Maya Moore continues to add to her winning legacy as she became the first UConn alum to win four WNBA championships.

Moore had 18 points including two on a jumper in the final 30 seconds after Los Angeles used a 9-0 run to pull within three points. She also had 10 rebounds and two steals as all five Minnesota Lynx starters scored in double figures in a 85-76 win over defending champion Los Angeles in the decisive fifth game of the WNBA Championship Series.

Moore averaged 17.8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2.2 steals per game in the championship series.
Sylvia Fowles had 17 points, 20 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots, Lindsay Whalen also had 17 points while Seimone Augustus and Rebekkah Brunson had 14 and 13 points respectively. Former UConn star Renee Montgomery had two points as she was a member of her second WNBA championship team.

Candace Parker had 19 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists. Chelsea Gray had 15 points and 8 assists while Odyssey Sims added 14 points for Los Angeles.

This is the 12th time in the last 15 years that the WNBA champion featured at least one former UConn product and 14th time the championship team had at least one UConn grad on its team.

Moore entered the playoffs tied with Diana Taurasi and Swin Cash for the most WNBA titles by UConn grads with three. Montgomery joins Sue Bird, Kelly Schumacher and Jen Rizzotti as the only other former Huskies to be members of more than one WNBA championship team.

I broke it down and here's the won-loss record of teams Moore has played on (not including her overseas squads)

182-56 Minnesota Lynx (regular season, had best record in Western Conference six times, best regular-season record in WNBA five times)
 40-15 Minnesota Lynx (playoffs) 4 titles in 7 seasons
125-3 Collins Hill High School state titles in final three seasons
 73-6 Georgia Metros 4 AAU national titles
 51-0 USA Basketball U18, U19, World University Games gold medals, two world titles, two Olympic gold medals
150-4 UConn
621-84 .881 percent



Here's the breakdown of UConn alums playing in the WNBA championship series
2017: Minnesota (Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore) def. Los Angeles
2016: Los Angeles def. Minnesota (Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore)
2015: Minnesota (Kalana Greene, Asjha Jones, Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore) def. Indiana
2014: Phoenix (Diana Taurasi) def. Chicago
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. San Antonio
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. Los Angeles
2000: Houston (Jen Rizzotti) def. New York
1999: Houston (Jen Rizzotti, Kara Wolters) def. New York (Rebecca Lobo-injured and did not play)
1997: Houston def. New York (Rebecca Lobo)

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.

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."

Earlier in her career former UConn star Renee Montgomery was asked to provide offense whenever she was in the game as she averaged at least 10 points per game in four of her first five seasons.

However, when Montgomery joined a star-studded Minnesota team last July, she wasn't going to be asked to shoot at will. Montgomery was asked to be more responsible with the ball, bring defensive energy off the bench and when given the opportunity to take an open shot.

Montgomery posted the best assist/turnover ratio of her professional career in the 19 regular-season games she played with the Lynx last season. This season she is averaging more steals per 40 minutes of her career.

"A team like ours when we have so many weapons, you have to find a niche for yourself so ball pressuring and 3s will be good ones for me," Montgomery said before Thursday's game at Connecticut. "The coaching stuff instilled so much confidence in me as a player that if I see the rim and I am open, I get yelled at all the time that I don't shoot the ball enough. They have a lot of confidence in me as a player so that helps with how you perform."

That was never more evident than in the closing moments of the clash of undefeated teams when Montgomery hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left in a 72-69 win at Los Angeles.

"They don't just talk the talk," Montgomery said. "It is one thing that they say 'we need you to shoot' but when you shoot they get mad and if you miss it they will get you mad and take you out. They are not like that. They want me to shoot shots because they think I can make shots so for her (Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve) to draw up a play for me to shoot in one of the biggest games in WNBA history, it proves they are not just giving me lip service, they really believe that.

"Those are the games when you are working out, nobody is in the gym and you are imagining you are shooting the last shot. Everybody sees somebody doing '3-2-1.' Those are the kinds of games where all that working out, that is the game you are preparing for."

Lynx star Maya Moore, the all-time leading scorer in UConn history, also reflected back on one of the most hyped regular-season games in recent WNBA history.

"If you are in a competitor you want to be in those situations where there is a little extra something added to the game with two teams having a chance to play each other going in undefeated," Moore said. "It was a fun game and I was glad we were able to finish it the way we wanted to. We learned a lot."

Speaking of learning lessons, Montgomery and Moore are two of six freshmen at UConn to play at least 1,000 minutes. While it is uncertain how many minutes highly-touted freshman Crystal Dangerfield will play, she figures to have a prominent role so I asked Montgomery what advice she would give to Dangerfield.
"I would just tell her to take it all in, whatever Coach Auriemma says, you have to ignore the delivery and listen to the message," Montgomery said. "He might go off on you for a long period of time but the point is to take care of the ball. Sometimes you have to ignore the delivery and listen to the message."

TOUGH BREAK FOR BANHAM
After Thursday's overtime victory Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller said rookie guard Rachel Banham would undergo knee surgery that should keep her out through the Olympic break. It turns out her time on the sidelines will be longer than that.

Banham had season-ending micro-fracture surgery on her right knee Friday at the Constitution Surgery Center in Waterford. Banham will need between 4-6 months of rehabilitation before she returns to the court.

“While we are obviously disappointed to lose Rachel for the remainder of the season, we remain tremendously excited about her bright future with the Sun,” Miller said in a statement. “Rachel showed the potential to be an impact player in this league despite playing through significant pain for the majority of the season. We really appreciate her grit and determination to play when less than 100 percent, but it is now time for her to concentrate on her rehab so she can come back healthy for her second season."

Banham averaged 3.7 points in 10.9 minutes per game while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range. She had two double-digit scoring games. Her final stint with the team as a rookie came when she played 4:34 in the overtime win. The only time she saw after halftime was the 3.1 seconds she was on the court late in overtime with the Sun up by two and Miller opting to put his best foul shooters on the court with the Sun leading by two points with 10.9 seconds left to play. After Alex Bentley made the first of two free throws, Banham checked out of the game.

While there is no good time for an injury like this to happen, Connecticut is in a better situation after recently acquiring USF star Courtney Williams as part of a trade that sent Kelsey Bone to Phoenix. Williams played more than any other Sun player after the first quarter in the Minnesota game.

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.

Breanna Stewart's place as one of the greatest players in UConn women's basketball history is already secure regardless of how the rest of the season plays out.

However, the most time that passes the more she is putting her name alongside some of the sport's most iconic figures.

Earlier this season she joined Tina Charles, Rebecca Lobo and Maya Moore as the only UConn players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She is the only player in NCAA Division I women's basketball history with 300 assists and 300 blocked shots.

I did some research over the last couple of days and with two more steals she will become the seventh player in NCAA Division I women's basketball history with at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 steals and 200 blocked shots as she heads into the East Carolina game with 2,351 points, 1,018 rebounds, 365 assists, 198 steals and 354 blocked shots

Moore is on that list as are Women's Basketball Hall of Famers Lisa Leslie, Cheryl Miller and Sue Wicks. Former Long Beach State's Cindy Brown and Vanderbilt's Wendy Scholtens complete the star-studded list.

Player            School                  (Years) 
Cindy Brown Long Beach State (83-87) 2696-1184-348-400-318
Lisa Leslie USC (90-94)                          2414-1214-208-228-321
Maya Moore, UConn (07-11)                  3036-1276-544-310-204
Cheryl Miller, USC (82-86)                     3018-1534-414-462-320
Wendy Scholtens Vanderbilt (87-91)      2602-1272-305-211-217
Sue Wicks, Rutgers (84-88)                     2655-1357-289-287-293
(stats are incomplete for Maine's Liz Coffin and Villanova's Shelly Pennefather)

COLLIER THRIVING FROM CHARITY STRIPE
One of the most surprising things to take place in the Tulane game was that Napheesa Collier missed a free throw. It was her first miss from the foul line since the season opener. Collier made 24 free throws in a row. She was the first UConn player to make at least 20 straight foul shots since Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis back in 2013.

I went back to 2005 and couldn't find a UConn player with more consecutive free throws than Collier.

Dating back to her UConn days, Maya Moore has always carried herself in a way where she was fully aware of the impact she could have both on and off the court. However, her generous spirit went to a new level thanks to a partnership with with 4-foot-9 basketball junkie and Lupus patient Ariya Smith with the Make-A-Wish Foundation which turned into a segment on ESPN's "My Wish" project
.
Earlier this week the emotional video of Ariya Smith and her family coming to Minneapolis for the Minnesota-Seattle game aired on ESPN bringing tears to many people's eyes including Moore herself especially with Smith began to cry when a video of Moore inviting the Smith family to Minneapolis came across the computer screen at the practice of Smith's basketball team.

Moore reflected on her interaction with Smith after Friday's Western Conference WNBA All-Star Game practice at Mohegan Sun Arena. 

"We surprised her. She had no idea that was coming,," Moore said. "That (ESPN segment) the first time I got to see her reaction on the video I sent her and I was teary eyed watching it and how much it meant to her. I try to talk about being a role model and not knowing who you are impacting. That was such an encouragement for me to know that I don't have nearly the challenges the she has to face physically with her health at her age but to know that I can help make an impact on her life, keep her motivated in some aspect is really, really cool. On the flip side, she inspires me with her story and her
love of the game, her challenges.

"All she wants to do is play. She gets the news that her body is going through all of these things and she asked 'when can I play again? Come on, you are amazing with the love of the game.' It was really cool especially right around my birthday too, it was a really cool treat."

The partnership between Smith and Moore came via the Make-A-Wish Foundation when Smith expressed an interest in meeting her Moore, her basketball idol.

"I've been watching her a while," Ariya Smith told ESPN. "She's just an amazing player. She's like the girl Michael Jordan."

Like so many of these Make-A-Wish stories, the athlete turns a simple request into so much more.

One of the more compelling stories to come out of this year's Travelers Championship was defending champion Kevin Streelman inviting the family of Ethan Couch, a 14-year-old with an inoperable brain tumor, to the annual PGA tour stop in Cromwell even though he had already fulfilled Ethan's wish of going to the Masters. Listening to Streelman talk, it would not be a reach to suggest the
partnership meant more to him emotionally than anybody else involved. Moore has similar sentiments.

"I was presented with the opportunity and once they told me more about Ariya there is no way I am going to be a part of this because it is too cool and what better way to use my gift and my platform than to do something like we just did with Make-A-Wish," Moore said. "They have been doing this for years and it is an awesome thing to use sports to bring people together and celebrate the really awesome things in life to celebrate that you might not get a chance to see.

"It is just an every-day mindset I try to live with, that if there is a way I can help, it makes sense and it can happen I want to try to make it happen. This one was just on camera but I don't get to do things quite as special as I did in Ariya very often."

FROM HAIR TO ETERNITY
Even if the fans turning out to Mohegan Sun Arena during all-star weekend hadn't seen former UConn star Stefanie Dolson before, it wouldn't take much effort to pick out the second-year Washington Mystics center and first time all-star thanks to her rather colorful head of hair.

When she made her first time back to Connecticut as a professional during the 2014 she has started the process of turning her brown hair to various shades but most notably purple. With each passing week and month, her hair color continues to become more vibrant.

"I have grown to love it," Dolson said. "If I go back to brown, it would be so sad."

The idea of going with purple hair first popped into her head when she was at UConn. However, UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey did not share her enthusiasm for that move so Dolson waited until she became a professional player to begin experimenting with the color of her hair.

"I wanted this back in college," Dolson said. "It was a quick joking thing but CD (Dailey) was like 'no.' I asked her if I could shave my head. There was a style where I can shave half of my head but that didn't really work out."

However, don't think that Dolson bypassing the move to purple hair held her personality back during her college days.

"I expressed myself plenty of UConn too," Dolson said with a laugh.

"My personality is out there, people already stare at me because I am big but it is just fun. It is its own accessory for sure."

Connecticut Sun teammates Alex Bentley and Kelsey Bone
to make their first all-star appearances on Saturday

The WNBA released its all-star reserves late last night and leading the list are former UConn stars Sue Bird and Stefanie Dolson and the Connecticut Sun duo of Alex Bentley and Kelsey Bone.

This is Bird's ninth all-star game and the Seattle Storm guard has been a starter seven times. Bird leads the Seattle Storm in scoring (10.3 points per game) and is the WNBA leader with an average of 5.5 assists per game.

With the Tulsa Shock's Skylar Diggins, one of the Western Conference starting guards, out for the year with a torn ACL, and fellow starter Seimone Augustus of Minnesota currently out with a knee injury, Bird would have to be considering among the top candidates to be named a starter. WNBA President Laurel Richie will announce the injury replacements while all-star game coaches make the changes in the starting lineups.

Dolson will be making her first all-star appearance. She is 15th in the WNBA in scoring with an average of 13.4 points per game and is averaging 7.3 rebounds per game. There are now four former UConn stars on rosters for Saturday's WNBA All-Star game as Tina Charles of the New York Liberty will start for the East and Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx will be in the starting lineup for the Western Conference.

Bentley, in her third season in the WNBA and second with the Connecticut Sun, is sixth in the league in scoring (17.1 points per game) and her average of 2.64 steals per game is second in the WNBA.

Bone, also in her second season with the Sun and third in the league. She leads the Sun in rebounding (6.3 per game) and is second in scoring (15.4).

Here's reaction from Bentley and Bone courtesy of the Connecticut Sun

Alex Bentley on being named to the All-Star game“I am really honored to be a part of the All-Star game. I would not be here without the help of my teammates, and I also have to thank coach Donovan, who has put me in a great situation where I had more opportunity to succeed. It’s going to be great to play on my home court.”

Kelsey Bone on being named to the All-Star game“As a little girl, it’s something that you always dream about. It’s a testament to my teammates, and I am excited to be able to represent the Sun at home for this All Star game."​

Here are the reserves (although Lindsay Whalen's status is up in the air after being poked in the eye in Sunday's game and the Minnesota guard is considered iffy to play tonight when the Lynx host the Sun).

Eastern Conference: Bentley, Bone, Marissa Coleman (Indiana), Dolson, Emma Meesserman (Washington) and Cappie Pondexter (New York).
Western Conference: Bird, DeWanna Bonner (Phoenix), Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles), Plenette Pierson (Tulsa), Danielle Robinson (San Antonio) and Whalen.

Fans can watch Friday's all-star practices from 3-5 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena for free. The game is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and will air on ABC.

UConn incoming freshmen De'Janae Boykin, Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson as well as Capital Prep star Kiah Gillespie have been selected to play in the inaugural girls' game at the Jordan Brand Classic at the Barclays Center in New York on April 17.

Boykin, Samuelson and Gillespie will play for the West team while Collier will be a member of the East team.

Boykin, a 6-foot-2 forward at Flowers High School in Springdale, Md., averaged 21.5 points in six games this season before being sidelined with a hand/wrist injury.

Collier, a 6-foot-1 forward at Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis, is averaging 26.4 points. 12.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 4 steals and 3.9 blocked shots per game as a senior as she has led IWA to 25 wins in a row.

Samuelson, a 6-foot-3 wing at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif., is averaging 29.5 points per game. She has scored at least 30 points 15 times in 27 contests and led Mater Dei to 25 straight victories.

Gillespie, a 6-foot-1 forward who has signed with Maryland, is averaging 31.2 points, 15.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.2 blocked shots per game heading into today's CIAC Class L second-round game against Weaver.

Former UConn star Maya Moore is slated to be on hand to host the festivities for the girls game, which starts at 3:30 p.m. Speaking of Moore, she had 35 points as Shanxi defeated Beijing 72-70 to clinch a third straight WCBA championship. Moore added 16 rebounds and four assists. In the final two games of the championship series she had 81 points, 27 rebounds, seven assists and six steals.

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.

It would not be a reach to say that former UConn star Maya Moore has been promoted as the face of the WNBA pretty much from the time her name was being called at the 2011 WNBA Draft.

However, Moore's popularity is on the verge of extending outside of the women's basketball world as was evidenced by her being included in Nike's star-studded tribute commercial to retiring New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

"He is a legend. he is somebody who meant so much to not only baseball but sports," Moore said before Sunday's game against the Connecticut Sun. "He is one of my brothers on the (Nike) brand, to be able to appreciate his career and be a part of something bigger than myself in something like that, so many other people were honored to participate and it will bring great dividends to everybody who was involved."

So what does it mean to have a female athlete in an advertising campaign as mainstream as the one honoring Jeter leading into his final MLB All-Star game appearance?

"It shows growth for the sports world in general, acknowledging people who have already been fans and already know about us and appreciate us," Moore said. "Hopefully it will just continue to get people excited about the large word of sports that we have and you want to continue to have your sports juices flowing in the summer.

While she isn't able to fulfill every promotional request made of her, Moore embraces her place as one of the most recognizable faces in the WNBA.

"It is something that I think it necessary if we want more people to get excited about the WNBA and the awesome product we have on the court," Moore said. "It is an amazing product so having those partnerships with spheres and networks outside of the game of basketball I think if great for the basketball community and greater entertainment community."

Not all of her time away from the court is utilized to spread the word about the WNBA and women's basketball. She is also known to lend her name to various charities. The most recent one is a charity auction of one of her old UConn jerseys worn in the 2010 game against St. John's. The online auction, run on eBay, which ends on Tuesday, has raised $820 and drawn 64 bids to date.

"The team of people who help my life go every day, we got together and it was an awesome program that eBay uses to auction off an item for charity," Moore said. "I am so blessed to have so many different physical, material blessings that I feel people would want or appreciate and in the process raise some money for a good causes that are near and dear to my heart. It has worked out really well, it has been really satisfying to know that these things are stockpiling up in my house and it can be put to good use."

Finally, since this was the first chance I had to speak with Moore since UConn completed an undefeated season and won its second straight national title.

"It was so satisfying," Moore said. "I was there with them in spirit, it was one of those things where I lose my voice because two days in a row I am screaming for Connecticut on the TV (during the national championship games). I am proud of the growth I have seen out of the seniors knowing that there were freshmen when I was a senior. It was great to see how they have grown. The players coming through, it was great to see how they overcome Kaleena (Mosqueda-Lewis) overcoming her injury and playing phenomenally in the Final Four. I definitely am still like a proud big sister when it comes to Connecticut women's basketball."

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