year some of the nation's best high school players can't wait to sign with the Huskies.

However. there's much more to playing for Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma than cutting down nets and joining the Huskies of Honor. The new batch of UConn freshmen have been on campus for a month now and it's safe to say that they are learning what it takes to play at UConn.

With Amanda Kimball running the conditioning program, the UConn players had one set of conditioning drills resulting in running, running and some more running.

"The stuff that has been hard is conditioning but last Monday we had conditioning running up and down the football field and it just didn't seem it would ever end but we are getting there, it is a day by day process," Mikayla Coombs said.

Megan Walker, the No. 1 ranked player in the nation as a high school senior, also reflected on the rather challenging recent workout,

"The conditioning was an eye opener but that is on every campus," Walker said. We are getting better day by day, week by week. I think we can really see it, the coaches can see it so that is going to be good."

There were a couple of topics I wanted to address with the freshmen - Espinoza-Hunter finally arriving at UConn after making her first unofficial visit as a seventh grader and Coombs' take on the other seniors on the Wesleyan School basketball team paying their way out to Chicago to watch Coombs play in the McDonald's All-American Game.

Let's start with Espinoza-Hunter.

"The first time was in seventh grade while Saniya (Chong) was being recruited by UConn and I tagged along with her," Espinoza-Hunter said. "I don't remember the game, it was a while back. I just remember being in awe, every time I went to a game I was in awe, just the fans they always have me in awe, I am always shocked.

"Every time I went to a game, I always wanted to be on the court. I am really looking forward to the season and what the future has in store for this group."

When I went to Jordan Brand Classic media day, I caught up with Jan Azar (Coombs' high school coach and coach in the JBC) and she told me about the tidbit of Coombs' teammates flying out to Chicago in support of Coombs. That certainly speaks volumes about the kind of teammate that Coombs has been.

"I've played with many of them since the seventh grade and four of them I played AAU with so they have been extremely supportive of my ride through basketball so that was just the peak of it," Coombs said. "We talk every day. They are really supportive, they are my best support system."

Mike Cavanaugh, Chris Dailey and Randy Edsall chat
before start of mini-golf tournament in Cromwell

Just returned home from my annual day of coverage at the Travelers Championship.

It's been a few years since I've covered the tournament during the four rounds. Typically I head to Cromwell for the Celebrity Pro-Am and mini-golf tournament to catch up with UConn coaches.
The day started with the team of UConn women's basketball associate head coach Chris Dailey, hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh and Randy Edsall winning the title in the second (and final) flight in the tournament. With their victory (aided by a pair of holes in one by Chris Dailey and one each by Cavanaugh and Edsall) $2,500 was donated to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center.

The first flight was won by a team representing the Golf Channel headlined by Chantel McCabe (like me a fellow New Hampshire native) and with the help of a player pulled out of the stands when the team was short a player. With their victory, $2,500 will be donated to the Youth On Course charity.

A few things to report.

First, I asked Geno Auriemma if there was any cause for concern after Kia Nurse bypassed the first two stages of training and the international friendlies with the Canadian national team. He said it was more of a case of Nurse not overloading her schedule.

"They thought she needed a little bit of a break and she thought she needed a little bit of a break but I think she is going to do something with them later on this summer (when Canada will be one of the top contenders to win the FIBA Americas title)," Auriemma said. "Obviously she is kind of torn, she doesn't want to miss training camp and our trip to Italy."

Nurse figures to take part in the final stage of training beginning on July 23 in Edmonton where the 12-player roster for the FIBA Women's AmeriCup will be played in Argentina.

Geno Auriemma signs autographs after his Pro-Am round at Travelers

Also, Auriemma was one of two winners of the United States Olympic Committee Co-National Coach of the Year award. It was quite the honor bestowed on Auriemma as the only basketball coach - men's or women's - to win the award was Tara VanDerveer, the winner of the inaugural award in 1996.

"I was really surprised when I heard because that is usually something to goes to other coaches other than basketball," Auriemma said after finishing his round at the Pro-Am. "When Carol (Callan, Women's National Team Director for USA Basketball) told me about it, I was really surprised and thrilled.

"Sometimes we take things for granted, look back and realize it is eight years of your life. So many thing happen over those eight years (coaching the U.S. women's basketball team to a pair of Olympic titles), so many people you have met so when you are honored like this at the end of your run, I almost took it as it is not so much as what happened in Rio but for the whole eight-year run."

I also caught up with Dailey to get her take on how freshmen Mikayla Coombs, Andra Espinoza-Hunter, Lexi Gordon and Megan Walker are adapting to life at UConn since they are currently in summer school.

"If you talk to (rising sophomore) Crystal (Dangerfield), there is a big difference between Crystal, Kyla (Irwin) and Molly (Bent) this year," Dailey said. "They know what to expect so you are dealing with four freshmen who no matter what they did, they are never going to be totally prepared. They haven't been challenged, they've had their moments where they've been to manage it and other times when they have really struggled. That is what is great about the summer, it gives them a chance to see what it is like so it kind of gives us a jump start."

With four starters returning, transfers Azura' Stevens and Batouly Camara eligible and four freshmen in the fold, UConn will be a much deeper team than a season ago.

"We have 13, only 1 or 2 more but it seems like a lot more," Dailey said. "I don't know how it is all going to pan out, where things are going to fall but it is a better problem to have than not to have enough so we are happy about that."

More on the freshmen will be coming on Monday when we get to talk to the UConn players during Auriemma's annual charity golf tournament at Hartford Golf Club.
Auriemma also addressed his rather hectic schedule this spring and summer which will include three different trips to Italy.

"I just got back from two weeks in Europe, some of it was work, some of it was a little bit of vacation," Auriemma said. "I am going to do a FIFA thing in Geneva, a coach's clinic in Stockholm, get ready to go to that 19-and-under thing (featuring Dangerfield, Walker and UConn recruiting target Christyn Williams), before you know it, our trip is going to come. It has kind of been hectic. I knew it would be.

"Sometimes I don't get to go in a long, long time and now I am going to go three times in one summer."

Auriemma has liked the reports he has been getting on his players.

"All the guys in school have been doing pretty good," Auriemma said. "School has been good, everybody has been doing well, the four freshmen are trying to figure things out."

Finally, I asked Dailey for her take on how rookie Saniya Chong has been doing with the Dallas Wings. Chong, a third-round pick, had six points and two rebounds in a win over San Antonio tonight. She is averaging 7.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in the last six games

"She is doing a great job," Dailey said. "In that game (a win over Washington on June 18th) she made a huge 3 for them, I am happy for her, she seems to enjoy it. They are having some success and she is playing a role in that."

UConn fans heading out to the Travelers Championship tomorrow would be well advised to make their way to the first tee at TPC River Highlands around 12:30 p.m.

That is when UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma will be part of a group hitting the course in the Celebrity Pro-Am along with pro Webb Simpson. next up will be hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh, former UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun and Scott Burrell, one of the his best players, being a part of the group led by pro Harold Varner III. UConn women's basketball associate head coach Chris Dailey and Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo will be in the next pairing with Retief Goosen while Hunter Mahan's group, going off at  1 p.m., features UConn football coach Randy Edsall as well as UConn legends Ray Allen and Dan Orlovsky.

A few more dates of UConn's non-conference games have been confirmed thanks to the Huskies putting season tickets on sale.

Games against California and Maryland are set for Nov. 17 and 19 after the Huskies open up against Ohio State on Nov. 12. Also, the home game against Notre Dame is set for Dec. 3 and Louisville comes to Connecticut on Feb. 12.

I previously reported this back at the Final Four, but UConn will also host Fort Hays State on Nov. 1 and reigning Division II national champion Ashland on Nov. 5 in a pair of exhibition games.

UConn recently announced the dates of the homecoming games for Gabby Williams and Kia Nurse as UConn will play at Nevada on Nov. 28 and in Toronto against Duquesne on Dec. 22.

The Nevada game will be the final one in the three-game swing out west. It begins with a game at UCLA on Nov. 21, four days later comes a game in Eugene, Oregon against Michigan State. UConn will play at DePaul on Dec. 8. face Oklahoma at Mohegan Sun Arena on Dec. 19.

Texas announced that its home game against the Huskies will be played in January and it will be played on Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 15).  I've yet to see the date of the game at defending national champion South Carolina.

When Diana Taurasi scored with 45.3 seconds left in the second quarter in today's game against Los Angeles, the UConn legend moved by Tina Thompson to record more points in the regular season than any other WNBA player.

Taurasi finished the game with 7,494 points in her 376th career game while Thompson had 7,488 points in 496 career contests. Taurasi also ranks first in 3-pointers made and is fifth in assists in WNBA history.

"Congratulations to Diana on becoming the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer," Thompson said in a statement released by the WNBA. "I am excited that it is Diana and it is my absolute pleasure to pass the torch on to her. She and I have shared so many amazing moments throughout our basketball careers, whether it was gold medals, championships or all-star games. Diana is one of the best players to ever play the game and definitely one of my favorites. She has done amazing things and I am so grateful that I’ve been able to share many of those with her. I am really excited for Diana and I think she is going to blow that record out of the water.”

If points in the regular season and playoffs are combined, Tamika Catchings is still the record holder  with 8,521 points while Taurasi is at 8,489.

The 2001-02 UConn team features not only the WNBA's all-time leading scorers but also the players ranking ninth (Sue Bird), 15th (Swin Cash) and 30th (Asjha Jones). Tina Charles is 23rd while Maya Moore needs 72 points to tie Jones for 30th on the career list.

Another former UConn great has a chance to set another WNBA career record as Sue Bird has 2,480 assists in the regular season, 112 behind the record holder Ticha Penicheiro.

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma, associate head coach Chris Dailey, football coach Randy Edsall, hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh and former UConn stars Ray Allen and Dan Orlovsky and former UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun are among those expected to take part in the Celebrity Pro-Am at the Travelers Championship a week from today.

It's been a few years since both Auriemma and Dailey have taken part as Geno's had USA Basketball commitments to tend to.

The Travelers tournament runs from June 22-25 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

Even a couple of months after the season, the UConn women's basketball program had a weekend to remember.

The highlight was former national player of the year Kara Wolters becoming the third member of UConn's first national championship team to be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Rebecca Lobo was the first former Husky honored as she was a part of the Class of 2010, three years later it was Jen Rizzotti's turn.

Kara Wolters, Louise O'Neal and rest of Hall of Fame class
(photo courtesy of Women's Basketball Hall of Fame)

Wolters gave a tremendous and emotional acceptance speech, paid homage to her late mom and was escorted at the induction by her two daughters.

Wolters wasn't the only inductee with Connecticut ties as former Southern Connecticut State coach Louise O'Neal was a member of the class as well.

O'Neal coached the Owls from 1962-76 and helped Southern Connecticut be the only school to play in the first eight National Women's College Championships (an event that predated the NCAA tournament). The Owls finished third in 1973 and 1974 (losing by a combined six points in the semifinals both years) and also advanced to the semifinals in 1975.

After taking Southern Connecticut from a club program to a national powerhouse, O'Neal continued to make an impact even after her coaching career came to an end. She was the former president of the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and served on the NCAA Long-Range Planning Committee, Women’s Basketball Rules Committee, Sears Cup Selection Committee and NACDA Executive Board.

Getting back to UConn, 10 former Huskies had double-digit scoring games and for those wondering, second on that list over the weekend was Duke with six followed by Notre Dame's four.

Stefanie Dolson had a career-high 25 points for Chicago while rookie Saniya Chong had her first career double-digit scoring game with 10 points against Minnesota on Sunday which came two days after she netted a career-best seven points. Breanna Stewart (23 points), Sue Bird (21 points), Moriah Jefferson (18 points), Renee Montgomery (13) and Bria Hartley (10) all set or matched their season highs. Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore, who each celebrated birthdays on Sunday, had games with 27 and 17 points respectively while Tina Charles had a 21-point game.



UConn legend Diana Taurasi closing in on pair
of WNBA career soring records

Taurasi is now 28 points shy of Tina Thompson's WNBA record for most points scored in the regular season. Thompson had 7,488 points in 496 career games while Taurasi has 7,460 in 375 games. Bird recently passed Delisha Milton-Jones to moved into ninth place on that list although it's going to take a while to move up to No. 8 as she is 243 points behind Becky Hammon. If playoff points were included, Taurasi would trail record-holder Tamika Catchings by 66 points.

On Sunday some players who could land at UConn were able to lead the U.S. to the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Aliyah Boston, a forward from Worcester and a player very much on UConn's recruiting radar, was named the tournament's MVP. Boston had 15 points and six rebounds in the win over Canada in the gold medal game. She led the U.S. in scoring (11.8 points per game) and rebounding (8.6) in the tournament.

Fellow Class of 2019 UConn recruiting target Samanta Brunelle averaged 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.2 blocked shots in the five games and was the team captain. Paige Bueckers and Zia Cooke were other double-digit scorers for the U.S. in the tourney. In the title game, the top scorer was the team's youngest player Azzi Fudd from Falls Church, Va. The 14-year-old Fudd had 18 points as she was 4 of 6 from 3-point range. She also had five steals. Not bad for somebody who is several months away from the start of her freshman season of high school basketball. I would have to think her high school games will feature just a few college coaches in the stands.

The team was coached by another veteran of UConn's 1995 national championship team Carla Berube, the head coach at Tufts.

“We just kept getting stop after stop,” Berube said in the USA Basketball release on the gold-medal game. “In the first quarter, I thought we allowed them to get a lot of easy drives. They were getting to the rim on us. In the second quarter, we really shut that down and got some important defensive rebounds, and that was leading to easy offense. When you get stop after stop, it’s hard to sustain us in transition, because we have athletes and players who can make plays in transition and make plays for each other. It was awesome to watch. For a team that has not been together very long, they worked really well together.”

Finally, I've been out of the loop a little basketball wise over the last few days because of my responsibilities covering the semifinals and championship games in the CIAC softball tournament. While I was there I caught up with UConn incoming softball freshman Brianna Marcelino.

Marcelino scored from first base on a single and later drove in a run as Barlow won its first state title with a 4-2 win over Torrington in the Class L final.

There will be a story on Marcelino going up on the www.gametimect.com site later today focusing mostly on the state final and fact that Marcelino grew up in Madison (along with fellow UConn signee Hollis Wivell) before the family moved to Easton when she was in eighth grade. Heading into the state semifinals, she was batting .617 with 43 runs, 41 RBIs, 10 doubles, 12 homers, 21 stolen bases and just four errors.

Tulane, the team which nearly handed UConn its first loss in the history of the American Athletic Conference, is one of five conference teams which will meet the Huskies twice during the regular season during the upcoming campaign.

The AAC announced the breakdown of home and away opponents as the Huskies will play UCF, Memphis, USF, Temple and Tulane will play UConn both at home and on the road.

UConn will also host conference newcomer Wichita State as well as Cincinnati and Tulsa while playing on the road against East Carolina, Houston and SMU.

UConn is 82-0 in conference play since the formation of the American Athletic Conference with the
average margin of victory of 42.2 points.

The Huskies are 70-0 in the regular season in AAC history which is tied with Pac-12 power Stanford for the third longest conference winning streak in NCAA Division I women's basketball history. Texas holds the mark with 124 straight regular-season wins in the Southwest Conference from 1981-1990 while Old Dominion won 96 in a row from 1995-2001. When postseason games are factored in, UConn ranks third in Division I history trailing only Texas' mark of 143 straight and Old Dominion's 115 in a row.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma has never lost a game to a team in the conference recording a 96-0 mark.

The Huskies return their top four scorers from a team that was 36-0 before a loss to Mississippi
State in the national semifinals. All-Americans Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby
Williams are joined by fellow double-figure scorer Kia Nurse. Crystal Dangerfield, who finished
fourth among Division I freshmen in assist/turnover ratio, is another key rotation player
returning while Azura' Stevens and Batouly Camara, who began their careers at Duke and Kentucky,
are eligible after sitting out last season. UConn also has one of the best recruiting classes led by national player of the year Megan Walker.

Former UConn stars Tina Charles and Diana Taurasi swept the WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Player of the Week honors.

Charles tied Tamika Catchings for the most weekly honors in league history by earning the distinction for a 22nd time. Charles led the Eastern Conference in scoring (25.7 points per game), tied for eighth in rebounds (7 rpg), and was sixth in free throw percentage (.938, 15-of-16). Her week was highlighted by Charles scoring a career-high 36 points in a win over Dallas.

Taurasi earned Player of the Week honors for the 20th time in her 13-year career.  The 20 such honors are third-most in league history behind the 22 each by Catchings and Charles.

Taurasi averaged 27 points, 3.5 assists and six made 3-pointers per game as she set the WNBA career regular-season record for 3-pointers made.

Taurasi tipped off her week with a personal season-high 37 points and contributed four assists in a 99-91 road win at the Chicago Sky on June 1.

Since the WNBA went from awarding one player of the week to giving out awards to players in each conference in 2007, this is the 16th time the honorees came from players who attended the same college.

On 12 of those occasions, it was a pair of former Huskies getting recognized led by the duo of Charles and Maya Moore who swept the awards five times. This is the third time Charles and Taurasi were honored during the same week the only other time it happened twice came when former Tennessee stars Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker were so honored on May 27, 2012 and June 24, 2012.

The first time it happened came on June 29, 2008 when Asjha Jones and Diana Taurasi were the winners. Sue Bird and Jones were honored on July 26, 2009 (marking the only time players in the same recruiting class won the award the same week) Charles and Swin Cash won on July 5, 2011, former Rutgers stars Tammy Sutton-Brown and Cappie Pondexter were the recipients on July 5, 2009, LSU legends Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus swept the awards on Aug. 29, 2011 while Charles and Breanna Stewart were honored on Sept. 11, 2016.

Former UConn standout Tiffany Hayes has been named the WNBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Month for May.

Atlanta went an Eastern Conference-best 4-1 in May as Hayes tied for the scoring lead among Eastern Conference players at 19.8 points per game. Hayes finished with at least 16 points in each of Atlanta’s five games and led her team outright or shared the team lead in scoring each time. She also averaged 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Hayes opened the season with 19 points and six rebounds in an 81-74 win at the Connecticut Sun on May 13, followed by a game-high 23 points to go with six rebounds and five assists in a 91-83 road victory over the Chicago Sky on May 19.  Her highest-scoring game of the month came on May 27, when she tallied 24 points and added six rebounds as Atlanta defeated the defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks 75-73.

It is the first player of month away won by Hayes. The Western Conference honoree is Sylvia Fowles of Minnesota.

For the month, Fowles paced all West players in rebounding (10.7 rpg) and field goal percentage (.611, 44-of-72).  She also ranked fourth in scoring (20.0 ppg) and second in blocks (2.3 bpg) and steals (2.0 spg).  The 10th-year pro paced the Lynx in scoring in five games and registered four point-rebound double-doubles.

Diana Taurasi, a member of three national championship teams at UConn, became the WNBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers made during the regular season in the first quarter of tonight's Phoenix/Chicago game.

Taurasi came into the game tied with Katie Smith for the record with 906 3-pointers. She missed her first attempt but connected on her record 907th 3-pointer.

Taurasi is playing in her 372nd career game while Smith had 906 3-pointers in 482 regular-season games. However, Smith needed fewer attempts (2466) than Taurasi (2480) to reach 906. Taurasi is also the WNBA all-time leader with 128 career 3-pointers in the playoffs.

Taurasi hit eight 3-pointers en route to scoring 37 points in the 99-91 win while Stefanie Dolson had six 3-pointers for Chicago.

The news wasn't as good for another former UConn star.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis suffered a knee injury for Seattle in a May 26 game. She has undergone a scope on her right knee. It's uncertain how long she will be out of action.

Mosqueda-Lewis has played in four games but was only on the court for one minute before being injured against New York. In her first three games she played between 12-15 minutes as she was 7 of 10 from the field, 2 of 3 from 3-point range and made all eight of her free-throw attempts.