The legendary Diana Taurasi made her first appearance in Connecticut since becoming the WNBA's all-time leading scorer and the former UConn star did not disappoint.

Taurasi, who hasn't exactly put up gaudy numbers in previous trips to Mohegan Sun Arena, went off for 33 points including 17 in the fourth quarter in Phoenix's 93-92 loss to the Connecticut Sun.
Before the game she reflected on passing Tina Thompson to become the WNBA's career scoring leader.

"It is the funniest one to get, even when I was in school I wasn't a big scorer," Taurasi said. "I was more of a distributor My first two years, I played point in the WNBA so I didn't score a ton of points. I think once (Paul) Westhead got to Phoenix, he put me off the ball and said we need to generate offense, that is when I kind of took off. It is pretty cool when you get on the list with Tina, Catch and these great players in women's basketball so it is definitely an honor.

"I didn't know she (Thompson) was there for one. I didn't know until she stepped on the court, I looked up. To see her and Dyllan (Thompson's son) who I spent a lot of time with in Russia and the national team, it means a lot coming from her because she was a pioneer when the game was just getting started in the WNBA, she put a lot of work into it."

When Taurasi set the record, the Mercury were getting blown out and when they stopped the game to present her with the ball, it looked like Taurasi was going to get physcially ill.

"She felt like she looked, I am surprised they stopped the game to honor (me) on the road when are down 20," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "You could imagine what she was thinking at that time so she takes the ball, fires it back to somebody and walks back. Then she almost got thrown out, she is disgusted with the way this game is going, typical Diana, I am not surprised. I am not surprised she did it, I am not surprised one iota. I think she was the best player every time she stepped onto the floor in high school, she was the best player every time she stepped onto the court in college and with very few exceptions if any, she is the best player when she steps on the floor in the pros, in the World Championships, in the Olympics, it doesn't matter."

Taurasi joked that it wouldn't have taken much prodding to kick the ball she was presented into the stands.

"I wanted to kick the ball into the stands. I have a good left foot just like Messi," Taurasi said.
Taurasi has never been one to focus on individual statistics but she admits that moving atop the list was special.

"You sit back a little bit and consider yourself really lucky," Taurasi said. "I feel like I am lucky to having played for Phoenix for my whole career, to get to play with Penny (Taylor), Cappie (Pondexter), DeWanna (Bonner), all these great players so I have been lucky more than anything."
Speaking of Taylor, Taurasi reflected on her marriage to her former Mercury teammate.

"Once you get married, it is a different type of commitment," Taurasi said. "Penny and I know each other for so long, we have been through so much stuff that it felt right."

With Taylor retiring, Brittney Griner getting injured, Candice Dupree being traded and Bonner out for the season after giving birth to twins, Taurasi isn't surrounded with as many dynamic scorers as she has in previous Mercury teams.

"There are certain times on the court especially this year when she is one year removed and you expect Penny to make this play and it is not there so she is on the coaching side now enjoying that, it is different," Taurasi said.

The loss to the Sun dropped Phoenix to 13-11 but 2-5 since losing Griner.

"It is frustrating because we were starting to roll a little bit before she got hurt," Taurasi said. "She is a big part of what we do and the way she was playing this year was at a different level I think. We are trying to hold down the fort until she gets back, I think we have done a pretty good job in the last couple of games. People have stepped up a litle bit which I think will help us hopefully for the playoffs."

Taurasi had a career low field-goal percentage of 39.6 last season and before Friday's huge game, she was making 39 percent this season.

"There are days when I do feel 35," Taurasi said. "The challenges are physical and mental, when you pay so much basketball coming to the gym is either fun or a chore, right now to me it is still a lot of fun."

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.

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.

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.

If this was indeed the international swan song for former UConn teammates Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, they certainly are leaving with style.

Bird and Taurasi, who first played together during the 2000-01 college season followed up their on-court partnership at UConn by playing together in Russia and of course a remarkable run with the U.S. national team.

Taurasi finished as the leading scorer for the U.S. team and Bird set an Olympic record for assist/turnover ratio as the U.S. won their sixth straight Olympic gold medal with a 101-72 win over Spain.

Taurasi had 17 points as she averaged 15.6 points in the eight games aided by her 58 percent shooting from 3-point range as she joined Bird and Tamika Catchings as four-time Olympic gold medalists.

"It’s huge," Taurasi said. "It says a lot about the people the run USA Basketball.  It says a lot about the youth in our country that when you put this jersey on, there’s a level and it’s not necessarily just basketball, it’s a way to be a great teammate.  We showed that in this tournament "

Former Connecticut Sun guard Lindsay Whalen had 13 points and five rebounds. Former UConn star Maya Moore had 12 of her 14 points in the first half and also had five rebounds and six assists.

Bird, who missed the semifinal win over France with a knee injury, had one assist and one turnover giving her 31 assists versus four turnovers in the tournament which is easily the best mark in Olympic women's basketball history. Bahar Caglar of Turkey had 11 assists and 2 turnovers in the 2012 Olympics while in 1996 Hyun Sun Han of Korea had 16 assists and 3 turnovers.

"I’m just really happy," Bird said. "We just did something that’s pretty incredible. When you get together as a team and you know you only have a month to do something, it’s remarkable in so many ways that we were able to put this together and do it in a fashion that leaves no question marks. This put us on the map as arguable one of the best teams, and we had fun doing it.

"I don’t think I’ve ever been around a group that’s this talented and also played this hard. Again, I’m just super happy. I’m proud of my teammates. I’m proud I’m part of this group. I’m happy for Coach Auriemma and the rest of the staff, and it’s just a really fun day today."

In the second quarter alone, UConn grads Taurasi, Bird, Moore, Tina Charles and Breanna Stewart combined for 26 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a blocked shot as the U.S. outscored Spain 28-15 to take a commanding 49-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Charles finished with eight points, seven rebounds and five assists while Stewart finished with 11 points.

Charles and Moore join Bird and Taurasi as the only players to win multiple NCAA, World Championship and Olympic titles while Stewart becomes the ninth former Husky to win a gold medal in women's basketball.

"This is in a league of its own," said Stewart, who averaged 8.1 points per game while shooting 73.3 percent from the field. "This is a different kind of toughness to be able to win gold medal just because you come together with 11 other great players, best players in the world, and we had two weeks to prepare really. Then we got here and played well and acted like we been playing with each together for the entire year."

Moore joined Taurasi as the only double-digit scorer for the U.S. averaging 12 points per game, she also had a team-high 16 steals and was tied for the team lead with 45 rebounds. It should be noted that six U.S. players had at least 20 assists and four of them graduated from UConn as Moore had a team high 34 assists, Taurasi had 26 and Charles finished with 25.

It had to be extra special for Auriemma. He made it clear after returning home from the 2012 Olympics that he was done with being in the pressure cooker of coaching the U.S. national team. USA Basketball Women's National Team Director Carol Callan wouldn't take no for an answer and Auriemma decided that being able to coach his former players and especially Bird and Taurasi was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

It wasn't an easy ride. He had to answer questions daily about whether the dominance of the U.S. team was good for the game (like he never heard that question before). When two-time Olympian Candace Parker was left off the team, he faced accusations of picking players because they went to UConn. Those petty claims were on social media even today. None of that seemed to matter after the gold medal game as Auriemma became the first coach to win multiple Olympic gold medals in women's basketball even if he doesn't get a medal.

"Obviously, it was an incredible tournament for us," Auriemma said after the game. "From the very first game that we played to today, with very few exceptions I thought we played basketball at a really high level. I can’t say enough about our players. How quickly they’ve come together, how much they’ve been able to accomplish in less than a month that we’ve been together. It wasn’t as easy as sometimes it looked. These last two games especially with France and today against Spain. These are very good teams that we’re playing, and you could see that it wasn’t just a cake walk, that it was a struggle. Then finally, because of our depth and because of the experience on our team, we were able to separate ourselves. But the way we played, we respected our opponents and we respected the game itself, we earned a lot of respect from a lot of people around the world, and I’m really proud of that."

Catchings has announced that this was her Olympic swan song and we'll have to see if Bird and Taurasi opt to try to become the first five-time Olympic gold medalists in women's basketball in four years time. Also, will UConn coach Geno Auriemma be the head coach for the U.S. in 2020. If I had to guess I would say no on all accounts.

Former Connecticut Sun draft pick Alba Torrens led Spain with 18 points.

Serbia won the bronze medal with a 70-63 win over France. Former Connecticut Sun forward Danielle Page had 10 points as she was one of five players from Serbia in double figures.

UConn's all-time leading scorer Maya Moore showed that she can much more than just points on the scoreboard as the United States wrapped up pool play in the Olympics with a dominating 105-62 victory over China.

Moore, who plays professionally in China during the winter. had eight rebounds, eight assists, four steals and a blocked shot to go with her nine points.

Tina Charles, who teamed with Moore to win two national titles at UConn, had 18 points and three rebounds. The top three low post players for the U.S. dominated as Brittney Griner had 18 points and 13 rebounds while Sylvia Fowles chipped in with 13 points.

UConn legends Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird had six and five assists as the U.S. broke its own team single-game record with 40 assists.

The U.S. played without reigning WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne, who was hit in her eye during pregame warmups.

The U.S. will play Japan in the quarterfinals.  Game is slated to start at 5:45 p.m.

Spain finished second in Group B with a 73-60 win over Canada.

UConn's Kia Nurse finished with eight points, one rebound and two assists but she didn't score her first basket until 3:10 remained as the loss means Canada will meet France in the quarterfinals at 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday with a potential rematch with the U.S. looming in the semifinals. Former UCLA star Nirra Fields led Canada with 13 points while former Connecticut Sun draft pick Alba Torrens had 20 points to lead Spain which meets Turkey in the quarterfinals.

While making the rather interesting drive from Newark, Delaware to Tarrytown, N.Y. yesterday for the latest media availability for the U.S. national team, I wanted to come up with a little different story angle than yet another update on the five UConn graduates on the U.S. team.

Since I have seen plenty of caustic posts on Twitter about how the U.S. team has become little more than a chance for Geno Auriemma to get his former players on the squad (a laughable point of view when considering the qualifications of Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi), I thought it would be fun to get some people to weigh in on whether an all-UConn team could win the Olympic gold medal. I spoke with Bird, USA Basketball Women's National Team Director Carol Callan, assistant coach Doug Bruno and guard Lindsay Whalen on the topic for a story which ran in this morning's paper.

When I mentioned it to Bird, she said "who is on the team" since she wasn't sure if I meant active players or all UConn players so here is the breakdown of the 15 current UConn graduates in the WNBA.

Current  Olympians
Sue Bird: Averaging 12.5 points and league leading 6 assists per game. Is 241 assists shy of Ticha Penicheiro's WNBA career record. Tied for eighth with 573 career steals.
Tina Charles: Currently the WNBA leader in both scoring (21.4) and rebounding and one of the frontrunners with WNBA MVP. Could join Chamique Holdsclaw as only player to lead WNBA in scoring and rebounding in same season.
Maya Moore: Three-time WNBA champion is fourth in league in scoring (19.4) and sixth in assists (4.4). One of five players to be named WNBA regular-season and finale MVP.
Breanna Stewart: Winner of WNBA Rookie of Month three times, she is second in WNBA in rebounding and fifth in scoring
Diana Taurasi: Sixth-leading scorer in WNBA at 18.9 points per game. One of three WNBA players with more than 7,000 points in regular season and fifth all-time with 1,547 assists


Swin Cash: Ranks 13th in WNBA history with 5,075 regular-season points and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Key member of championship teams with Detroit and Seattle.
Stefanie Dolson: After averaging a career high 10.6 points and 5.6 rebounds for Washington last season, is contributing 8 points and 4.7 rebounds
Kelly Faris: Averaging 2.1 points and 11.9 minutes in 103 career games with Connecticut Sun
Bria Hartley: Averaging 6.5 points, 2 rebounds, 2.3 assists in 16.9 minutes with Washington Mystics. Since May 21 Mystics are 6-4 when she plays at least 15 minutes, 3-8 if she does not
Tiffany Hayes: Atlanta Dream's No. 2 scorer at 14.5 points per game. Averaging career highs in points, assists, steals and minutes played. Has seven 20-point games, Atlanta is 10-7 when she scores in double figures
Moriah Jefferson: Second on San Antonio in scoring (12.2), contributes 4 assists, 1.4 steals per game. Third among qualifying players with 45.3 3-point percentage. Averaged 17.1 points in last eight games before Olympic break
Renee Montgomery: Averaging 7.8 points per game for Minnesota, highest total since 2013 season. Hit game winner when Minnesota beat Los Angeles in showdown of undefeated teams. Minnesota is 7-2 when she scores at least 10 points
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis: Averaging 6.4 points and 16.7 minutes while shooting 47 percent from 3-point range in last seven games for Seattle
Kiah Stokes: Eighth in WNBA in rebounding (7.6), sixth in blocked shots (1.5). Second in league in rebounding per 40 minutes
Morgan Tuck: Averaging 7.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17.2 minutes as a rookie for Connecticut Sun. Averaged 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in one three-game stretch in June.

There is already a portion of the women's basketball world tired of the "all UConn, all the time" coverage so a team of only UConn alums representing the U.S. in the Olympics might mean the end of Twitter but it was something worth pondering.

Former UConn star Tina Charles shoots over former Connecticut Sun forward Elizabeth
Williams in Monday night's exhibition game in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of USA Basketball)

The U.S. women's Olympic team was in danger of dropping its first game when a trio of former UConn stars took control.

The U.S. Select team, a group of young WNBA players, held a two-point lead with a minute to go. Breanna Stewart hit a layup off an assist from Tina Charles to tie the game. Charles also had a pair of key rebounds while Maya Moore was 4 for 4 from a foul line in the final 39.3 seconds to lead the U.S. to an 88-84 victory.

"We were trying to accomplish a lot," said Moore, who tied for the team lead with 11 points. We were putting different lineups out there on the court, trying different schemes, trying to see what we could do…and the Select Team was very aggressive in terms of those moments when we weren’t completely on the same page. But we were able to respond and finish the game the right way. Hey, we could have easily lost this game. So I’m glad we were able to come through and build some momentum for the next game."

Moore also had three rebounds and three assists while Elena Delle Donne also had 11 points. Lindsay Whalen and Angel McCoughtry had nine points each, Stewart had six of her eight points in the fourth quarter, Charles had eight points and four rebounds. Diana Taurasi had seven points and a team-high five assists while Sue Bird finished with six points.

Natasha Howard had 18 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, Jewell Loyd had 20 points and Odyssey Sims added 17 to lead the Select team.

"I thought the way the Select Team played was really cool," UConn and U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said. "They played as if they play against these guys all the time, which they do. There wasn’t going to be any sense of intimidation of who they are, which is why we play these games. We need the challenges. We need to look at different combinations and figure out what works for us and what doesn’t. For us, in the two days we’ve been together, we did a lot of really good things and we’re going to get better and better every day. And for the future of USA Basketball, there were some unbelievably positive signs out there of what the next group could potentially look like. It was a good day, I think, all the way around."

The U.S. will now play three international friendlies in three different states beginning tomorrow when the U.S. faces France at 7:30 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center on the campus of the University of Delaware. That will be preceded by a 5 p.m. game between Canada (featuring UConn's Kia Nurse) and Australia at 5 p.m. On Friday at Webster Bank Arena, Australia and France will play at 4:30 p.m. followed by the Canada/U.S. game at 7. Canada and France will meet at 1:30 p.m. on July 31 followed by the U.S./Australia game at Madison Square Garden. The team will wrap up the state-side preparations with a practice in Houston on Aug. 2 before leaving for Rio.

"They’re three really big games for us against three teams that are going to be at the Olympics that we’ve played before," Taurasi said. "We know what kind of team they are, what kind of quality they have. It’s going to challenge us to go out there and play hard and play really well to win. When you put this jersey on, as coach said, there are no moral victories. At the same time, these games are there to prepare you, to get you in a position where when we get to Rio, we know what we’re going with and the things that we’re really good at. It’ll be a tough and competitive three games."

Four former UConn stars including three members of the undefeated 2002 national championship team were named to the list of the top 20 players since the inception of the WNBA.
The WNBA 20@20, which was voted on by a 15-member panel WNBA coaches and administrators as well as national media members, was unveiled on ESPN's 10 a.m. edition of SportsCenter.

Sue Bird and Swin Cash, the top two picks in the 2002 WNBA Draft, and 2004 No. 1 overall pick Diana Taurasi were selected along with 2011 No. 1 overall pick Maya Moore, the leading scorer in UConn history.

“To be included among the top 20 players in this league's history is a huge honor," said Bird in a statement. "Watching the level of competition rise over the years has been incredible and I am excited to see where the league goes in the next 20."
Tina Charles, the 2012 WNBA MVP, and Nykesha Sales were also nominated giving UConn six of the 60 nominees.

Lindsay Whalen is the only representative of the Connecticut Sun to be named to the list of top 20 players as she was the Sun's first-round pick in 2004.

The list is highlighted by the trio of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson who teamed up to lead the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA championships. Former MVP Lisa Leslie as well as Teresa Weatherspoon are the other original WNBA players honored by the league while Yolanda Griffith, Becky Hammon, Lauren Jackson, Deanna Nolan, career assists leader Ticha Penicheiro and Katie Smith are other former WNBA stars to make the cut.

Seimone Augustus, Tamika Catchings, Candace Parker and Cappie Pondexter join Bird, Cash, Moore, Taurasi and Whalen are active WNBA players named to the top 20.
"I grew up watching the WNBA, and to be in a class of athletes of the caliber that this league has produced over the past 20 years is a huge honor,” Moore said. “It’s definitely a dream come true. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to compete at the highest levels and develop my talent to the point that I was even in consideration for this honor.”
UConn leads the way for four players honored, Southern California (Cooper, Leslie and Thompson) and Tennessee (Catchings and Parker) are the only other programs with more than one honoree.

Thanks to the Twitter account of her high school team, the photo of UConn freshman Katie Lou Samuelson having a conversation with another sweet-shooting California native has made quite the splash on social media.

The photo was taken after Diana Taurasi wrapped up the second day of the three-day training camp with the U.S. national team and shortly before Samuelson and the Huskies had a Monday afternoon. The timing couldn't have been much better as Samuelson is coming off a Taurasi-like offensive performance in the first quarter of Saturday's win at East Carolina. Samuelson finished with 15 points, which would have marked the second best scoring effort of her freshman season even if she did not play in the final three quarters.

"She is giving me advice on freshman year and to keep my head up," Samuelson said. "Things are starting to go a little bit (easier) so it is really cool to have somebody that I look up to so much and she just feels connected to this program and connected to all of us. I haven't known her before so it was nice to have that connection."

Samuelson and her teammates were able to check out the three days of practices with the 16 players in the national team pool including teammate Breanna Stewart.

"It was amazing," Samuelson said. "It was cool to see the different intensity level they had, every single one them, the confidence, the skills they all possess. It was really a treat for all of us and I think we all learned a lot."

Samuelson was 4 of 5 from the field including 3 of 4 from 3-point range en route to scoring 15 of her 19 points in the first quarter. She now has 47 3-pointers this season and with three in Wednesday's game against SMU, she will join Taurasi, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Bria Hartley, Maya Moore, Jen Rizzotti, Ann Strother and teammate Kia Nurse as the only UConn freshmen with 50 3-pointers as a freshman.

"I'll take that any day but if my shots aren't going in, I am going to have to find other ways to contribute," Samuelson said. "I would like to make all of my shots, I am sure my teammates would to but I am going to take it game by game and not limit myself if my shots aren't going in.

"I definitely feel comfortable, during practices I can see a difference, a little more confidence to do more on the team, feeling more responsibility. I am still probably going to make mistakes but I know that each game that I play, I will feel more comfortable

"They don't want me to just sit in the corner, hide and try to take that on and say I am just a freshman. They want me to help out and take on some of the weight off of their shoulders."

INSIDE INFORMATION?
The entire UConn team, when they didn't have classes to attend, were regular observers at the training camp

As a result, the leading scorer on the Canadian national team that earned an Olympic berth by winning the FIBA Americas Championship for Women got to see the defending Olympic champions in action.

"I texted my teammates and said 'I am sitting in enemy territory,'" UConn sophomore guard Kia Nurse said. "They said 'get as much (information) as you can.' All right, I am not going to get anything but all right.

"You get to see some of the best players in the world, their practicing tendencies and just the confidence that they have in having to pick things up so quickly."

SELECT COMPANY
I did some checking and there are three Division I women's players shooting at least 55 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the foul line.

One of those players is Maryland junior Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who is shooting 55.6 percent overall, a stunning 56.7 percent on 3-pointers and 80.2 percent from the free-throw line. The other two players in that category are UConn seniors Moriah Jefferson (58.5 percent on field goals, 41.9 percent on 3-pointers and 88.6 on foul shots) and Breanna Stewart (.589/.417/.817).

In UConn's history, there are two players who hit all three shooting percentage landmarks. Shea Ralph did it as a redshirt sophomore and Jefferson accomplished the feat last season.

DANGERFIELD A NAISMITH FINALIST
UConn signee Crystal Dangerfield is one of five finalists for the Naismith Girls' High School Player of the Year.

Dangerfield, a senior guard at Blackman High in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is averaging 24.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Dangerfield has eight 30-point games this season in leading Blackman to a 26-3 record and the Tennessee District 7-AAA championship.

Erin Boley, Lauren Cox, Joyner Holmes and Jackie Young are the other finalists. The winner will be announced on Mar. 10.

Tina Charles seemed rather determined to keep her dreams for the EuroLeague title alive.

The former UConn star had 19 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots in a 63-52 win against Galatasaray to lead her Fenerbahce team into the EuroLeague Final Four.

Charles, who averaged 13.3 points and 10.3 rebound in the three-game series, is the second former Husky to deliver a world-class performance to close out a quarterfinal series as Diana Taurasi also had an impressive showing as UMMC Ekaterinburg closed out Nadezhda in two games. Taurasi averaged 16 points and 4.5 assists in the quarterfinal series.

Former UConn star Maya Moore scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the first half to lead the United States team to its second straight FIBA World Championship for Women with a 77-64 win over Spain. Moore was named the tournament's MVP after leading the U.S. in scoring with an average of 15.2 points per game. She was also 14 of 27 from the 3-point line and her 3-point field goal percentage was tied for the fourth best in tournament history by a U.S. player and best number since 2002.

Lindsay Whalen came off the bench to add 12 points while former UConn star Tina Charles finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists as the U.S. won its ninth World Championship.

Seimone Augustus also scored in double figures as she finished with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench while Brittney Griner added 11 points.

Former UConn star Sue Bird, the first U.S. player to appear in four World Championships, had three assists and three steals and Diana Taurasi, her former teammate with the Huskies, had six points, four rebounds and eight assists.

UConn All-American Breanna Stewart did not score.

It is the second straight World Championship for the U.S. under the direction of UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Sancho Lyttle, who came into the game averaging 18.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for Spain while former Connecticut Sun draft pick Alba Torrens had 10 points.

The U.S. clinched a berth in the 2016 Olympics by winning the World Championship.

Here are quotes from Auriemma, Bird, Moore and Stewart courtesy of USA Basketball

GENO AURIEMMA
On winning his second FIBA World Championship:
 It’s very difficult to win these championships. There’s a lot of great teams and they’re getting better all the time. You can tell by the games, and it’s really, really difficult. For us to be able to do that, even though everybody expects us to do it, that doesn’t make it easier. Yesterday’s Australia’s game and today’s game against Spain were perfect examples of how difficult this is to win. I’m really proud of our team. These guys make a great sacrifice, because they just finished playing in their own league, in the WNBA and a lot of them are getting ready to go play in Europe. So, it’s a tremendous sacrifice that they made for their country and I can’t be more proud of them.

What do you think of the competition and do you think that one day people will be able to close the gap with the USA?
 It goes in cycles. It’s true; we did win in 2010 at the World Championship. But in 2006, we lost. So, it’s not like we’re going to win every year no matter what. We still have to get our best players to play together. There are more good teams than there were, say 10, 12, 14 years ago, from what I remember. There’s just more good teams. The games become more popular and there’s more support for the teams overseas. So, we don’t expect to win every single year. Just the year that we’re playing (laughs).

What was the most difficult part of winning this championship?
 I think for us, it’s usually that we don’t have a lot of time together. So, we know we’re not really prepared for everything. Diana (Taurasi) and Candice (Dupree) got here at the last minute and Brittney (Griner) got here even later than that. We’re just not ready for everything that happens. So, some things we struggle with. So, the biggest thing for us to overcome is on defense most of the time, believe it or not.¬† We have a lot of great offensive players. So, we try to take advantage of that and most of the time it works.

We had a very difficult draw also. We played France in the quarterfinal game. That’s a really difficult quarterfinal game, and Australia in the semifinals, and then Spain. So, we had a very difficult road and sometimes we had to make things up as we go along and usually we find a way.

What was your focus on Spain?
 We went into the game understanding that Alba (Torrens) and Sancho (Lyttle) were going to be really, really key for everything that Spain would accomplish throughout the game. We also knew that they were a great offensive rebounding team. They’re maybe the best offensive rebounding team in the entire tournament. In the first half we did a great job of guarding those two guys, but we didn’t do a great job of keeping them off the glass. I know we scored 40-some points in the first half, I don’t even know how many, but we could have scored a lot more points if we had gotten out in transition after those missed shots. But, they worked exceptionally hard. I think we got most of the stuff accomplished today. We did a great job on the two of them. We didn’t necessarily do a great job on the rebounding, but we shot high percentage. Just like a lot of other times in basketball, when you shoot the ball really well, it covers up a whole lot of other things that maybe you did poorly.

Sue Bird (Seattle Storm)
On tonight’s game:
 Obviously today was a great win for us. Obviously we had one goal the entire time this team’s been together and that was to win a gold medal. Coach Auriemma in the locker room said it best, a lot of people look at this team and see a lot of talent and think it’s going to be easy. But, it’s not. Whenever you can win a gold medal and it’s been a tough journey, it feels even better at the end. Everyone’s really happy and really excited about the medal and I’m definitely proud of this team.

On being the most decorated athlete (three gold medals, one bronze medal) in FIBA World Championship history, men or women. What does that mean to you?
 I know when I hear 2006 (when the USA returned with the bronze medal), it still makes me mad. But, I don’t really know how to feel about it right now to be honest. It’s kind of surreal. I’m sure it’s one of those things, when I get older and look back and reflect, it’ll probably hit me a little more than it is right now. But, I do know that I’ve been very lucky to play for some amazing coaches alongside some amazing teammates and I know that I’m just been one player. I happen to have been to four Worlds, but I definitely didn’t do anything by myself, that’s for sure. Looking back I’m sure it’ll hit me, but right now I’m just enjoying this one.


Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx)
On tonight’s game:
 Coming into the game we were all really excited, just knowing that so many of us have been in this position to compete for a title. We played better and better each game, coming together, especially offensively, getting a feel for each other and knowing how each other moves and where we’re going to be. It was really fun to watch that develop and today we were able to do that one last time and finish our journey together. Every team that came here played with so much heart and so much passion, so to overcome all the teams that have been working together for months was really satisfying.¬†

How much more can this team evolve for Rio in 2016?
 Well, you can every single player, ‘Could you have done something better?’ And each one of us will say, ‘Yes, absolutely.’ It’s the beauty of basketball; you’re never really done. There’s always to improve. It’s such a fluid game. There’s always things you can tweak and improve upon and be better. So, that’s the challenge and that’s why we come in practice every day. We of course come to win the game, but ultimately we want to win playing well together. As long as there’s another game, there’s another opportunity to be better.

So, every time we have a training camp, whenever we come together, that’s our goal: to play beautiful basketball together. With this group it was easy at times, just because there are so many great players. But, it’s always a grind. You’re always trying to compete and work and get better, and two years from now some of the younger players that you saw will be even better and the players who are a little bit older will be even more experienced and I’m excited to see what that looks like.

On earning MVP:
 It hasn’t really hit me. I’m just excited that we won. If one of us is talking about what MVP means, it means our team won. So, that’s what I’m most excited about. I’m just grateful to be able to contribute to this phenomenal team. Just the legacy of USA Basketball is unpatrolled. To have participated with USA Basketball since I was a teenager is really cool. Just to be healthy enough to be here, and to have the coaching staff and the people that helped make us look great and put us in positions to be ourselves is really awesome. International basketball, you can’t get any bigger. You’re competing on the world stage and there’s so many emotions wrapped up in it from different teams, from different countries. You’ve got family and friends who have come so long to come support us and you feel that extra special appreciation, because you’re playing with players that you’ll probably going to be competing against the majority of your career. To enjoy that camaraderie for the month that we’re together is pretty memorable.¬†

Breanna Stewart (University of Connecticut)
On winning alongside her UConn family:
 It is special. Obviously, when you grow and get to UConn, you realize how much your family has grown, and the fact that I’m able to celebrate this with not only my coaches, but also people who have played at UConn before me, and the road that they have paved for us.

Are you ready to go back to school?
 I’m actually looking forward to seeing my teammates and my friends again, but I could do this for a little bit. It’s been a great experience, and I’m glad to be able to be here.

Former UConn star Maya Moore is second leading scorer in FIBA
World Championships through pool play averaging 16 per game

Former UConn star Maya Moore had 16 points and three rebounds as the United States wrapped up a perfect run through pool play at the FIBA World Championship for Women with a 119-44 win over Angola as the U.S. posted its largest margin of victory in the world championships and the 119 points matched the highest total for the U.S. in the event's history.

Nneka Ogwumike led the U.S. with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Seimone Augustus and Brittney Griner had 15 points each for the U.S., which is off until Friday's quarterfinals.

UConn junior Breanna Stewart finished with 9 points (going 7 of 7 from free-throw line) and six rebounds, Tina Charles had seven points and four rebounds, Diana Taurasi had five points and five assists and Sue Bird added two points and three assists.

The U.S. had already secured a spot in Friday's quarterfinals before playing Angola and will play either France or Brazil with a potential semifinal date with rival Australia looming.

Geno Auriemma
What does it mean to have won by 75 points?
I don’t think it means anything. We have a lot more talent than Angola. We have more experienced players. I don’t think there’s anything they could have done to prevent what happened. When we take our starting five out and we put another five in that’s just as experienced, even though some of them are young. So, I think the score is not a reflection that Angola doesn’t play hard or they didn’t play well. We just have that many good players, that’s all that is. It doesn’t mean anything.

If we had won by this much and we had played really poorly, and we had won by this much, it’s because we have more talent than Angola, I’d be a little disappointed. But, I thought we played really, really well. I thought our offensive chemistry was really good. The ball moved really well. We got the ball in the lane a lot. I like the old format where we had six games before the medal round. It gave us more of an opportunity to be together and play games. This new format I don’t think helps us as much as the other format, but it is what it is. We have to get good real quick, and I think we’re going to be OK.

What were you focusing on tonight?
We want to concentrate on a few things that we think we’ve got to get better at, and we did. We were a little worried that we weren’t getting the ball in the lane enough, and tonight in that first quarter, that ball got into the lane a lot and often, and early in the possession. And the other thing was that we wanted to defensively stay out of the bonus, because that’s been hurting us a little bit, keep the ball out of the lane, because that was hurting us a little bit. And I thought we did a great job on both counts.

Thoughts on the quarterfinals, where the USA will play the winner of tomorrow’s France-Brazil game:

We know France; we just played them recently. I really haven’t seen Brazil much. Our coaches have gone out

to see them. Either way, when you get to this point, into the quarterfinals, you get to the medal rounds, it’s not

like you can afford to lose a game, you can’t afford to play poorly. You’re looking at one bad night and you go

home. So, our players understand that and whoever we play, whether it’s France or Brazil, we’ll be ready.

On everyone contributing:

We have a really good team. We have a really good group of kids. They communicate well with each other,

they play hard, they’re very respectful of each other’s abilities. We don’t have anybody out there trying to prove

that they’re better than anybody else. It’s been a great group to coach so far, and I’m looking forward to a great

weekend.

Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx)

What were you working on tonight?

Just being efficient and consistent and being the aggressor. Coach talked about coming out, being the one who

punched first. It started with the starting five. They brought great energy, and it trickled down to the second

five. We just wanted to come out and maintain what the starting five established on the floor.

Is it hard to stay focused in a game like this?

It’s not hard at all because you’re focusing on yourself. We know we have big games coming up that really

count, so you can’t lose focus on what the bigger picture is, which is trying to get the gold medal here at the

World Championship.

Do you feel the team has improved over these three games?

Yes. Now that everybody’s here, we have our 12 women, it’s kind of coming together. You can see the

cohesion of the starting five. And then the second five that comes in, the things that we do are starting to show

out on the court now.

Sue Bird (Seattle Storm)

What do you work on as a team in a game like this?

Obviously we knew there was a chance the game would be a little lopsided, but we weren’t really focused on

that. We were focused on ourselves and trying to get better. That’s always how it is with the national team,

really. We never have a lot of time to practice. We never have a chance to really develop a chemistry, so we

can’t take any night off, and that includes a game like this with a score as lopsided as it was.

What kind of things were you working on?

There actually were some things we were specifically working on: getting off to better starts and then

basketball-wise, working on a zone, working on certain plays and things like that. But, really it was all about us.

Coach talked about respecting your opponent and going out there playing well, but also playing up to our ability

as opposed to playing to another team’s level.

Have you seen the chemistry start to grow over these past three games?

Definitely. When I think back to some of the scrimmages and practices in Annapolis, the Red-White game, the

games against Canada, since then we’ve added people, but it’s just gotten better and better. I think everyone is

starting to get comfortable. And that’s huge. Comfort is a big part of basketball when you’re playing with new

teammates. So, the more steps you’re taking in that direction, the better.

Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury)

How difficult is it to play a game like this?

You have to stay as focused as possible. You have to prepare for the next three games. So, we tried to use it to

do some different stuff. Coach was trying to get us into some zone a little bit, pressuring the ball, one-on-one,

man-to-man defense. It’s not always easy, but we were able to get it done.

What did you think about Angola’s team?

They played extremely hard for 40 minutes. When you see that you have the United States in your group, it’s

not always easy because we have so much depth. But, they kept fighting for 40 minutes, and they never let

down.

How do you stay focused during a game like that?

What I’m focused on personally is working hard to make that team two years from now. So, I can’t go out there

and slack off. But, as a team, as a unit, the biggest thing is preparing defensively for what we have ahead, and

that was the big thing that coach told us before the game in order to earn our off day.

Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury)

Is it tough to stay focused with a big lead like against Angola?

No. You always want to work forward, towards teams that we might meet. You don’t want to play down.

You don’t want to play to the score. You don’t want to go on cruise control. When you have a game like

this, you start working on other things to get you ready for your next opponent, and I think we did that

today. I think we came out, we played and we never let off. No matter what the score was, we wanted to

play hard and play to the best of our ability.

We saw how excited Angola was after the game to take pictures with you guys. That’s kind of rare, isn’t it?

It was a little strange, but they were real cool, and on the court they were cool, too. Blocking shots, one

of them with the pink hair came up to me and (wags finger) and was like, ‘No more, no more.’ I was

like, ‘Sorry, I have to,’ But they were cool. We’ve taken some more photos actually.

She gave you the finger wag?

She did the finger wag. She was like, ‘No more, no more, no more.’ I was like, ‘I think I’m supposed to do

the finger wag.’

On all 12 players getting a lot of playing time:

It was really good to get O (Odyssey Sims) out there, get Stew (Breanna Stewart) out there as well. You

know, it’s just going to help with their careers, and you never know when somebody is going to have to

step up, so to get them out there, get them some minutes, more experience, it was good.

This is your first FIBA World Championship, too:

First Worlds ... First Worlds, but not my first time with Geno, you know, with Coach Auriemma, but first

Worlds. It’s been good. I’m kind of happy that we opened up with China, some familiar faces, and then

yesterday we played Serbia and then Angola today. So, I’m feeling good, feeling really good with my

performance.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks)

On the game:

I thought it was good. We came in focusing on ourselves. Coach has been saying, no matter who we are

playing, we have to focus on ourselves the whole time to get better, and I thought we did a good job of

maintaining that all four quarters.

We saw how excited Angola was after the game to take pictures with you guys. Can you talk about that?

Everyone here has been really friendly. We’ve had teams wish us luck, and we’ve had teams like that,

who were friendly with us before and after the game. It’s a great atmosphere, and I think we support each

other, just being basketball players. It’s a global culture, so for us to be able to experience that with them

and them experience that with us is special.

How much as playing in FIBA competitions helped you?

Drastically. Playing USA ball is a lot different than playing in college in the WNBA, and it’s a lot like

playing overseas, obviously, because we have international play. But, it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve been

able to play with a lot of great players, and against the world’s best players, so to get that experience is

something that you really can’t get anywhere else, obviously, unless you play overseas.

Odyssey Sims

On the game:

We did play well, but we can always get better, every practice, every shoot around, even during the game.

Everybody is still learning, so there is a teaching point always, and we learn from our mistakes and try to

build on them.

On her playing time:

It was fun. We were winning by a lot, so I had a great experience, and I’m still learning.

Former UConn stars Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi were the top two vote-getters on the All-WNBA team which was announced earlier today.

Moore, the league MVP, was a unanimous first-team pick receiving all 38 votes as she set WNBA records with 12 30-point games and four straight games with at least 30 points for the Minnesota Lynx.

Taurasi finished with the second most votes and was named to the first team for a record ninth time during her 11 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury. She was joined on the first team by Mercury teammate Brittney Griner, Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks and Tulsa guard Skylar Diggins, the only selection not to be a former No. 1 overall pick.

Former UConn star Tina Charles of the New York Liberty was named to the second team.


Below are the results of the 2014 All-WNBA Team voting:

2014 ALL-WNBA FIRST TEAM

Player Team Position Points
Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx Forward 180
Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks Forward 116
Brittney Griner Phoenix Mercury Center 170
Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury Guard 171
Skylar Diggins Tulsa Shock Guard 140

2014 ALL-WNBA SECOND TEAM
Player Team Position Points

Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Forward 90
Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks Forward 45
Tina Charles New York Liberty Center 88
Lindsay Whalen Minnesota Lynx Guard 116
Danielle Robinson San Antonio Stars Guard 27
Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx Guard 27

As luck would have it UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma was walking through the halls at Gampel Pavilion as I was working on some football stories and blogs and I was able to sit down with him for about 15 minutes. I got caught up with a lot of news including updates of how the rehabilitation process is going for veteran forward Morgan Tuck and freshman guard Gabby Williams, who both underwent season-ending knee surgeries last year.

First up, here is what he had to say about Tuck.

"She is just starting to do that (basketball-related activities) now," Auriemma said. "She is going to do some individuals this week and try to add to it next week and by the third week of September, she could be cleared to go. Usually these guys, they don't look forward to preseason conditioning in September, all the workouts and all the individual stuff that they are doing but I talked to her today and she said I have never been so anxious and so excited to start individual (workouts) and preseason conditioning. I think she will be pretty happy when they get started."

Tuck will bring so many dimensions to the 2014-15 UConn team with her ability to play inside and outside. She is an outstanding defense, underrated passer and can score in so many different ways.

"We didn't see it last year except for a couple of times," Auriemma said. "I went back and watched the Stanford game and the Cal game at the Garden and you really get to see Morgan playing and you say 'it is a miracle that we were able to get through the season and win the whole thing while not having her.' Losing Stefanie, you lost a couple of players so bringing Morgan back into the mix is like adding a couple of players. The other players are kind of anxious too because they know how many areas she can help us in. She is not just a one-dimensional kid."

Here is what he had to say about Williams, who suffered serious knee injuries in each of her final two high school seasons. So how is she progressing?

"Good, same thing (as with Tuck). We are starting (individual workouts) a week from Tuesday, give them a week to acclimated to everything. they went home towards the last part of August so she is going to get with Rosemary (Ragle, UConn's athletic trainer) and I would expect that by the time practice starts that she is going to be ready to do (everything)."

He was also in favor of Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis not being invited to the U.S. national team training camp next month so she can focus all her energies on getting ready for her senior season.

"I think more from way her injuries and the way her season went last year, I think that in my opinion, it was better for her to be here and get herself ready for us and for herself this season," Auriemma said. "That's a position where they are loaded with pros so I think it is best that she stays here and works out with our players."

With incoming freshman Kia Nurse spending the summer training with the Canadian national team and with Nurse set to play in the FIBA World Championships, I wanted Auriemma's take on how much this summer will benefit her.

"I think the maturity that Kia has is really what separates her from most incoming freshmen," Auriemma said. "Most incoming freshmen are used to playing high school basketball and it is a huge adjustment. I think Kia, by virtue of being on the Canadian national team, has made herself almost a sophomore coming in instead of a freshman and the style of play that Canada has is very similar to what we do in more ways than one so she is somebody that because she is not here right now that few people talk about but she is probably the one who is going to be the most intriguing of all the freshmen, I am looking forward to seeing her both in Bridgeport, in Istanbul and when we get back here in October."

I also asked Auriemma for his reaction to former UConn guard Brianna Banks landing at Penn State and whether that was a good landing spot for her.

"We will see," Auriemma . I think UConn was a good spot but unfortunately there are some things you have to do (to remain at UConn). I think having a year off, getting a chance to kind of gain some perspective by being away from it, hitting the books a little bit. It is a big place and they have a really good program. I am sure having a year to practice with the team is going to help a lot. I saw her this summer. I am rooting for her, let's hope she makes it."

With Diana Taurasi's Phoenix Mercury team eliminated the Los Angeles Sparks with a 93-68 victory on Sunday night and Maya Moore's Minnesota Lynx team already in the Western Conference final, this will be the 12th season in a row at least one former UConn player will be playing in the WNBA championship series.

With the Atlanta Dream forcing a winner take all game three with a win on Sunday against Chicago, there's a chance that two former Huskies could be playing for the WNBA title since Tiffany Hayes is one of the top players for Atlanta. Here's a breakdown of the former UConn players in the WNBA finals.

2013: Minnesota (Maya Moore) def, Atlanta (Tiffany Hayes)
2012: Indiana def. Minnesota (Maya Moore)
2011: Minnesota (Maya Moore, Charde Houston) def. Atlanta
2010: Seattle (Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Svetlana Abrosimova) def. Atlanta
2009: Phoenix (Diana Taurasi, Ketia Swanier) def. Indiana (Jessica Moore)
2008: Detroit (Kelly Schumacher) def. SA
2007: Phoenix (Diana Taurasi, Kelly Schumacher) def. Detroit (Swin Cash)
2006: Detroit (Swin Cash) def. Sacramento
2005: Sacramento def. Connecticut (Nykesha Sales, Asjha Jones)
2004: Seattle (Bird) def. Connecticut (Nykesha Sales, Asjha Jones)
2003: Detroit (Swin Cash) def. LA
2000: Houston (Jen Rizzotti) def. NY
1999: Houston (Jen Rizzotti, Kara Wolters) def. New York (Rebecca Lobo-injured and did not play)
1997: Houston def. New York (Rebecca Lobo)


012: Indiana def. Minnesota (Maya Moore)
2011: Minnesota (Maya Moore, Charde Houston) def. Atlanta
2010: Seattle (Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Svetlana Abrosimova) def. Atlanta
2009: Phoenix (Diana Taurasi, Ketia Swanier) def. Indiana (Jessica Moore)
2008: Detroit (Kelly Schumacher) def. SA
2007: Phoenix (Diana Taurasi, Kelly Schumacher) def. Detroit (Swin Cash)
2006: Detroit (Swin Cash) def. Sacramento
2005: Sacramento def. Connecticut (Nykesha Sales, Asjha Jones)
2004: Seattle (Bird) def. Connecticut (Nykesha Sales, Asjha Jones)
2003: Detroit (Swin Cash) def. LA
2000: Houston (Jen Rizzotti) def. NY
1999: Houston (Jen Rizzotti, Kara Wolters) def. New York (Rebecca Lobo-injured and did not play)
1997: Houston def. New York (Rebecca Lobo)

Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley have been involved with so many glorious moments on basketball courts in the state of Connecticut so it seemed rather fitting that when it came time to help the Washington Mystics clinch a WNBA playoff spot, that special event would occur within state limits.

Hartley had 13 points, her 18th double-digit scoring game of the season, and Dolson added four points as the Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun 71-67 on Friday night to clinch the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The win erased much of the drama from the final weekend of the regular season. If Washington lost to Connecticut, Washington could have been knocked out of the playoffs with a loss to the New York Liberty today and a New York win over Indiana on Sunday. Now the Mystics can start preparing for the postseason.

Hartley admitted after the game that it was a bit ironic that the playoff clinch took place in Connecticut.

"I used to play for UConn and Coach T (Mike Thibault) going against Connecticut and he used to coach here," Hartley said.

"I think it is really important (making the playoffs as a rookie). It is a great experience. There are some rookies who don't get this opportunity but you are playing and gaining experience that you can take with you for the next few years."

Hartley, who was in the starting lineup, and Dolson predictably got warm receptions from the Mohegan Sun Arena crowd.

"It is nice when you come back here and you have a bunch of people who want you to sign stuff or want you to take pictures," Hartley said. "I always stop and do that. Just the fans showing love, it is always nice to come back to your college and where your college is and have the fan support."

Wins by Washington and San Antonio on Friday allowed the Mystics and Stars to clinch the final two playoff spots. Half of the eight playoff teams feature former UConn stars as Diana Taurasi is the leading scorer for Western Conference regular-season champion Phoenix, Maya Moore is not only the top scorer for playoff bound Miunesota but is the league's top scorer as well. In the Eastern Conference, Tiffany Hayes is the No. 3 scorer for an Atlanta team which will be the top seed while Dolson, Hartley and Kalana Greene are all members of playoff bound Washington.

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.

The WNBA released the first batch of voting results for next month's WNBA All-Star Game being held in Phoenix.

Former UConn stars Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi are atop the Western Conference list for forwards and guards respectively.

Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky leads all players with 16,542 votes. Moore leads all Western Conference players with 16,509 while Taurasi has 10,487 votes. If voting ended at the time of the early returns the starters for the Eastern Conference would be Shoni Schimmel and Ivory Latta in the backcourt, Delle Donne, Angel McCoughtry and Tamika Catchings (who has not played a game this season due to a back injury). In the Western Conference Moore, Parker and Taurasi would be joined by Seimone Augustus and Brittney Griner.

Fans can vote for up to 10 players per day on WNBA.com, mobile devices, and the WNBA Center Court App presented by Boost Mobile.  Fans also can cast votes on Facebook and Twitter, voting for one player per day using the designated hashtag #WNBABALLOT. Balloting will conclude at midnight ET on Wednesday, July 2.  Starters will be announced on July 8 during the nationally-televised game between Los Angeles and Minnesota while the reserves will be announced during the broadcast of the July 15 game between Los Angeles and Indiana. The game will be played on July 19.

Here are the voting results
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Guards: Shoni Schimmel (Atl) 14,635; Ivory Latta (Was) 5,974; Cappie Pondexter (NY) 5926; Briann January (Ind) 5,341; Courtney Vandersloot (Chi) 4,972; Katie Douglas (Con) 4,182; Kara Lawson (Was) 2,914; Epiphanny Prince (Chi) 2,707; Shavonte Zellous (Ind) 2,256; Matee Ajavon (Atl) 1,556; Anna Cruz (NY) 1,517; Allison Hightower (Con) 1,109
Frontcourt: Elena Delle Donne (Chi) 16,542; Angel McCoughtry (Atl) 9,736; Tamika Catchings (Ind) 8,341; Erika de Souza (Atl) 7,579; Chiney Ogwumike (Con) 6,922; Tina Charles (NY) 5,897; Jessica Breland (Chi) 3,125; Sylvia Fowles (Chi) 2,756; Sancho Lyttle (Atl) 2,525; Erlana Larkins (Ind) 2,151; Marissa Coleman (Ind) 1,794; Emma Meesseman (Was) 1,692; Kelsey Griffin (Con) 1,240;  Kelsey Bone (Con) 1,205; Kia Vaughn (Was) 1,180; Essence Carson (NY) 1,099; Monique Currie (Was) 1,044; Plenette Pierson (NY) 900
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Guards: Diana Taurasi (Phx) 10,487; Seimone Augustus (Minn) 10,024; Lindsay Whalen (Minn) 8,898; Skylar Diggins (Tul) 8,447; Sue Bird (Sea) 4,506; Becky Hammon (SA) 4,216; Danielle Robinson (SA) 2,889; Erin Phillips (Phx) 2,453; Kristi Toliver (LA) 2,119; Alana Beard (LA) 1,641; Riquna Williams (Tul) 1,151; Tanisha Wright (Sea) 790 Frontcourt: Maya Moore (Minn) 16,509; Candace Parker (LA) 13,704; Brittney Griner (Phx) 10,214; Kayla McBride (SA) 6,220; Nneka Ogwumike (LA) 6,129; Janel McCarville (Minn) 5,048; Candice Dupree (Phx) 4,801; Glory Johnson (Tul) 3,329; DeWanna Bonner (Phx) 3,170; Rebekkah Brunson (Minn) 2,932; Crystal Langhorne (Sea) 2,156; Jayne Appel (SA) 2,100; Courtney Paris (Tul) 1,878; Sophia Young-Malcolm (SA) 1,611; Camille Little (Sea) 1,214; Jantel Lavender (LA) 1,181; Shekinna Stricklen (Sea) 1,027; Jordan Hooper (Tul) 996

Dating back to their days as UConn teammates, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi have known nothing but success when they take the court together.

Whether it was helping UConn win the 2002 national title, the Olympic and World Championship titles as well as EuroLeague titles, Bird and Taurasi have enjoyed an absurd amount of team success.

Well, they are at it again as they were key members of the UMMC Ekaterinburg team which won the Russian league title.

Bird had 10 points and three assists and Taurasi had four points, four rebounds and four assists as Ekaterinburg defeated Nadezhda Orenburg 63-58 on Tuesday  to complete a sweep of the best of five game series.

Bird averaged 9 points and 3 assists in the championship series while Taurasi averaged 3.7 points and 3.7 assists in the three games

Former Connecticut Sun forward Sandrine Gruda led Ekaterinburg with 24 points in the clincher and Candace Parker had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The third-place series also ended with a sweep as Dynamo Kursk defeated Dynamo Moscow 84-69 despite 13 points and five rebounds from former UConn star Tina Charles who averaged 14 points and 13.7 rebounds in the three games.

SEASON TICKET DEPOSITS BEING TAKEN
UConn announced that deposits for season tickets for the men's and women's basketball teams are now being taken.