There aren't an abundance of women's professional basketball players coming out of the state of Nevada so when rumors began to circulate about the San Antonio Stars relocating to Las Vegas, there was more than one social media post suggesting that UConn senior and Nevada native Gabby Williams would be jumping for joy at this news.

Well, I caught up with Williams at yesterday's American Athletic Conference basketball media day and she chuckled at her potential "homecoming" if the team did indeed land in Vegas.

Earlier today, the WNBA confirmed the rumors with a release that the San Antonio franchise will play at the Mandalay Bay Events Center beginning with the 2018 season.

"It's pretty far for me like eight hours so it is not really home," Williams said. "I was kind of sad because I heard their were rumors that they were moving to the Bay Area or Sacramento."

Sacramento is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Williams' hometown of Sparks, Nevada while Las Vegas is only slightly closer to her home than Los Angeles is.

"It is exciting because it is closer than any other team," Williams said.

I won't claim to have a tremendous amount of knowledge about the top girls basketball products to come out of Nevada. Former North Carolina star Italee Lucas was a second round pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft while Ashley Gayle was in camp with the Seattle Storm in 2012. Perhaps there are others but I asked Williams about the level of interest in girls and women's basketball in the state of Nevada.

"Basketball is not really that big in Nevada as far as women's basketball so hopefully having a WNBA team there will hopefully grow the popularity of it and hopefully encourage some of the younger girls in Nevada to start playing basketball," Williams said.

Speaking of the 2018 WNBA Draft, don't look for Napheesa Collier's name to be among the draft prospects.

Collier would be eligible for the draft since she turns 22 in 2018 however when I spoke to her on Monday in Philadelphia, she made it clear that she indeeds on playing all four seasons with the Huskies.

"I want to be here as long as I can and learn as much as I can from the coaches so I am not thinking about it," Collier said.

Katie Lou Samuelson had 23 points, all in the first three quarters, five assists and two steals to lead the UConn women's basketball team to a 88-66 win over the Netherlands National Team on Tuesday in Rome in the second of four exhibtion games on its tour of Italy.

Kia Nurse, who joined the team after leading Canada to the FIBA AmeriCup title in Argentina, added 18 points and four rebounds. Napheesa Collier had her second consecutive double-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals while Azura Stevens contributed 10 points (going 4 for 4 from the floor), six rebounds and two steals.

Gabby Williams had seven points, six assists and five assists as UConn led 82-42 after three quarters en route to sweeping two games against the Dutch National Team. Megan Walker added six points and four rebounds, Crystal Dangerfield had four points and six assists and Molly Bent had four points.

UConn will play the Italian All-Stars on Friday in Vicenza and will wrap up play on Sunday againat Celje in Trieste.

Samuelson is averaging 17 points in the first two games. Collier is contributing 14 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3 assists. Williams (11 PPG), Stevens (10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds) are also averaing more than 10 points per game. Walker has a pair of six-point games and a total of 10 rebounds in the two games while Dangerfield has nine assists.

UConn's Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams are among 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy.

Four finalists will be announced on March 17 with the winner being named on April 4.

Collier finished the regular season leading the Huskies in rebounding at 9 per game, blocks (56) and field-goal percentage (.686) while ranking second in scoring (20.4).

Samuelson is the leading scorer (20.7) and her 93 3-pointers is tied for the fifth most in program history.

Williams is averaging 13 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and posted team-leading marks with 152 assists and 79 steals.

Here's the list
Napheesa Collier, UConn SO F
Brionna Jones Maryland SR F/C
Kelsey Mitchell Ohio State JR G
Kelsey Plum Washington SR G
Katie Lou Samuelson UConn SO G/F
Brianna Turner, Notre Dame JR F/C
Victoria Vivians Mississippi State JR G
Sydney Wiese Oregon State SR G
Gabby Williams UConn JR F
A'ja Wilson South Carolina JR F

Last night's UConn/Notre Dame game drew some impressive ratings.

I heard back from ESPN earlier this evening and was told that the ESPN2 broadcast had live viewing audience (counting TV viewers and those who checked out ESPN3's live stream) of 739,000.

The highest market was Hartford/New Haven with an 8.9 rating, which is the highest rating for a women's basketball game in this market so far this season according to ESPN. It should be noted that ESPN only had four of the first eight UConn games and it is unlikely that a non-UConn game would outdraw one involving the Huskies in the state but it is still a noteworthy number.

I also did a little checking and going back to the 2002-03 season, the only players with at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals in a game are Maya Moore (16 points, 14, rebounds, seven assists, five steals vs. Syracuse on Mar. 7, 2010), Kelly Faris (13 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, five steals against Georgetown on Jan. 5, 2013), Stefanie Dolson (12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five steals against Memphis on Jan. 22, 2014) and Gabby Williams (19 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals against Notre Dame).

I spent a few extra minutes with Williams after the game and got some stuff from her about being more than just a dynamic player and athlete. I'm going to turn it into my advance for Sunday's game at Kansas State so stay tuned.

A couple of other notes that I never got around to posting.

First, since I spent plenty of time researching how many games and shots it took Katie Lou Samuelson to reach 100 3-points and where it ranks in program history, I did get her reaction to needing fewer shots than anybody not named Sue Bird to reach triple digits in made 3-pointers.

"It is really exciting, my teammates pass me the ball so it is on them so hopefully I will continue to shoot more 3s," Samuelson said.

Finally, as I was watching the 5-foot-11 Williams and 6-foot-1 Collier combine for 39 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocked shots in the win over Notre Dame, I couldn't help but wonder how things will look next season with 6-foot-5 Azura' Stevens and 6-2 Batouly Camara eligible after sitting out this season per NCAA transfer regulations as well as the Huskies adding highly-touted 6-1 signee Megan Walker.

I spoke to Camara last month after the National Letters of Intent were signed by Walker, Mikayla Coombs, Andra Espinoza-Hunter and Lexi Gordon since Camara was a former teammate of Espinoza-Hunter's at Blair Academy. I also asked her about what it is like not being able to play this season.

"It was more and everything that I expected," Camara said. "It is as challenging as I thought it would be but that was exactly what I wanted, I am excited about the season.

"Going through preseason and you started in practice, you see the competition that we have so we want to do our best for our teammates so we try every day to make practice as hard as we can. We go to war with them every day in, you can watch the games and support them."

When Morgan Tuck opted not to come back for another season, the Huskies bid adieu to a pair of All-American forwards.

Certainly there is no way that Napheesa Collier and Gabby Williams, who played so much on the perimeter during their high school careers, were going to be able to match the production of Breanna Srewart and Morgan Tuck, right?

Well, the numbers of Stewart and Tuck during their senior seasons are certainly more impressive than what Collier and Williams have put up but if you compare the statistics from Stewart's and Tuck's junior season, it is pretty close to what Collier and Williams have put up through the first seven games of the season. The 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons isn't included because the numbers weren't close to the other seasons.

Year       Players             Min FG-Att 3PT   FTs    Pts  Reb A  Stl Blk (TO)
16-17 Collier/Williams   408  87-142    6-13 25-37  205-  97-45-27-18 (29)
15-16 Stewart/Tuck         434 103-180 15-38 52-68  273-103-54-20-25 (25)
14-15 Stewart/Tuck         398  82-163  14-43 37-48  215-  84-33-16-  9 (31)
13-14 Stewart/Dolson     408  88-160 12-33 48-61   236-110-53-17-36 (36)
12-13 Stewart/Dolson     344  83-139   8-23  32-42  206- 89-34-16-18 (28)
11-12 Moore/Dolson       326  88-160 14-37 40-45   230- 81-43-22-12 (22)
10-11 Moore/Charles      345 104-170 11-28 40-53  259-113-37-24-19 (30)
09-10 Moore/Charles      357 103-169 11-27 41-59  258-121-41-22-27 (32)
08-09 Moore/Charles      305  95-144  5-13 26-49    221- 96-32-19-24 (22)
07-08 Charles/Houston   317  72-126  0-0  19-41     163-105-23-18-25 (27)
04-05 Turner/Houston     286  55-99   1-7  37-60     148- 60-21-12-14 (29)
03-04 Turner/Moore        357  68-117  3-7  33-56    172- 83-32-11-11 (29) 
02-03 Moore/Turner        265  46-81   1-3  15-23     108- 73-11-12-5  (23)    
01-02 Cash/Jones            319  85-148  1-2  27-41     198- 92-19-12-15 (26)

I also found it interesting that Williams is tied for the team lead with 32 assists and half of the helpers have come on baskets by Collier which is a remarkable ratio.

NOTRE DAME NO. 1 IN COACHES POLL
UConn jumped to the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll yesterday, passing former No. 1 team Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish did remain No. 1 in the coaches poll receiving 18 of the 32 first-place votes to edge out UConn by three points after UConn finished two points ahead of Notre Dame in the writers' poll.

DOCUMENTARY SET TO AIR ON MARCH 1
Perhaps you have noticed more cameras than normal at UConn games. Not only are SNY or ESPN cameramen there getting footage but so those from HBO.

It was kind of being kept quiet - until now but HBO will be airing a documentary on UConn the season after the graduation of the top recruiting class in NCAA women's basketball history.

Here is the release from HBO

HBO Sports, a trailblazer in sports reality programming, is teaming up again with IMG’s Original Content unit for an unscripted series chronicling the 2016-17 season of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team’s pursuit of a fifth consecutive national championship. UCONN HUSKIES: THE MARCH TO MADNESS debuts WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) with a special hour-long edition, followed by half-hour episodes debuting on subsequent Wednesdays.
           
UCONN HUSKIES: THE MARCH TO MADNESS spotlights the players, coaches and support personnel, chronicling the hard work and high expectations game-by-game in the American Athletic Conference as they seek to continue their extraordinary run of berths in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. Scheduled to run through the conclusion of the Huskies’ season, the show features exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, offering a unique look at the personalities who shape the powerhouse program headquartered in Storrs, Conn.

The reigning national champions, the UConn Huskies have achieved unprecedented success in women’s college basketball and are on the verge of surpassing the UCLA men’s basketball record of 11 NCAA national championships. Under head coach Geno Auriemma, in his 32nd season with the team, the Huskies have earned berths in 28 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, going to 16 Final Fours and 11 national championships. Last spring, the team captured its fourth consecutive national championship, going undefeated for the sixth time.

 “We are always looking for fascinating stories that will appeal to our subscribers, and this project will shine a spotlight on one of the most successful athletic programs in America,” says Rick Bernstein, executive producer, HBO Sports. “Under Coach Auriemma, the University of Connecticut has built a tremendous program that excels year after year. Our goal is to explore why this program is so accomplished and to tell the backstories of the student-athletes who are committed to carving out a remarkable piece of history on the college basketball landscape.”
“The Huskies’ program is the gold standard in college basketball: outstanding leadership, a legacy of dedicated players and the ability to make history time and time again,” says Mike Antinoro, senior vice president, Programming and Production, IMG. “We are excited and honored to share their unique story in partnership with HBO.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to be involved in this project,” says UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma. “Knowing the kind of high-quality content that is showcased by HBO, I am already looking forward to watching the first episode. This offers a tremendous opportunity for a lot of people to get an inside look at our university and to see just what goes into building a championship team.”
Journalist Harvey Araton has written, “Perfection, or near perfection, has become a virtual state of Connecticut grace.”

For more than a decade, HBO Sports has been responsible for some of the most compelling unscripted sports programming, with a stylish and contemporary approach keyed by unrestricted access. “Hard Knocks,” launched in 2001 in partnership with NFL Films, has won 14 Sports Emmy® Awards, and the groundbreaking all-access reality franchise “24/7” has earned 18 Sports Emmy® Awards.

UCONN HUSKIES: THE MARCH TO MADNESS marks HBO Sports’ second foray into a reality series spotlighting a college sports program. Last year, HBO and IMG teamed up for “Gonzaga: The March to Madness,” following that team’s march to its 18th consecutive NCAA men’s basketball tournament berth.

The show will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

UCONN HUSKIES: THE MARCH TO MADNESS is executive produced by Will Staeger, Mike Antinoro and Fred Christenson. For HBO: executive producer Rick Bernstein; supervising producer, Bentley Weiner.
 

If there's been on constant in the early portion of this season it is that neither Napheesa Collier nor Gabby Williams miss when they get the ball within the shadow of the basket. So when Collier misfired on an easy shot in the lane in the early stages of the Chattanooga game it took me by surprise.

Collier certainly made up for her early game miss as she made her final 11 shots to finish with a game-high 23 points. If she had made the aforementioned shot in the paint, she would have broken Rebecca Lobo's program record for most consecutive shots in a game without a miss.

Lobo was 11 for 11 in a win over Iona on Dec. 23, 1994. Breanna Stewart threatened the mark when she went 10 for 10 against Creighton two years ago as did Williams (9 for 9 against Temple just nine months ago) and current assistant coach Shea Ralph was also 9 for 9 in a 1999 contest against Old Dominion.

"Let me fix it," Collier said was her initial reaction after her early miss. "It is frustrating especially when it is a shot you usually make so I just tried to adjust. I just feel good so I kept taking it in.
"I think everybody should have that mentality that when they get the ball that they are going to score."
Collier certainly has that belief with three 20-point games in the first five games of the season.
"She is unorthodox in a lot of ways," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "She is able to create space for herself that a lot of other people can't. When she gets the ball anywhere around the basket, she knows where the basket and she has a knack for (scoring). Some players they got it 10 times and five times she will turn the wrong way. She is going to do exactly what she has to do to get the ball up on the rim and score and that is why her shooting percentage is so high when she touches the ball. She has a great feel and it is not anything we've taught her."
UConn finished with 21 assists in the game and 10 of them came on baskets by Collier. All four of Williams' assists came on Collier's baskets while four of Saniya Chong's five assists set up baskets by Collier. Kia Nurse also had two of her four assists resulting in baskets by Collier.

Williams had one assist to Collier that I mentioned to her was Moriah Jefferson like as Williams grabbed an offensive rebound and instead of going up for the basket, she hit a cutting Collier for a basket.

Williams had another strong game with 11 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, four assists, no turnovers and one foul meaning that Williams has committed one foul in the last two games  after being whistled for 10 in the first three games of the season.

It wasn't all about stat stuffing. Chattanooga was 4 for 22 points en route to scoring a total of 39 points in a loss to Maine on Sunday. The Mocs had five 3-pointers and 31 points by halftime leading UConn coach Geno Auriemma to question his team's toughness and focus.

"You have to acquire it," Auriemma said. "A lot of times it comes from inside and you just have it and it needs to come out or somebody needs to whack you in the back of your head like my mother used to do and you find out hat you have that in you. Our guys on our team, forget getting whacked on the back of their head by their mothers, by the way you can't do that anymore. All you know is you show up, when is the game, there is food after, go back to our dorms or our apartments, living large and when is the parade? They don't know any different so they live in a fantasy world and after a while you have to face reality. People forget that Stewie's freshman year that they faced reality a lot, they got their butts kicked and they got tougher, by the time we got to March those guys were tough because they got their butts kicked along the way, they didn't like it. Maybe I am being picky."

There will be more on the toughness issue as well as the string of tough games in my advance for Thursday's DePaul game.

UConn played without freshman guard Crystal Dangerfield because of concussion-like symptoms. Auriemma is hopeful that she can play against DePaul.

"I don't know the ins and outs of how all of that stuff works, I just know that there are four different steps that you've got to go through, she went through two of them today which is really good, one tomorrow and she is good to go and one on Thursday at shootaround and she will be good to go on Thursday night," Auriemma said. "If she gets a thumbs up on Thursday she can play Thursday night, if one of them is a no-go, then she is a no go."

I also noticed that Williams ran off the court, consulted with a trainer and has spent time riding a stationary bike on different occasions. She downplayed any issues she was having.

"We are not quite sure what is going on, just getting a little tightness and cramping but I should be fine," Williams said.

It should be noted she quickly returned the game after experiencing the issue in tonight's game.

When I first heard that Chatrice White was granted a waiver by the NCAA after transferring from Illinois to Florida State and then hearing the possibility that Natalie Romeo could be immediately eligible after going from Nebraska to Washington, it got me thinking (which is never a good thing). The Illinois and Nebraska situations that White and Romeo left were not pretty but neither were the ones at Duke and Kentucky where Azura Stevens and Batouly Camara began their collegiate careers before transferring to Duke.

So if White and possibly Romeo could play for their new teams without sitting out the season, couldn't a case be made for Camara and Stevens to play for UConn this season?

I brought the subject up with UConn coach Geno Auriemma after today's practice and he said neither player will be eligible to play for the Huskies until the 2017-18 season.

"I don't have an answer behind those other programs what happened, why some kids are eligible and some kids are not," Auriemma said. "I just know that our two are not. From talking to them, it doesn't seem like there is anything that would make me think 'OK we should go and pursue this.' I don't know happened that those other players were able to do that. If I felt there were something there, I would pursue it but it would be dishonest for me to think there is when there isn't."

Also, with Kia Nurse getting a game in Canada next year, I was curious if UConn would try to secure a game in Nevada for Gabby Williams. Auriemma said that UConn's west coast trip next season will have to suffice for Williams' homecoming game.

UConn kicks off its season with an exhibition game against Division II Indiana (Pa.) tomorrow night at 7 at Gampel Pavilion. It was a foregone conclusion that Nurse, Williams, Napheesa Collier and Kaie Lou Samuelson would start. Auriemma said he is planning to start senior Saniya Chong as well. Auriemma has been thrilled with what he has seen from Chong which is a good sign but now the challenge is to carry her strong work in practices throughout the entire season. It would be huge for the Huskies if that were the case since it would allow the coaching staff to bring freshmen Crystal Dangerfield and Molly Bent off the bench. There will be more on Chong in the coming days.

Auriemma said everybody should be good to go for the game. He said Nurse stepped on somebody's foot but she was able to practice without restriction today so she should be good to go.

Finally, the preseason Associated Press poll comes out tomorrow at 9 a.m.. UConn has been the preseason No. 1 team in each of the last three seasons and six times in the last eight years but I would be pretty surprised if that trend continues. I vote in the poll and picked the Huskies fourth behind South Carolina, Notre Dame and Baylor.

Both Moriah Jefferson and Breanna Stewart have had their share of huge offensive games since arriving at UConn but Sunday's 85-60 win at Temple marked just the second time they scored at least 20 points in the same game.

Jefferson's take on her 25-point effort (to go with eight assists and eight steals) and the 24 points by Stewart (along with eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals and six blocked shots) is almost that it was a necessary evil.

Starters Morgan Tuck and Kia Nurse had one made field goal each and other than a garbage time basket by Natalie Butler, the only reserve to make a shot from the field was Gabby Williams who was a spectacular 9 for 9.

"It is fun but at the same time it is not what we really want to do," Jefferson said. "We want to be consistent we want the flow to be everybody in rhythm and everybody to make a play. Sometimes there are other games when we have to do it and there are other games where you can where we don't need to."

Temple got blown out only a month ago when the Owls played at UConn but when Erica Covile hit a layup, the game was tied at 30 with 4:08 left in the second quarter. Temple missed its final seven shots of the half and had three turnovers allowing the Huskies to use a 10-0 run to take a 10-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

"I thought the first 20 minutes the only thing we did better was we had more All-Americans on the floor than they did," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "I don't think we did anything better. I don't think we rebounded better, ran our offense better, played better defense. I don't think we did anything better than them, I told them at halftime the only reason we are 10 points is we have three All-Americans on the floor and they don't."
Jefferson moved past UConn legend Sue Bird in both points and assists while Jefferson, Stewart and Morgan Tuck now are the most productive trio of classmates in UConn women's basketball history in points, assists, steals and now blocked shots.

Temple coach Tonya Cardoza, who was an assistant coach on some of the Huskies best teams, believes that the Jefferson and Stewart deserve to be mentioned among the best guard-forward combos to ever suit up at UConn.

"Both of those guys are unbelievable and the way Jefferson never gets rattled no matter what the situation, she just plays hard, knocked down shots when she has to," Cardoza said. "I just remember the championship game last year and how she just stepped up and won the game for them. I love her and I tell my guards all the time to just watch her. She is busting her butt running all over the place, she is never complained about being tired, she is running her team. You need to pay attention watch her study film of her. I love Jefferson and Stewart she is going to go down as one of the best to play. She is just unbelievable, she is super athletic and the things she is able to do at her size, oh my gosh. I am so excited about her graduating, both of them and Tuck too. Even though Tuck didn't have a great night, I hope Tuck leaves too."

I will have more on Williams in the next day or two as she joins Rebecca Lobo, Stewart, Shea Ralph and Nykesha Sales as the only UConn players to attempt at least nine shots from the field without missing. She finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Gabby Williams is second on the team with 41 steals, 27 coming as starter

When the season began Gabby Williams found herself in the starting lineup and the potential for UConn to speed things up was rather intriguing.

Williams had at least two steals in five of those seven games before UConn coach Geno Auriemma shook things up a little bit. With Morgan Tuck sitting for two weeks to rest her surgically-repaired right knee, Williams found herself back in the starting five and in her most recent three-game streak as a starter the athletic sophomore has 11 steals.

"Now is the time to work on that stuff and it is fun right now," Williams said. "The games aren't too stressful so we are trying to work on things and get the ball moving a little bit.

"We spent weeks going over our press and guarding somebody 1 on 1, making sure we aren't letting them (score) too easily."

Auriemma has been focusing on defense for about the last 2 1/2 weeks. He not only wants his team to guard more vigorously in half-court settings but also be more aggressive and clog up the passing lanes.

"This group has blended in pretty well and it is good defensively," Auriemma said. "Starting with a couple days before the Memphis game we changed up some things defensively that has made a big difference. We have gotten more involved, more aggressive instead of just 'OK, we will guard you down here, you shoot, then we'll go down and shoot ....' We are becoming more of an attacking team than we were that we were say a month ago.

"Gabby, Moriah (Jefferson), Kia (Nurse) are unbelievable defenders, they have great instincts and they play so hard and it puts a lot of pressure on the other teams. It frees up Stewie (Breanna Stewart) and Lou (Katie Lou Samuelson) to kind of do what they do."

Much of Williams best work recently has come on the road. That will change when UConn plays Memphis at the XL Center on Saturday. Williams will have some added motivation to play well.

"I am really excited to play at home," Williams said. "My family is coming up, my mom, sister and niece to finally get to see a home game so I am excited. It gives me something to look forward and I get to show them what I do every day and get to put on some other shoes that aren't blue because mine are falling apart."

THREE FORMER HUSKIES IN NEW WNBA MARKETING CAMPAIGN
The WNBA announced that six players, including former UConn stars Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi, will be featured in the "Watch Me Work" campaign as some of the league's best and most recognizable stars give first-person narration into how they became the players and people they are today. Brittney Griner, Candace Parker and Skylar Diggins will also be featured.

Here is a link to a promotional video for the "Watch Me Work" campaign

The league also mentioned a change to its playoff format. The top eight teams regardless of conference will make the playoffs with the top two seeds getting byes into the third round and the teams seeded third and fourth getting byes into the quarterfinals. The first round and second round will be single elimination with No. 5 seed playing No. 8 and No. 6 meeting No. 7. The No. 3 seed will play the lowest-seeded first-round winner with the other opening-round winner meeting the No. 4 seed. The teams will be reseeded for third round series which will both be best of five game series as will the WNBA championship series.

Here is the Connecticut Sun schedule for the 2016 season. UConn players in parenthesis (based on last year's rosters)
DATE     OPPONENT         TIME (LOCAL)
May      
Sat. 14   AT Chicago          7
Thu. 19 AT San Antonio 11 a.m.
Sat. 21   Washington        7 (Stefanie Dolson/Bria Hartley)
Thu. 26 Los Angeles        7
Sat. 28   AT Seattle           6
Tue. 31 AT Phoenix         7
Jun.
Fri.  3     Atlanta 7 (Tiffany Hayes)
Sun.  5   Indiana 3
Fri. 10    Seattle  7  (Sue Bird, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, BREANNA STEWART)
Sun. 12 AT Atlanta           3
Tue. 14 Washington        7   (Stefanie Dolson/Bria Hartley)
Thu. 16 New York            7 (Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Kiah Stokes)
Sun. 19 San Antonio       1
Fri. 24    AT Seattle           7
Sun. 26 AT Los Angeles  2
Wed. 29   AT Phoenix         7
Jul.       
Sat.  2    AT Dallas              7:30
Thu.  7   Minnesota          7  (Asjha Jones, Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore)
Sun. 10 Atlanta               1 (Tiffany Hayes)
Wed. 13 AT Indiana           12
Fri. 15    Los Angeles        7
Sun. 17 AT New York      3
Wed. 20 AT Dallas              11:30 a.m.
Fri. 22 AT Chicago          7:30
Aug.      
Fri. 26    Minnesota          7   (Asjha Jones, Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore)
Sun. 28 AT Atlanta           3
Tue. 30 San Antonio       7
Sep.     
Fri.  2     Phoenix              7  (Diana Taurasi)
Sun.  4   AT Minnesota    6
Fri.  9     AT New York      7:30
Sun. 11 Chicago  1
Tue. 13 Indiana 7
Fri. 16    Dallas    7
Sun. 18 AT Washington 4



Also, here is the WNBA's ESPN/ESPN2 schedule for the regular season with visiting team listed first
Sat. May 14, 2016 Phoenix Minnesota 6:30 PM 7:30 PM ESPN
Tues. May 24, 2016 Los Angeles Chicago 6:00 PM 7:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. May 31, 2016 Minnesota New York 8:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. June 7, 2016 New York Los Angeles 7:00 PM 10:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. June 14, 2016 Indiana Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. June 21, 2016 Phoenix Dallas 7:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. June 28, 2016 Dallas Los Angeles 7:00 PM 10:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. July 5, 2016 Chicago Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. July 19, 2016 Los Angeles Indiana 8:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Sun. Aug. 28, 2016 Seattle Minnesota 6:00 PM 7:00 PM ESPN2
Sun. Aug. 28, 2016 Los Angeles Phoenix 6:00 PM 9:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. Sept. 6, 2016 Phoenix Atlanta 8:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. Sept. 13, 2016 Minnesota Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Sun. Sept. 18, 2016 Dallas Indiana 4:00 PM 4:00 PM ESPN2

UConn's Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma recently suggested that sophomore Gabby Williams could be the Huskies most improved player over the last year. At American Athletic Conference media day, Kia Nurse needed almost no prodding to rave about what she has seen from her classmate and close friend.

The 6,233 in attendance at the XL Center on Monday night got to see what all the hype was about. Williams 16 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 25 minutes off the bench. It is not the first time Williams has put up numbers like that in a game but the way she went about compiling the statistics was an indication of how much work she has put in even if it came against a Division II Lubbock Christian team.

Williams hit a mid-range jumper, was 6 of 7 from the foul line and took it coast to coast for a layup during Monday's win.

"I definitely feel more comfortable just because I know what the expectations are," Williams said. "It is nice to know that I am able to get what we need done. I know what Coach (Geno Auriemma) wants when he puts me in and it is not about, I am not lost anymore, I know our offense, I know what kind of basketball we can play, I know what pace I have to go at most importantly so that helps a lot.
It is mostly what can I expand with my game? What can I do more of?

"It is harder to make those shots when people are forcing you to play at a faster pace, even if you are going hard at practice, you are still getting wide open shots so when  somebody has a hand in your face or you have to run a little faster, it definitely helps when it goes in."

Her performance certainly impressed Auriemma as well as All-American point guard Moriah Jefferson.

"She can get to the basket against just about anybody but if she can make 15 footers and she is making free throws, those are things that last year didn't exist for her," Auriemma said. "She is just a lot more confident right now."

Here are Jefferson's thoughts
"She worked extremely hard this season. Right after the season is over, she is in the gym putting up shots, getting up free throws, doing stuff so she could be a lot more confident in her game."

There was a scary moment when Gabby Williams got up slowly after landing awkwardly. She hobbled up the court and was quickly taken out of the game. When she got to the sideline, she exchanged in some friendly banter with UConn athletic trainer Rosemary Ragle but took a seat near the coaches without being examined by Ragle. After the game Williams, who saw her junior and senior seasons ended with torn ACLs, said it was nothing she was concerned about.

Junior guard Saniya Chong (IT Band) and freshman forward De'Janae Boykin (Achilles) did not play since they missed Sunday's practice and Monday's shootaround. Morgan Tuck did not play in the second half.

"Rosemary (Ragle, UConn's athletic trainer) took Morgan out because she was complaining about her knee, that she felt something on one of her layups but she is fine. Saniya didn't practice yesterday or at shootaround today, she is seeing a doctor to try to loosen up her IT Band and De'Janae same thing."

Jefferson saw some familiar faces as starting forward Tess Bruffey as well as reserves Hannah Harbin and Claire Bruffey were members of the Lubbock Titans team that lost to Jefferson's THESA Riders in the 2012 Texas home school championship game.
"We aren't best friends or anything but I remember playing them," Jefferson said. "We played them in the championship in states and it was good to see them on the court."

Last but certainly not least, UConn will unveil its national championship banner at Sunday's exhibition game against Vanguard University.

Gabby Williams went into her first collegiate season with her eyes wide open.

With her final two high school seasons cut short due to knee injuries, Williams had plenty of catching up to do when she arrived at UConn. She had to work herself into position just to be able to practice and then had to adjust when the coaches informed her that she would be playing forward.

With Williams scoring in double figures five times in her first nine collegiate games and twice having back to back 10-rebound games, it all looked so easy for Williams. The reality, however, is that the learning on the fly aspect of her freshman season was more challenging than it might have appeared.

"I didn't know what was going to happen, I don't think I thought that far ahead," Williams said. "I was like 'I am here now, let's see what I can do.'"

So how did the high school guard make the move to the front court?

"Just put in extra hours, I didn't know one post move so I had a lot to learn," Williams said. "I depended on my athleticism for a lot. I think a lot of it was just mostly the coaches being patient with me and making sure I got it right."

It didn't hurt that she is a world-class high jumper who finished fifth in the event at the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials. Even if she didn't know exactly what she was supposed to do, she aggressively went after rebounds and when given the ball in the lane, all she did was lead the Huskies with a 63.7 field-goal percentage. She was also UConn's third-leading rebounder even though she played only 15.6 minutes per game.

Unlike a season ago, Williams has been able to spend the entire year working on her game. She has been putting in the work adding range on her jump shot and improving in other areas so she can be more than a reliable finisher in the low block.

"I've been working on my ball handling so hopefully I can move off the block," Williams said. "I do call myself a forward. That is kind of a funny thing now, I like it more down there than I did playing guard. Obviously the coaches know best and they saw something that I didn't see the entire time I have playing basketball so I had to put my trust in them."

UConn coach Geno Auriemma is asking Williams to make gradual improvements to her game and likes what he has seen.

"In the (off)season she has put a lot of time in the gym and she is getting really comfortable and that kid is going to be really good," Auriemma said. "I don't know how far away but right now if we get her comfortable 15 feet away (on her jump shot) that makes it really hard for people. I remember when we recruited Meghan Pattyson and people said she is a 5-10 power forward, how are you going to win a national championship? We didn't but we went to the Final Four. You put somebody who is an incredible athlete, she is good around the basket who as she gets a little bit better shooting the ball, it is a tough matchup for people."

Williams was feeling good enough to try out for the U.S. team playing in the FIBA U19 World Championships. She did not make the 12-member squad but believes the experience was still a positive one.

"It was disappointing because that was my first shot at it," Williams said. "I think even being there I gained a lot of confidence, I was working more on the off the ball screen stuff and mid range and that kind of stuff. I think my shot improved while I was there. Coming back I saw things I need to work on so I think it really is a blessing."

Last year Williams spent plenty of time with Morgan Tuck as both recovered from knee surgeries. This year they are working together doing individual drills as they both look to expand on what they can do on the court.

"We are doing our individuals together and we are both working on the same stuff, expanding more than just back to the basket kind of stuff," Williams said. "It is going to be harder for people to guard us with our mid-range game."

One teammate who hasn't been around to work with Williams is fellow rising sophomore Kia Nurse. Nurse, who was just named to the Canadian team playing in next month's Pan Am Games, has been back in Canada working with the national team. On Monday, the day she was named to the Pan Am Games squad, she also joined her brother Darnell (a top prospect for the NHL's Edmonton Oilers) lighting the flame in the stadium being used to host the soccer competition at the Pan Am Games.

"It is really fun just to watch her," Williams said. "We got really close last year so she tells me about it. I know how much she loves her brother and how much she loves her country so it is really cool to see her with the success that she has."

Williams is putting herself in position for a successful sophomore season with good old fashioned hard work.

"Just paying attention to every detail that I can, how fast I am getting the ball up and that kind of thing because now is the time to do it," said Williams, who said she is taking hundreds of jump shots on a daily basis. "Maybe up to a thousand (per day), just shoot as much as I can."

The conversations on Skype over these last couple of weeks have meant the world to UConn freshman Gabby Williams but there is nothing quite like that moment when she met the newest member of the Williams' family

Williams' sister gave birth to a daughter named Carter on St. Patrick's Day and even though it wasn't going to be the easiest of trips, mom and daughter did make the journey to Tampa for the Final Four.

Williams and her sister are close enough that they received matching tattoos when Gabby was just 15.

"She is the person I call if I have trouble with anything, if I have trouble with school or practice, she is the first person I am going to talk to," Williams said.

Obviously Carter has been a popular topic of conversation in the last week or two.
"Every day, she sends me pictures every day," Williams said. I have more pictures of her than myself in my phone,.

"I was really excited , Even though I was in Connecticut, I feel like I was with her throughout the entire process and girls, nothing against my nephew, but they are way more fun to but clothes for and all that. I  have to stop myself from just buying everything. I don't care, I am coming out there and bringing her (everything)."

Williams would like nothing more than for her family to see her have a huge performance in tonight's game against Maryland. Williams knows that she didn't play her best during the regionals but is ready to contribute in her first Final Four.

"Just being on the court and the atmosphere, it really hit me when I was going through shootaround," Williams said.
."
The last two games the girls got bigger so I feel like I didn't play my best because I think I got nervous with that but now I am more used to it and I think I trust myself to be able to go by them and use my quickness instead of being scared that they are bigger than I am.

"I think I got my nerves out the last couple of games.".

Courtney Ekmark has 53 points, 39 rebounds
and 19 assists in 26 games as freshman at UConn

This was not how Courtney Ekmark was expecting her freshman season to go.

The highly-touted 6-foot guard from Phoenix figured to add another perimeter shooter to the UConn lineup. However. after recording three rebounds, two assists and three steals in 19 minutes in a season-opening win over UC Davis, any hope Ekmark had of immediately building on that performance were slowed when she was sidelined due to a stress reaction in her right foot.

It was a month and a half before she would appear in another game. But even she was able to get back on the court, the sweet-shooting Ekmark struggled to find the range both in practice and in games. She was 2 for 3 from 3-point range in a Jan. 7 win over Tulsa and 2 for 2 in a Feb. 23 win over Tulane but in the other games she was 5 for 30 from 3-point range before hitting a trey in Saturday's win over Texas.

"Getting the injury was unfortunate and unlucky but it has been an awesome experience here so far," Ekmark said. "

"Everybody has days when their shots aren't falling so it is important to do other things to help the team to win, do different stuff on the court that can help the team get better. The good news that the shots start coming back, you will be doing all the other stuff as well."

It has been a special season for the other two remaining freshmen.

Kia Nurse's 108 assists is the eighth most by a freshman in UConn history and she needs eight points to move into 10th place on the single season freshman scoring list. Williams has been an instant producer off the bench as her 217 rebounds is the ninth best total for a UConn freshman.

"I am really happy for them because they both work hard," Ekmark said. "Gabby and Kia deserve it and they are doing really well."

LOADING UP THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
There's been plenty of attention focused on the blowout wins by the Huskies this season.
While there's not much UConn can do about the 18 American Athletic Conference games it plays each season, there has been an attempt to beef up the non-conference schedule as much as possible.
While not all of the contracts have been signed, UConn is in negotiations or have finalized deals to play seven of the top 15 teams which advanced to the regional semifinals in either the 2015-16 or 2016-17 seasons or both seasons in some instances.
UConn recently signed a home and home deal with Texas which will start during the '16-17 with a game at Mohegan Sun Arena. That same season will be the back end of the home and home with a Florida State team which came up just short in its bid to qualify for the Final Four. Deals with Notre Dame, Stanford and South Carolina have previously been reported. UConn is expected to begin playing Louisville in a non-conference series, perhaps as early as the 2016-17 season while there have been talks with Arizona State about playing as well.

TUCK THRILLED FOR FORMER TEAMMATEThere's no question that while the prospects of a Tennessee/UConn game doesn't have the same pull as it did during the glory days of the rivalry between the rivals, a matchup between the Lady Vols and Huskies in this year's national semifinals would certainly create a buzz.
Perhaps nobody would be more excited to see that happen than UConn redshirt sophomore forward Morgan Tuck, who played with Tennessee senior guard Ariel Massengale at Bolingbrook (Ill.) High School.
Massengale played a major role as Tennessee rallied from 17 points down to beat Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 setting up a regional final with Maryland.
"I was really happy for her that she could do that in a game like that," Tuck said. "It is her last year, she has a little bit left of college and for her to be such an impact playing her best basketball and I am really happy for her.
"Playing with her for as long as I can remember, that is the kind of player that she is. She wants to be in that pressure situation because she wants to be the one to make the plays that is going to help them win."

There are so many gaudy numbers associated with the UConn women's basketball program's performance in the NCAA tournament that I could blog nothing by statistical breakdowns every day and not run out of material for years to come.

However, there are some numbers that jump to the top of the list and certainly breaking down what Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams did in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament ranks with any freshman duo in program history.

The only set  of freshman teammates with more points in the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament are current seniors Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Kiah Stokes.

55: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (36)/Kiah Stokes (19), 2012
46: Kia Nurse (20)/Gabby Williams (26), 2015
45: Asjha Jones (20)/Tamika Williams (25), 1999
45: Stefanie Dolson (23)/Bria Hartley (22), 2011
44: Carla Berube (19)/Kara Wolters (25), 1994
41: Maya Moore (41)'Lorin Dixon (0), 2008

Williams had 15 points against St. Francis (N.Y.) and 11 against Rutgers. If she reached double digits in points on Saturday against Texas she would join a select group of UConn players to score at least 10 points in each of their first three NCAA tournament games as true freshman.

Paige Sauer, 1997 (17 vs. Lehigh, 13 vs. Iowa, 10 vs. Illinois)
Svetlana Abrosimova, 1998 (18 vs. Fairfield, 16 vs. George Washington, 12 vs. Arizona)
Tina Charles, 2007 (10 vs. Maryland Baltimore County, 22 vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay. 17 vs. North Carolina State)
Maya Moore, 2008 (17 vs. Cornell, 24 vs. Texas, 25 vs. Old Dominion)
Bria Hartley, 2011 (12 vs. Hartford, 10 vs. Purdue, 17 vs. Georgetown)
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, 2012 (21 vs. Prairie View, 15 vs. Kansas State, 12 vs. Penn State)
Breanna Stewart, 2013 (14 vs. Vanderbilt, 17 vs. Maryland, 21 vs. Kentucky)
- Note: Stewart missed 2013 NCAA opener against Idaho so games shown are No. 2, 3 and 4 played by UConn) 

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Moriah Jefferson combined for 42 points
as UConn pulled away for 91-55 victory over Rutgers on Monday night

Often times it looks all so routine.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis starts hitting 3-pointers from seemingly everywhere, Morgan Tuck and Breanna Stewart take turns setting up the other for layups while Moriah Jefferson and Kia Nurse attack the basket with controlled abandon.

However, Stewart was on the bench with two fouls, neither Mosqueda-Lewis nor Nurse were involved in the offense as the Huskies found themselves with few answers and a precarious five-point lead as the NCAA second-round game approached the midway point of the first half.

Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer is a Hall of Famer in large part due to being one of the top defensive minds in the history of women's college basketball and she was not about to make things easy for the Huskies.

For one of the few times this season, the Huskies seemed to be a bit rattled. Ill advised passes resulted in turnovers, poor shot selection contributed to some empty possessions. There wasn't much help coming from the bench either so for stretches it basically was Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck playing 2 on 5 on the offensive end of the court.

What followed next was seeing players contribute in different ways.

It started with freshman Gabby Williams, a 44 percent free-throw shooter, going 3 of 4 from the foul line. Then Mosqueda-Lewis, who had fallen into her old habit of standing in one spot waiting to fire up a 3-pointer, began to move with purpose. She hit a jumper in the lane, added a rebound, assist and steal before capping an 11-0 run with a 3-pointer. Kiah Stokes ripped down offensive rebounds with authority and before long, the Huskies were well on their way to another convincing win.

"You never know when somebody is going to go down, either get hurt or get into foul trouble so you have to be ready to step up at any time," said UConn junior guard Moriah Jefferson, who had 19 points including the 1,000th of her career. "We needed (somebody) whether it was me or K (Mosqueda-Lewis) to step up and make the shots to get us into a rhythm and onto a
roll.
"I think games like this are really fun. When Stewie went out, I think a lot of people stepped up and that isn't even saying anything about Gabby, she was killing it. I am just excited for my team."
Williams had 11 points and 10 rebounds as she became the ninth UConn freshman to score in double figures in both the first and second round games. Stokes contributed more to the winning effort than her final line of four points, eight rebounds and two blocks would seem to indicate. Saniya Chong's stat line of two points, four rebounds and one turnover is not an indication of the impact she had. There was one flurry when Chong made the perfect defensive read to prevent a transition layup by Rutgers. Then UConn came down the court and Chong alertly vacated the area near Mosqueda-Lewis leading to one of her five 3-pointers.

"You have to be ready when you name is called," Stokes said. "You don't know when people are going to get into foul trouble like Stewie did. It is not a thing of hang your head because you're not starting or you are not the first one off the bench. When your name is called you have to be ready. I have taken that to heart. I have come in during certain games throughout my whole career and given the spark we needed. I know when my name is called I need to come in, block shots and
get rebounds. As long as I am doing that, I know I am doing my role."

Gabby Williams' numbers in last night's American Athletic Conference championship game might not jump off the page at first glance.

After all, the freshman had 12 points in each of the first two games in the conference tournament so what's the big deal about six points, six rebounds and one assist in 15 minutes of play?

Well, I believe this was one of her most impactful games of the season.

Williams has been putting up some impressive numbers this season. I spent a few hours checking in this and among freshmen averaging at least 10 minutes per game, she is fifth nationally in rebounds per 40 minutes and eighth in points per 40 minutes. Many of those numbers have come when the Huskies were well on their way to victory.

Last night it was a different scenario. Morgan Tuck and Kiah Stokes were sitting with two fouls each and when Williams came into the game for the first time, South Florida was only down 10.

Williams got off to a bit of a slow start as her first 2 1/2 minutes resulted in no rebounds, no shots and one foul. But then in a 57-second span she grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds and scored in the lane. She added an assist on a Moriah Jefferson 3-pointer, another offensive rebound resulted in a Breanna Stewart basket and another basket by Williams pushed the lead to 27 points, the largest of the game.

"There would have been a different feel to the game if Gabby hadn't done that," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "Then in the second half, she did a really good job defensively. Going forward, there are going to be players that we play against, I think, that for stretches, Gabby might be the only person on the team that can guard them. It was big for her to contribute, feel confident and feel like she did some good things and that she is able to start the NCAA Tournament and go, 'I wonder if I'm good enough to play in the postseason.' I think what she did was really, really important; important for her and important for us."

Williams, a world-class athlete who finished fifth in the high jump at the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials, could be as explosive as any player to ever suit up for the Huskies. Like so many first-year players, she has had to carve out her niche. Playing 16-17 minutes per game Williams knows she needs to come in and make an impact quickly to remain on the floor.
"Pretty much every time I go in the first thing Coach (Geno Auriemma) said to me is to rebound everything," Williams said. "When I have that mentality and i get into that zone I feel like all around I get aggressive and the rebounds come."
The last time UConn played USF, Williams was barely noticeable. She missed her only shot, didn't score, had one rebound, two turnovers and two assists in nine minutes.

"Last time we played them I was definitely not happy with my performance," Williams said. "I felt like I didn't step up to the plate like I should have. I wanted to get a chance to redeem myself and I had to show them that I can do this, I can outrebound these girls."

South Florida outrebounded UConn 38-33 in the Mar. 2 regular-season finale. It was just the fourth time UConn did not win the rebounding battle this season and the -5 rebounding margin was the worst of the season. UConn's eight offensive rebounds was tied for the second lowest of the season. Considering that the season low of five came when the Huskies shot 62 percent against Tulsa, you could make the argument that overall this was the worst showing of the season on the glass.

What a difference a week can make. UConn had almost as many offensive rebounds (18) and South Florida had total rebounds (20). The Huskies held a 20-3 advantage in second-chance points and won by 14. It's pretty easy to do that math.
Speaking of crunching numbers here is the chart of the top freshmen in the country in points and rebounds per 40 minutes (through yesterday's games).

POINTSKelsey Mitchell, Ohio State 26.81
A'ja Wilson, South Carolina 25.97
Makeba Ponder, Georgia State 24.20
Dani Franklin, Valparaiso 23.25
Myisha Hines-Allen, Louisville 23.07
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi St. 22.81
Brianna Turner, Notre Dame 22.22
GABBY WILLIAMS, UCONN 21.47Liza Fruendt, Missouri State 21.43
Macy Miller, South Dakota State 21.43
Katelyn Flaherty Michigan 21.10
Bronaza Fitzgerald, UNC Asheville 20.83
Aliya Butts, Temple 20.69
Shakayla Thomas, Florida State 20.63
Funda Nakkasoglu, Utah State 20.24
REBOUNDSKaylee Johnson, Stanford 16.36
Michelle Nwokedi, Penn 15.61
Bronaza Fitzgerald, UNC Asheville 15.04
Sherae Bonner, Western Carolina 15.03
GABBY WILLIAMS, UCONN 14.69Sofia Roma, Wagner 14.54
Kiana Law, UMKC 14.33
Rebekah Van Dijk, Texas Arlington 13.96
Janayla White, Radford 13.58
Becca Jonas, Drake 13.57

While the American Athletic Conference is not releasing its major individual awards until tomorrow, that doesn't mean that UConn players had to wait until tomorrow's press conference to be recognized.

Junior guard Moriah Jefferson was named the AAC's Most Improved Player and was joined on the first team All-AAC by teammates Breanna Stewart, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Morgan Tuck. senior center Kiah Stokes was named the conference's defensive player of the year after blocking a conference-leading 86 shots which is more than eight of the other AAC teams had during the season.
Freshman forward Gabby Williams was one of two winners of the Sixth Player of the Year Award after leading the conference with a 61.8 field-goal percentage, finishing tied for sixth with an average of 7.5 rebounds per game and averaging 10.1 points per game during conference play. Williams was also named to the All-Freshman team. Tulsa junior guard Ashley Clark, who averaged 13.9 points and 7.3 rebounds in AAC play, shared the honor with Williams.
Temple senior guard Tyonna Williams was named the AAC's Sportsmanship Award winner while East Carolina's I'Tiana Taylor was selected as the Newcomer of the Year.
Jefferson led the conference with an average of 3 steals per game and was the conference lead with a 54.3 3-point percentage and a 3.6 assist/turnover ratio was one of four unanimous first-team All-AAC selections.
Stewart (17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per game), Mosqueda-Lewis (14.2 points per game and a conference best 54 3-pointers) and South Florida's Courtney Williams, who led the conference with an average of 21.4 points per game, were also unanimous selections. Tuck and East Carolina's Jada Payne were also named to the first team.
Stokes was a second-team pick while UConn's Kia Nurse was a third-team All-AAC selection and joined Temple's Alliya Butts as the only unanimous selections to the All-Freshman team.
The conference's player of the year, coach of the year, freshman of the year and scholar-athlete of the year will be announced during a press conference at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday at 2 p.m.

There's been one topic I've been wanting to address with UConn freshman Kia Nurse and never got around to it - until now.

A season ago walk-on Briana Pulido wore No. 11 yet this season without fanfare, she switched the No. 24 while Kia Nurse got to wear No. 11.

So is there an interesting back story to all of this? Did Nurse have to buy Pulido dinner, carry her bags on the road? No, not really.

"I misunderstood what was going on," Nurse said. "When they emailed me and asked for what number, I didn't know how it worked here but I said I would like No. 11 but if that is not possible, that is no problem. I was fortunate enough to get it. I have always been 11 on any basketball team I have ever played on."

Nurse never even had to ask Pulido to give up the number, she did so voluntarily.

"Polly (Pulido) is really cool like that," Nurse said.

WILLIAMS JUMPING IN
With all the attention former UConn football star Byron Jones for his 12 foot, 3 inch broad jump and 44 1/2 inch vertical jump at the NFL Combine, I had to ask UConn freshman Gabby Williams if she could have given Jones a run or jump for his money considering that she finished fifth in the U.S. Olympic trials in the high jump back in 2012 when she was just 15.

She was quick to shrug off that suggestion. The broad jump is done so infrequently, Williams probably hasn't even tried for a personal best in that event. How about approaching 44 1/2 inches on a vertical jump.

"Maybe with a trampoline," Williams said with a laugh.
LOOK AHEAD TO AAC TOURNAMENT
Today is the last day of the regular season and seven of the 11 teams have already secured their seed for the upcoming American Athletic Conference tournament.

UConn and South Florida, who play tonight, will be the seeded first and second. Beginning with No. 7 seed Memphis, the pecking order at the bottom of the conference is at set. Central Florida and Cincinnati are seeded eighth and ninth (and get to play on Friday for the right to face UConn in the quarterfinals), Southern Methodist is 10th and Houston 11th.

The only details to be finalized is who will be seeded 3,4, 5 and 6.

Tulsa can clinch the third seed with a win tonight against Cincinnati and Temple would be the fourth seed with a win over Houston and a Tulsa win. Temple could move up to the No. 3 seed with a win and a Tulsa loss.

East Carolina is a game behind Tulsa and Temple. If Tulsa and Temple avoid the upsets and East Carolina wins, the Pirates would be seeded fifth. Tulane has already wrapped up its regular season and the only way it can move up from being the No. 6 seed would be if one of the teams ahead of them were to stumble. A loss by ECU would move Tulane up at least one spot.

The game began not long after a touching meeting between the soon to be top-ranked UConn women's basketball team and a group of cancer survivors, a move adding a personal touch to the Huskies' annual Play 4 Kay game. What followed was a performance that made some rather interested spectators proud.

The 1994-95 UConn team was honored at halftime and with eight of the 12 players from that squad sitting in Section 101 with their families inside Gampel Pavilion, the current group of Huskies went about playing in a manner than helped that '95 squad win the first of the program's record nine national titles.

For all the great teams and incredible players UConn coach Geno Auriemma has mentored since that time, there has never been a group of Huskies who averaged more than the 22 1/2 assists the 1994-95 squad put up on a nightly basis. So what better way to pay tribute to the team that helped turn a program from national contender into national powerhouse.

Each of the seven UConn players to see at least 19 minutes of action, each one of them had multiple assists with Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck and Gabby Williams doing so without committing a turnover.

"I had a chance to talk to a bunch of them beforehand and I am going to have a chance to see them afterwards, just getting them back here and talk about what has happened here and how much this place has changed, how different  it is today it is just good to be around them," Auriemma said.

Jefferson had 16 points to lead six Huskies in double figures in the 87-39 win over a Tulane team that came into the game in third place in the American Athletic Conference.

"It is special anytime you can play in games like that, being in front of that crowd and in front of the '95 team, you want to come out and play your best and for the most part we did that," Jefferson said.
"Anytime you get to play in the front of the guys who kind of paved the way, you want to come out and play your best game."

Taking a quick peek at the American Athletic Conference individual statistics, there are some simply staggering numbers.

There's the fact that three AAC players who don't play for UConn have better 3-point percentages in conference play than UConn's team mark of 43.4 percent. Then there is the one where UConn players rank No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in both field goal and 3-point percentage.

However, the one that caught my eye was that the AAC's No. 5 ranked free-throw shooter is UConn freshman Kia Nurse. Yes,. the same Kia Nurse who was 1 of 6 from the foul line against Notre Dame. Nurse's forgettable showing left her 15 of 28 from the charity stripe. It was a bit of a head scratcher that a player who was shooting 43 percent from 3-point range barely had more free throws made than missed.

What has happened since that Notre Dame game gives a peek into just how competitive of a kid Nurse is. She is shooting 80 percent from the line since that ND game and is at 82 percent in AAC games. She had two stretches when she made seven FTs in a row and goes into today's game against Tulane with a streak of 11 straight foul shots converted. A sign of just how confident she is came at the end of a recent practice when UConn coach Geno Auriemma had the players line up for wind sprints when Nurse volunteered to make a free throw to get her teammates out of the additional running. Nurse calmly stepped to the line and drained the shot. Auriemma then called for freshman Gabby Williams, a 45.2 percent foul shooter, to make a free throw. Williams also converted and the two freshmen, who were already well liked by their veteran teammates, were even more popular.

"It is something we work on every day in practice, we try to put a couple up before practice and before the games," said Nurse. I think it is focus and concentration, those are free points, there is nobody in front of you and you have to make them.

"We do free throws a lot when we are here and a lot of times I didn't get the number I wanted to but I am liking those (numbers) right now."

One interesting aspect of today's game is the number of quality freshmen playing in the game.

There are seven freshmen averaging more than 10 points per game in conference play and three of them will be in action at Gampel Pavilion. Tulane's Kolby Morgan is averaging 11.8 points per game while Nurse and Williams check in at 11 and 10.8 PPG. Morgan leads all players in steals, Williams is No. 1 among freshmen in rebounding and field-goal percentage while Nurse leads all rookies in assists,assist/turnover ratio, free-throw percentage and 3-point percentage.

My initial plan was to focus the advance in today's paper on the three dynamic freshmen but after watching Auriemma turn up the pressure on Nurse, Williams and sophomore Saniya Chong in an intense defensive drill at the end of practice, I ended up writing about that. I did ask him for his thoughts on Morgan.

"Shea's been working on (scouting) Tulane and the kid scores points," Auriemma said. "My hope is that is that as time goes on that there are a lot of freshmen that come into the league like that so you can see the growth that is going to happen in the league because she is really good and they are a good team/"