ESPN is reporting that top Class of 2015 guard Asia Durr's top five schools are Baylor, Duke, Louisville, Maryland and Notre Dame. UConn was among the schools cut from consideration for the player competing with UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson to be the top-rated player in the class.

It was not a surprise that UConn failed to make the cut. When I was in Colorado Springs, the sense I was getting was that UConn wasn't going to be there at the end for Durr. However, it was somewhat of a surprise to see no SEC teams in the final five.

Barring any surprises, I would think this closes the book on the Class of 2015 recruiting for UConn. The Huskies are in pretty good shape to say the least with De'Janae Boykin, Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson coming into the program next season.

UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson was the leading scorer for the gold-medal
winning United States team at the FIBA U17 World Championship tournament

With UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson dealing with foul trouble throughout the game and Spain's Angela Salvadores torching whichever United.States player attempted to guard her, the U.S. needed others to deliver to lead the two-time defending championship to a third straight gold medal to a 77-75 victory.

It was UConn recruiting targets Lauren Cox, Asia Durr and Arike Ogunbowale who stepped to the forefront. Cox had 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks while Durr finished with 17 points and four assists and Ogunbowale had 15 points and eight rebounds. The trio combined to score the final 10 points for the U.S.

Cox grabbed an offensive rebound in transition and scored to snap a 71-71 tie and blocked a shot at the other end while Durr had a crucial jumper to help the U.S. survive a fierce challenge from Spain.

Salvadores had 40 points, hitting 16 of 29 shots from the field including 5 of 7 from 3-point range in a truly sensational performance. She was named the tournament's MVP while Samuelson was joined on the all-tournament team by her U.S. teammate Joyner Holmes. Salvadores had 13 points in the fourth quarter as Spain led for nearly 4 1/2 minutes in the final period. She ended up as the tournament's leading scorer (19.9 points per game), was first in steals (3.7), second in assists (3.6), third in 3-point percentage (50.0), fourth in field-goal percentage (49.6), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (0.8) and 10th in rebounding (7.4).

Samuelson finished with seven points and three rebounds while fellow UConn commit De'Janae Boykin had five points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Asia Durr finishes FIBA U17 tournament
ranked second in assist/turnover ratio

Lauren Cox nearly had a triple-double in title
game at FIBA U17 World Championships

Samuelson finished with a team-leading 97 points and 19 3-pointers in the seven games. She finished tied for seventh in scoring which finished tied for seventh among all tournament scorers and was second in 3-pointers made. Durr (13.4 points per game), Ogunbowale (10.7) and all-tournament selection Joyner Holmes (10.6) were the other double-digit scorers for the U.S. in the tournament. Durr also finished second in the tournament in assist/turnover ratio.

Cox finished as the team leader in rebounding (8.4) and blocked shots (19), finishing fifth and second in those categories in the tournament. Cox set the single game and tournament U.S. records in blocked shots while Samuelson's 19 3-pointers matched the U.S. mark set by Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis in 2010. UConn commit De’Janae Boykin, one of three U.S. players to start all seven games, averaged 5.1 points. She was the team’s second-leading rebounder (6.1) and tied for second on the team with 16 assists.

Here are quotes from Boykin, Cox, Durr, Sabrina Ionescu, Ogunbowale and Samuelson courtesy of USA Basketball.

De'Janae Boykin
What does it mean to get a second gold medal?
This means a lot to be world champions, it’s great, it’s a great feeling.

What did you think about the game against Spain?
It was a very intense game; very hard, they worked very hard. They’re a great team and so were we, we came out and worked hard and we got the W.

What does this experience mean to you?
This experience means a lot. Just to come out here, we’ve been out here for almost a month, just to come together as a team and come out here and work and it just means a lot that we got the win today.

What do you think is going to stay with you from this experience? 
Just this experience, knowing I’m part of the USA Basketball family and stuff like that.

Lauren Cox
On winning the gold medal:
It’s awesome. It’s a great experience. I’m really blessed to be here to play with this amazing team and these awesome coaches.

On her game against Spain:
I just came into the game wanting to work hard and play hard inside. I knew it was going to be tough. They have big girls inside, so I just had to work hard.

Was there ever any doubt that you might not win?
Spain’s a good team, so we just had to get out there, play good defense and convert on offense.

What’s been the best part of this experience for you? 
Spending time with this awesome team. These coaches are awesome, too. It’s just been a great experience.

Asia Durr
On the gold medal game against Spain:
It was definitely a fight. They have some great shooters on their team. One girl put up 40 or so. It was a hard-fought game for 40 minutes.

Were you ever nervous, were there ever any doubts? 
It wasn't doubt. It was pressure, of course, because they were making every single shot. So, there was definitely pressure.

Do you feel like you executed the game plan or was it all heart?
It was both. We came out there, fought hard and played like there was no other game out there.

Was it the USA’s depth that helped in the end?
Definitely. We have a group of girls who are 12 deep and they all went out there and played their hearts out.

What does it feel like to win your second gold medal?
It’s definitely a blessing. I thank God for all of this.

What will you take away from this experience? 
Meeting a new group of girls, playing with a great group of girls and winning another gold.

Sabrina Ionescu
What does it feel like to win a gold medal?
It feels great. We’ve been practicing for the last, I don’t even know how long, and to finally come here and achieve what we’ve been reaching for this whole time feels great.

What do you think is going to stick with you? 
Definitely the whole learning experience. I’ve learned a lot from Coach Sue and the coaching staff and these girls. It’s a blessing playing with all of these great players so I think playing with all of them gets you better individually and as a team player.

Is there an area in your game you feel like you got specifically better at?
I think the fact that it takes all 12 players to win a gold medal; it’s not just one or two individuals. So the fact that everybody came together through these last couple of weeks; not knowing each other and just coming in and playing and working hard and winning a gold medal.

Arike Ogunbowale
On the game:
I love close games. It was nerve-wracking and crazy, but we kept our composure and played hard.

What do you think was the difference?
They’re a great team, a well-coached team. They’re physical and they have skill like us, so we just had to try to play greater than them. We played really good. They played great, too. But we had to execute at the end of the game and we hit our free throws, which were crucial.

Were you nervous at all?
There’s always nervousness going into big games, but we knew what we had to do. So, we were okay.

What’s it like to win your third gold medal? 
It’s crazy. I’m super excited. I’m super blessed to be able to do this before my senior year and everything that USA Basketball has helped me with, so I’m super blessed.

What have you learned from this experience?
Never give up. We were down in the fourth quarter and we just kept going. Really, just never give up and work with your teammates.

Katie Lou Samuelson
On being named to the all-tournament team:
It’s amazing. I’m just in shock that it all happened that way. I thought I played solid, but I didn’t expect anything like that. I wasn’t trying to go for anything like that, but it’s amazing just to be able to get that and to win the gold medal. It’s amazing.

How does it feel to win your third gold medal?
It’s amazing. It never gets old. It’s the same feeling every time. But, this one was really special. It was such a close game and we played well all the way through to the end. So, it was amazing.

What did you learn from this tournament?
I learned that I have to trust my teammates and just rely on them, because they’re going to come through. I thought everyone played great today. Everyone stepped up when they needed to.

MILESTONES FOR FORMER HUSKIES
A pair of former UConn stars reached scoring landmarks in the WNBA.

Diana Taurasi moved by Katie Smith to become the second all-time leading scorer in the WNBA. Taurasi headed into today's game against Los Angeles with 6,457 points in 316 career regular-season games. Smith scored 6,452 points in 482 career games. After the 87-69 win over Chicago on Wednesday Taurasi said she considered Tina Thompson's WNBA record 7,488 points to be unreachable for her. I'm not so sure as if she continues to score at the 20 point per game rate she has maintained since arriving in the league, she would need 52 more games to get there.

Speaking of impressive stats, five of the WNBA top scorers played at UConn including four on the 2002 national championship team. Swin Cash and Sue Bird rank 14th and 16th on the career scoring charts with 4,731 and 4.678 points respectively. Nykesha Sales is 24th with 3,955 points and Asjha Jones checks in at No. 27 with 3,834 points.

As for the other milestone, Renee Montgomery scored her 2,000th career point in Saturday's win at Tulsa.

UConn Class of 2015 recruiting target Arike Ogunbowale and Asia Durr finished with 19 and 14 points respectively and combined to go 6 of 8 from 3-point range as the United States rolled to a 91-35 win over Mexico to advance into the quarterfinals at the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women.

UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson finished with 10 points, her third double-digit scoring games in the tournament, and a team-high nine rebounds. Fellow UConn commit De'Janae Boykin added four points, five rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Jordan Holmes had 14 points, Kristine Anigwe had 12 points and UConn Class of 2016 recruiting target Sabrina Ionescu added six points, eight rebounds and five assists as the U.S. improved to 4-0 in the tournament.

Next up is a quarterfinal matchup against Canada, a 52-40 win over Brazil, on Friday. The game will tip at 3:15 p.m. in the Czech Republic which is 9:15 a.m. here in Connecticut.

Heading into the quarterfinals Samuelson is the tournament's sixth-leading scorer averaging 13.8 points per game and is second with 10 3-pointers made trailing only the 13 made by Canada's Bridget Carleton (a 2015 recruit who has committed to Iowa State). Durr is tied for ninth in scoring with an average of 12.8 points per game. Ionescu is in the top 10 in assists, steals and assist/turnover ratio while Ogunbowale leads all players with a 53.8 3-point percentage. Also, UConn recruiting target Lauren Cox is fifth in rebounding and fourth in blocked shots.

Here are quotes from Ionescu, Ogunbowale and Samuelson courtesy of USA Basketball

Sabrina Ionescu
On tonight's game:
I think we played really well. We executed everything that we were supposed to, and I think we came out with a lot of intensity and we reached our goals that we set before the game.

What were some of those goals for tonight?
We tried to play good defense and keep the score down, so I think us reaching all the goals that we set before the game helped us come together and play well as a team.

On the USA's 91 points:
Our shots were on, our post players finishing and I think collectively with our defense, it helped us produce offense. We played with great defensive intensity, and I think that helped us offensively.

What are your thoughts on facing Canada in the quarterfinals?
I think if we come out and do what we do, we will be fine.

Arike Ogunbowale
On tonight's game:
I think we played really well. We worked hard and kept our intensity up the whole game.

On the first quarter:
They are well-coached team. They played well, and they are scrappy. It was just a good game.

On the second quarter:
We just had to pick up our defensive intensity and play our game.

On the USA's 91 points:
We shared the ball a lot. We moved it around, executed our plays and played as a team.

On playing Canada:
We just have to play how we play. They are a great team, so we have to play like a great team as well.

Katie Lou Samuelson
On tonight's game:
I think we did well. We could have played better defense in the first half, but we stepped it up in the second half. All around, it was a good win.

On the first quarter:
They definitely came out playing hard, and we just needed to respond better. They played us really well and played to our weaknesses. We just had to adjust after that, and we brought it together.

What things was the team focused on in tonight's game?
We were trying to improve our man defense. We have been playing zone, and we definitely need to get better playing man defense, so we tried to step up and work on that. At times we played really well, and at times it was a little sloppy, but I think we are definitely getting better overall.

On the USA's 91 points:
A lot of people were in double-figures today, and we shared the ball really well. I think we are doing good at evenly contributing through the whole entire team, and that's the reason we scored so many points.

On playing Canada in the quarterfinals:
The last time I played Canada was in the gold-medal game (at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship), and they played us great. It was tied at halftime. We are going to have to play our best and be ready for them.

UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson was the leading scorer for the U.S. in the second time in as many games in the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women as she had 17 points, four rebounds and two steals in an 88-40 win over France as the U.S. improves to 2-0 in Group D play.

UConn recruiting target Asia Durr added 14 points and four rebounds, UConn recruiting targets Arike Ogunbowale and Sabrina Ionescu had nine points each while UConn commit De'Janae Boykin had six points, three rebounds and three assists. Kristine Anigwe scored in double figures for the second game in a row as she finished with 10 points and UConn recruiting target Lauren Cox had seven points, a team-leading eight rebounds and two blocks as the U.S. rolled past a France team which beat then in an exhibition game exactly a week earlier. The U.S. was in command throughout but made a statement by outscoring France 26-1 in the fourth quarter. The U.S. wraps up pool play on Tuesday against Mali.

UConn commit De'Janae Boykin scored in double digits
in two of the three games in exhibition tournament.

The U.S. U-17 team lost to host France 78-72 in the final day of an exhibition tournament despite a huge game from UConn recruiting target Asia Durr.

Durr had 22 points (on 9 of 13 shooting) and six assists. Fellow Class of 2015 UConn recruiting target Arike Ogunbowale added 12 points while UConn commit De'Janae Boykin and Kristine Anigwe finished with 10 points and seven rebounds each.

Durr, who led the U.S. in scoring by averaging 15 points per game, was joined on the all-tournament team by Joyner Holmes who averaged 12.7 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds a game. Boykin averaged 9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, Ogunbowale's 12.7 scoring average was tied for second on the team. UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson did not play in any of the three games due to illness. She is considered to be day for day as the U.S. heads to Czech Republic for the FIBA U-17 World Championshups.

The U.S. opens play in the World Championships on Saturday. A rematch with France will be on Sunday and preliminary round play ends on Tuesday when the U.S. meets Mali.

While Geno Auriemma didn't make it to the Travelers Championship this week, he does have some time set aside for golf-related activities in the coming weeks.

On Monday will be the annual Geno Auriemma's Fore The Kids charity golf tournament at Hartford Golf Club with returning starters Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Moriah Jefferson as well as freshmen Sadie Edwards, Courtney Ekmark and Gabby Williams expected to be volunteering at the event. Then, from July 18-20 he will be playing in the prestigious American Century Championships. Auriemma will be joined by former UConn men's basketball star Ray Allen and former NFL quarterback Steve Young, a star QB at Greenwich High before he headed to BYU. There is expected to be around 80 celebrities playing in the event in Lake Tahoe.

BOYKIN STARTS IN U-17 FRIENDLY

UConn recruiting target Arike Ogunbowale goes in for two of her team-high
16 points as UConn commit De'Janae Boykin look on in victory over China

UConn commit De'Janae Boykin started and finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals as the U.S. U-17 team prepared for the upcoming FIBA U-18 World Championships by beating China 89-49 in an international friendly.

UConn recruiting target Arike Ogunbowale led six U.S. players in double figures with 16 points. UConn recruiting targets Asia Durr and Lauren Cox added 13 and 10 points respectively. UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson did not play in the game due to illness and she is considered day to day. The U.S. will play exhibitions against Canada on Saturday and host France on Sunday before heading to the Czech Republic, the site of the World Championships.

Here are quotes from Ogunbowale and fellow UConn recruiting target Sabrina Ionescu courtesy of USA Basketball.

Sabrina Ionescu
On tonight's game:
I think we played really well for our first game. We ran a lot of plays, and I think we executed like we were supposed to. I think we came out and played really well.

How can this team improve?
I think it is about keeping up the intensity throughout the whole game, even when we get tired. We need to play with a lot of effort, like we should play.

On the team's chemistry:
We are getting to know each other better and what everyone's strengths and weaknesses are, so I think throughout these next couple of days, I think we are just going to get better and better.

On playing in the team's first game:
It felt great finally playing against another team beside ourselves or our scrimmage opponent. Finally, we are executing our plays and playing in a real game, and it is just going to make us better.

Arike Ogunbowale
On tonight's game:
I was just really excited to play against another team, besides our teammates and the boy's team we scrimmaged, so it was really fun to get out there.

Did you think the team had played well?
I think we played well. We kept the intensity up the whole game, even through substitutions, so I think we did really good.

On the second quarter run:
Coach told us to keep the intensity up and not let down, and we did that.

UConn commits De'Janae Boykin and Katie Lou Samuelson were selected to the 12-member United States squad which will compete in the FIBA U-17 World Championships.

UConn recruiting targets Lauren Cox (2016), Asia Durr (2015) and Arike Ogunbowale also were selected to the squad while Class of 2016 recruiting target Sabrina Ionescu would be added to the team in the event that Samuelson's ankle, which she injured in a scrimmage on Sunday, doesn't heal in time to allow her to play in the event.

The FIBA World Championships begin on June 28 with the U.S. opening up against China. There will also be preliminary games against France on June 29 and Mali on July 1.

An interesting story line to the selections is that only half of the members of last year's U-16 team made the cut as Durr, Samuelson, Cox, Ogunbowale and Boykin were the top five scorers on the team which won the FIBA Americas U16 Championship by an average of of 63.8 points in the five games. The other returnee is 6-foot-9 Nancy Mulkey.

The new additions are rising seniors Kristine Anigwe, Kennedy Burke and Te'a Cooper and Class of 2016 prospects Natalie Chou, Joyner Holmes and Anna Wilson.

Meriden native and Capital Prep rising senior Kiah Gillespie, the 2014 Gatorade Connecticut Player of the Year, was among 34 players cut on Monday morning.

UConn recruiting target Crystal Dangerfield did not make the team but she joined the player pool for the U-18 team. The 12-member roster for that time will be announced tonight.

UConn signee Sadie Edwards was a fifth-team selection on the MaxPreps All-American team.

Edwards, a Meriden native, averaged 15.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.5 steals as a senior at Blair Academy.

The team was well represented with underclassmen on UConn's recruiting radar.

Napheesa Collier, a 6-foot-2 forward at Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis, and Katie Lou Samuelson, a 6-foot-3 wing from Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif., were named to the first team. As luck would have it, they are among the talented high school juniors currently at UConn on official visits.

Kalani Brown, a 6-foot-5 junior from Salmen High in Slidell, La., and Asia Durr, a 5-foot-9 junior out of St. Pius X Catholic in Atlanta, were thord-team selections.

It's not always being a freshman at UConn.

Even a player as talented as Breanna Stewart had her ebbs and flows a season ago and Saniya Chong, the only scholarship freshman playing for the top-ranked Huskies is also learning how difficult it can be to produce on a nightly basis.

It was smooth sailing at the beginning of the season. In the first six games of the season Chong shot 53 percent from the field, was 10 of 23 from 3-point range and had a 12/4 assist to turnover ratio.

The next six games was a bit more challenging especially from 3-point range as she went 4 from 17 from downtown including four games with no 3-pointers.

Chong showed signs of life against Cincinnati with nine points coming on three 3-pointers and followed that up with seven points, one rebound and two steals in the final 4:46 of the first half in the win over Central Florida.

"I feel pretty good," Chong said. "Coach (Geno Auriemma) always tells us even though we are coming off the bench, we have to bring something to the team, go in there and help the team."

Chong and Morgan Tuck are the only non-scholarship players not to start a game for UConn this season. Chong is never quite sure when she is going to come into a game or how much time she is going to see in the game.

"I would say it is a challenge, it is totally different," Chong said. "Everything has been going pretty well, everybody has been playing their part and I just have to play my role and see what happens. Coming off the bench. I'm trying to bring enough energy to make sure I doing what my team needs me to do, as in anything they want me to do."

PAIR OF RECRUITING TARGETS WIN TITLES IN NAPLES
UConn Class of 2015 recruiting targets Kalani Brown and Napheesa Collier led their teams to division titles at the Naples Holiday Shootout.

Brown, a 6-foot-6 center and daughter of former 15-year NBA veteran P.J. Brown, had 22 points as Salmen (La.) High defeated Toledo's Roger High 48-36 in the National Division title game on Wednesday. Brown averaged 24 points in the three games.

In the American Division, Collier had 12 points and nine rebounds in a 53-44 win over Blackman (Tenn.) High in Wednesday's championship game. She averaged 21.3 points in the three games.

Brown and Collier were joined on the all-tournament team by fellow Class of 2015 UConn recuiting target Asia Durr, who averaged 25.3 points in the three games for her St. Pius X squad and Elizabethtown (Ky.) sophomore forward Erin Boley, a target for UConn in the Class of 2016 who averaged 18 points per game in the tournament.

UConn assistant coach Shea Ralph and associate head coach Chris Dailey were at the tournament as UConn was one of more than 50 college programs to sent coaches to scout the tournament.

Asia Durr is one of three UConn Class of 2015 recruiting targets
playing in Naples Holiday Shootout which wraps up today

While UConn will be playing its first American Athletic Conference road game in Orlando later on today, a pair of UConn Class of 2015 recruiting targets will be on the other side of Florida going after divisional championships in the Naples Holiday Shootout.

With her father 15-year NBA forward P.J. Brown, a member of the Boston Celtics' 2008 NBA championship team, and a large group of college coaches looking on Salmen (La.) forward/center Kalani Brown had 20 points (on 10 of 12 shooting) and 11 rebounds in a 62-26 win over Baron Collier from Naples on Tuesday to advance to the National Division championship game to face Rogers High out of Toledo, Ohio which is led by Eastern Michigan signee Sasha Dailey (41 points in the two wins in Naples). Brown began the tournament by scoring 30 points and adding 11 rebounds and six blocked shots in a 57-44 win over St. Joseph's Academy out of St. Louis.

In the American Division, Napheesa Collier, who has UConn in her list of five finalists. averaged 26 points to lead Incarnate Word Academy to the championship game with wins over Elizabethtown and Paul VI. The St. Louis school will play Blackman out of Murfreesboro, Tenn. for the title at 9:30 p.m. The Salmen/Rogers game is set to tip at 8 p.m. If people want to spend $20, a live stream of the games is available.

There was a chance that Brown could have squared off with fellow UConn recruiting target Asia Durr in the semifinals but Durr's St. Pius X squad lost its opener to Baron Collier. Durr finished with 15 points, 10 below her season average. She rebounded with 29 points 10 rebounds and three blocked shots in Tuesday's win over St. Joseph's Academy. St. Pius X will play Konxville's Christian Academy squad in the fifth-place game at 5 p.m.

Another player on UConn's recruiting target is also having a strong showing at the tournament. Erin Boley, a sophomore at Elizabethtown (Ky.) High, took an unofficial visit to UConn in November and was in the stands when the Huskies opened the season by beating Hartford on Nov. 9. After being held to 11 points in the loss to Incarnate Word Boley had 26 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 64-50 win over Edgewater. Elizabethtown will play in the American Division fifth-place game at 3:30 p.m.

UConn Class of 2015 recruiting targets Asia Durr and Katie Lou Samuelson certainly know how to deliver when championships are on the line.

As good as Durr and Samuelson were during the games leading up to Sunday's gold-medal game at the FIBA Americas U-16 Championship for Women, they were downright spectacular in the title game.

Durr, a 5-foot-11 guard from Douglasville, Ga., had 26 points, six rebounds, four assists and eight steals while Samuelson, a 6-foot-3 wing from Huntington Beach, Calif., finished with 24 points (going 8 of 8 from 3-point range), five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot as the United States defeated Canada 82-48 to finish a dominating run to the championship. Another impressive effort was turned in my Lauren Cox. Cox, a 6-foot-4 forward from Flower Mound, Tex., narrowly missed a triple-double as she finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocked shots.

Durr, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, and Samuelson finished as the top two scorers in the tournament as Durr averaged 18.4 points per game and Samuelson averaged 16 points per contest. Durr was tied for the team lead with 10 assists, led the team with 16 steals, led the team in free-throws made (19) and attempted (25) while her 11 3-pointers was second only to the 18 made by Samuelson. Samuelson was 18 of 34 from 3-point range during the five games and also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

Durr had a personal 12-0 run with the U.S. leading by a point early in the second half and her teammates helped turn it into a 22-0 outburst.

The U.S. outscored its opponents 463-138 in the five games it played at the tournament.

Durr set U.S. single-game records for points, steals and field-goal attempts while Samuelson's 8 for 8 performance from 3-point range is also a record. Here's what they had to say courtesy of the folks from USA Basketball.

Asia Durr (St. Pius X Catholic H.S./Douglasville, Ga.)
On tonight's game:We knew Canada was a great team, and coach told us it was going to be a fight.
On the USA's second half:Coach told us to create turnovers and focus on our defense, and that's what we did.
On winning tournament MVP:I was shocked. The whole team played great throughout this tournament, and for them to call my name, it means a lot.
How does it feel to win a gold medal?It means so much to me. This is a new thing for me, and it's been a great experience.
What will you take away from this experience?The bond we made, meeting the girls and the coaches and just getting to know them.

Has this experience helped you become a better basketball player?I think this experience made me a better basketball player. Different coaches and new teammates, it taught me a lot.

Katie Lou Samuelson (Mater Dei H.S./Huntington Beach, Calif.)
On tonight's game:Canada played awesome. They were there to win. We knew coming out of halftime that if we didn't step up, they were going to take it. We just had to pick up our defense.
On her USA U16 record 8-of-8 3-point shooting:I've been shooting since i was really little. That's probably my main focus, shooting over and over again. Making 8-of-8, it's really nice that it paid off, especially in such a big game. It's really just a great feeling.
How does it feel to win a gold medal?It's awesome. It's unbelievable, nothing you could ever compare to. Something you've always dreamed of, and then when you finally reach it, it's just awesome.
Has this experience helped you become a better basketball player?I think this experience really taught me how to become more of a team player and really get everyone excited and involved. I'm going to take things back from here and try to incorporate it into my high school team, like how positive everyone is and how everyone works so hard.

Also here is what U.S. head coach Sue Phillips had to say about the record-setting efforts of Durr and Samuelson.

"Asia was a catalyst for us, both handling the basketball and defensively, and then finishing. She really sparked us. She scored a run of double figures at one point by herself. Pretty amazing."

"We talked about it at halftime. We said, 'Katie Lou's got the hot hand, find her.' I thought the team did a great job looking for her and getting her the basketball. She's an unbelievable shooter."

UConn Class of 2015 recruiting target Katie Lou Samuelson was one of three players with 16 points and had three steals as the United States advanced to the FIBA Americas U-16 Championship for Women gold-medal game with an 101-29 win over Mexico.

Fellow UCinn recruiting target Asia Durr chipped in with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals.

Lauren Cox and Arike Ogunbowale also had 16 points for the U.S. Cox added eight rebounds and two blocks while Ogunbowale had four steals and Kalani Brown had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

The U.S. will face Canada in tomorrow's championship game.

UConn recruiting target Katie Lou Samuelson had 20 points, four 3-pointers and eight rebounds as the U.S. wrapped up the first round of the FIBA Americas U-16 Championship for Women with a 106-19 (yes you read that right) win over Costa Rica.

Fellow UConn Class of 2015 recruiting target Asia Durr added 12 points, two rebounds, two assists, three steals and a blocked shot.

After the round robin portion of the tournament Durr is the top scorer with an average of 18.3 points per game and is also averaging a tournament-best 4..3 3-pointers per game and is second in field-goal percentage (57.1). Samuelson ranks fifth in scoring (13.3) and is third in rebounding (7.3).

The U.S., which has qualified for the 2014 U-17 World Championships, will play Mexico in the semifinals on Saturday. Canada and Brazil will meet in the other semifinal with the gold-medal game set for Sunday.

UConn Class of 2015 recruiting target Asia Durr has scored more than
20 points in each of the United States team's first two victories.

There were reports that UConn Class of 2015 recruiting targets Asia Durr and Katie Lou Samuelson were feeling a little under the weather before the United States' second game in the FIBA Americas U-16 Championship for Women but you would never know it by taking a look at the box score.

Durr had a game-high 23 points (her second 20-point effort in as many games) to go with six rebounds, two assists and a steal while Samuelson had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds in a 98-28 win over Argentina.

The U.S. wraps up pool play tomorrow against Costa Rica.

UConn Class of 2015 recruiting target Asia Durr scored as many points as the United States' first opponent in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Women in Cancun on Wednesday.

Durr had 20 points on 6 of 9 shooting in a 76-20 win over Brazil. Fellow UConn recruiting target had nine points, six rebounds and two steals as the U.S. improved to 1-0 in Group A.

Argentina, which opened with a 61-41 win over Costa Rica, will face the U.S. on Thursday before the United States wraps up pool play against Costa Rica on Friday.

(Photo courtesy of USA Basketball)
UConn recruiting target Asia Durr was named to the U.S. U-16 squad.

Asia Durr and Katie Lou Samuelson, the only members of the Class of 2015 known to have scholarship honors from UConn and DeJanae Boykin, who has been quoted as saying she intends to make an unofficial visit to UConn this summer, were among 12 players named to the U.S. team which will be competing in the FIBA Americas U16 Championships next month.

Durr is a 5-foot-11 guard from Douglasville, Ga., who is considered by many to be the best player in the Class of 2015. Samuelson is a 6-foot-3 guard/forward who plays for California powerhouse Mater Dei (the alma mater of UConn All-American Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis) while Boykin will play for Flowers High after being a star at national power Riverdale Baptist last season.

The 12-member team was selected after four days of trials featuring 132 players. Ten of the 12 players were among the 33 initially invited to the tryouts by the selection committee. Sabrina Ionescu and Taylor Murray were the only players out of the 102 who applied for inclusion for the trials to make the team. The U.S. opens up against Brazil on June 19 with the gold-medal game scheduled for June 23 in Cancun, Mexico.

Here are quotes from Boykin, Durr and Samuelson courtesy of USA Basketball.

DeJanae Boykin (Charles H. Flowers H.S./Springdale, Md.)
How did you feel when you heard your name called?
I was very surprised. It’s an accomplishment to be able to be out here and play for the USA team and be able to represent your country. It means a lot. I was really excited. It was a blessed moment to be able to be out here and be able to represent the USA.

How tough was the competition this weekend?
It was really tough. I was very nervous. Playing against all the top people in the class of 2015 and 2016 and younger kids, also. It was very good to play against them.

What does it mean for you to have an opportunity to represent your country?
It means a lot to actually be out here and know that people recognize my talent, and I can represent my country.

Did you ever think you would have an opportunity like this?
I thought I could make it, I knew it. I thought I could make it, so I just stuck to my game.

What were you trying to show to the committee this weekend?
Versatility. I would love to be a post player, but as you can see, I’m not really that tall. I can shoot out on the wing. I can guard post players, I can guard guards, I can do whatever you want me to do.


Asia Durr (St. Pius X Catholic H.S./Douglasville, Ga.)
What did you try to focus on during the trials?
There were a few things that I tried to show. I tried to show that I was coachable, that I hustled, and that I play very hard and that I never gave up. I continued to play when I turned the ball over, I said to myself, ‘next play, I got it, I got it, and just keep your head up.'

How did you think your trials went?
They went good. It was tough, they were long but I was excited about it and I was very thankful.

When they got the finalists together and to announce who had made the team, were you nervous and how did you feel when you heard your name?
When I heard my name the first thing I did was thank God because none of this is possible without him. It was a great feeling because I was very stressed, I was so stressed, but this is a really great feeling.

What does it mean to you to represent your country in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship?
It means the world to me. This is a great chance I have to go out and try to represent my country. It’s a good feeling.

Katie Lou Samuelson (Mater Dei H.S./Huntington Beach, Calif.)

Congratulations on making the USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team. What does this mean for you?
It’s amazing. It’s the greatest feeling ever. Just knowing that everything I’ve worked for all my life is paying off and that I get to represent this country that all the greatest players have. It’s just unbelievable.

Did you envision this for yourself growing up as a kid or even just weeks before you attended trials?
Yeah. When I was little, I grew up watching all these teams, and I just always wanted to be a part of it. I just knew if I kept working hard, I might be able to get it. Knowing I got invited before, it just became real to me. It still doesn’t seem that real right now, but it’s crazy.

Would you say this is the biggest honor of your basketball career?
Definitely.

What makes it so special?
It’s so special because just being able to represent your country, your whole country, and that you can actually do that and bring home a gold medal for them. It’s crazy.

Have you been able to tell your two sisters yet? (Samuelson’s sister Bonnie tried out for the 2009 U16 National Team, while her other sister, Karlie, tried out for the 2012 U17 World Championship Team.)
Yes I did.

What did they have to say?
They’re super excited that I finally did it because they didn’t get to.

Do you feel like there was one day during the trials where you caught the selection committee’s eye or do you feel like it was the whole trials in general?
I definitely thought the first session of scrimmaging was probably my best. I thought that was a great way to start off playing good. The next day, I didn’t have that great of sessions, but the second session I actually did better. I just thought that hopefully those two sessions could help me out and that they saw those plays that I did.

You come back for training camp in a few weeks. What are your plans until then?
Just to do the workouts they gave us.

They gave you some workouts?
Yeah they did, and I’m just going to keep working hard and get in better shape.

The competition is taking place in Cancun, Mexico. Have you ever been there or heard anything about it?
Nope. I’ve never been anywhere outside of the country, so I’m very excited.

What is the biggest thing you take away from the last few days?
Definitely just how hard everyone played and just how positive everything was. I’m just going to try and take that back to my high school team and get everyone to be as positive and hard working as everyone was here.

What is it going to take to win the FIBA Americas U16 Championship?
I think we’re just really going to have to play well as a team and not focus on anyone who needs to score. We just have to get the right baskets and make the best plays.

Former UConn star Kelly Faris had a rebound and blocked shot in her WNBA debut

In the last couple of years there was no questioning what Kelly Faris' role was when she stepped onto the basketball court. However, the former UConn star wasn't quite sure how much time she would see during her first WNBA game.

Faris was summoned off the bench late in the first quarter to replace her former UConn teammate Kalana Greene. There was 1:57 remaining in the opening quarter when she came into the game. Her first entry into the score sheet was a foul which sent New York Liberty guard Cappie Pondexter to the free-throw line.

Faris played the rest of the first quarter and the first 5:13 of the second quarter. The highlight of her initial stint was a block of New York rookie Toni Young's shot which led to one of teammate's Kara Lawson's five 3-pointers.

Faris only played an additional 27 seconds in Connecticut's season-opening 81-69 victory.

"I didn't know what to expect going into my first game," Faris said. "My teammates, they've all done a good job making me feel comfortable."

Faris admitted she has some catching up to do after missing a large portion of training camp because of a foot injury she suffered in the final regular season game during her senior season at UConn.

"I still have a ways to go, I definitely have to get back in shape," Faris said. "I was out of wind a little too early for me. I need to make sure I get myself back into shape."

Although Faris didn't attempt a shot in her pro debut, she was excited about the potential of playing for a Sun team which clearly wants to push the pace this season.

"Coming from the program I was at, that is what you want, you want to run as much as you can no matter what," Faris said. "They got a little tired and that was when we had to push it."

WALKER EXCITED FOR CAL/UCONN MATCHUPS

Connecticut Sun forward Ashley Walker was a star at California the last time the Golden Bears faced UConn and to say she is fired up about the potential of Cal and UConn meeting in the regular season in the next couple of seasons would be a major understatement..

Walker had a team-high 21 points as Cal lost the eventual national champion Huskies 77-53 in the Sweet 16 in the 2009 NCAA tournament. That meeting was the first between the schools in 15 years but the programs are expected to play during the upcoming season at Madison Square Garden with a return game in Berkeley likely to be a part of the deal.

"Finally," Walker said with a laugh before Saturday's game against the New York Liberty. "They didn't want to play us when I was in school, they waited and we played them in the NCAA tournament. We got them in the Sweet 16 which sucked because we had such a great season that year but I so proud of my Golden Bears. Coach G (Lindsay Gottlieb) has taken the program to another level. When we were coming in, all of a sudden we are winning games and she came in behind (former coach Joanne Boyle) and to get them to a Final Four, she is an amazing coach. 

"She learned from Coach Boyle who I had. I think the program has changed, it is a new era for Cal and I am so proud to be there and get it going and just excited for them. I can't believe they are going to play (UConn). All of our big opportunities, they are finally getting them. I am going to kick them.

So how important will it be for the Cal program to play a Connecticut program which is coming off winning its eighth national title?

"Huge," Walker said. "When I was there we played Oklahoma, Baylor but we couldn't get the big schools to come out and play us, they would play Stanford but when we started beating Stanford 'OK maybe we will go play Cal.' I think it is huge for the program to get that national recognition."

Although Walker graduated from Cal in 2009, she still keeps tabs on her alma mater. That was pretty evident when Cal  beat Georgia to earn a spot in the Final Four.

"I was in Romania screaming at 4 in the morning, literally I did a happy dance by myself in my room," Walker said. "My teammates down the hall are like 'Ashley why are you so loud right now?' I said 'you have no idea, my team just got to the Final Four.' My parents actually went to the game supporting them, it was great. I didn't get to do it but I felt like I did it. We got to the Sweet 16 and we were happy with what we did but to know that they want to piggy back on what we did and what we started, it is huge."

UCONN RECRUITING TARGETS IN CONTENTION FOR U-16 TEAM
USA Basketball has whittled the initial list of 132 candidate for the U-16 national team down to 43 after a few days of trials. It is hardly a surprise that Asia Durr and Katie Lou Samuelson, the only members of the Class of 2015 holding scholarship offers from UConn, are still in contention to make the 12-player squad. DeJanae Boykin, who is expected to make a visit to the UConn campus during the summer, also survived the cuts to date. However, Qalea Ismail who is the daughter of former North Branford High star Holly Oslander was among the players who were cut.

USA Basketball invited 33 players to the tryouts with the other canddiates earning spots by applying to be a part of the tryouts. A total of 31 of the initial invitees are among the 43 players still vying for the 12 spots on the team.

The 12-member squad which will compete in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship will be announced on Monday morning.

A pair of UConn recruiting targets from the Class of 2015 headline in the list of 135 players who have accepted invitations to try out for the U.S. U-16 national team later this month.

Katie Lou Samuelson, a 6-foot-3 forward out of Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif., and Asia Durr, a 5-foot-11 guard from St. Pius X Catholic High in Atlanta, were among the group of 32 players initially invited to try out. The other 102 players were chosen after they applied for inclusion into the U-16 training camp.

Samuelson, the youngest of the three sweet-shooting Samuelson sisters who each have drawn recruiting interest from UConn, averaged 20.5 points as a sophomore and had 89 3-pointers aided by recording at least six 3-pointers in four games after transferring to Mater Dei before the start of her sophomore season. She was also named the California sophomore of the year by the www.calhisports.com site. Durr averaged 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.6 steals per game as a sophomore. She shot 52 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range and 86 percent from the free-throw line.

Another top player heading to the tryouts is DeJanae Boykin The 6-foot-2 Boykin, who averaged 15.7 points as a sophomore for national power Riverdale Baptist although she has decided to transfer to Flowers High School. Boykin recently told the Washington Post that she is planning to take an unofficial visit to UConn this summer.

No Connecticut products were among the invitees to the U-16 training camp (although Qalea Ismail a 6-foot sophomore guard from Bel Air, Md. is the daughter of former North Branford High and Syracuse star Holly Oslander). The only players from New England are Braintree (Mass.) High sophomore forward Bridget Herlihy who led Braintree to the MIAA South Division I title and a trip to the Massachusetts’ Division I semifinals, and Lexington (Mass.) freshman guard Anna Kelly.

The U-16 training camp starts Thursday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. with the team being announced on May 27. The team will compete in 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Cancun from June 19-23.

A pair of players from the Class of 2015 with scholarship offers are among the players invited to try out for the U.S. U-16 team later this month.

Asia Durr, a 5-foot-11 guard from Douglasville, Ga., and Katie Lou Samuelson, a 6-foot-3 forward from Huntington Beach, Calif., are headliners among the list of invitees. The list of players trying out for the team could grow to 200 as players are able to apply to be a part of the training camp.