University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies get ready for St. John's
2/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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THE GAME
The Connecticut Huskies (23-2, 13-1) face St. John's for the first time this season. The game is UConn's last 2000-2001 regular season contest being played in the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. All nine Gampel games for the Huskies were advanced sellouts (10,027) bringing UConn to 47 straight Gampel sellouts since the Rutgers game on Dec. 31, 1997. UConn is looking for its seventh straight conference victory with a win over the Red Storm tonight. St. John's enters the contest with a 8-17 overall record and a 3-11 conference mark. The Red Storm enters tonight's contest with a conference win at home over Syracuse, 55-45, on Tuesday night. They are currently tied for 11th in the conference and are fighting to stay in the top 12 in order to make the BIG EAST Tournament.
THE SERIES
UConn holds a 25-16 edge over St. John's since the series began in 1978. With a win against St. JohnÂ's tonigh, UConn will have a streak of 16 straight wins over the Red Storm making it the largest over any school the Huskies have ever squared off against. The streak started with a 71-59 win on Feb. 3, 1993 and in that time UConn has outscored St. JohnÂ's 1,285-703. The closest St. JohnÂ's has come to beating Connecticut in the last eight years was in the meeting that started it all with 12 points separating the two. In every other game since then, UConn has defeated St. JohnÂ's by 22 points or more. The Huskies' average win is by 34.8 points and the largest win was by 53 on Jan. 8, 1998 (101-48). St. John's last win over UConn was a 62-55 decision in Jamaica, NY on Feb. 6, 1988. All of UConn's wins over St. John's have come in the Auriemma era. Overall, the Huskies are 14-6 against the Red Storm at home.
EN ROUTE TO 30
With a win tonight, UConn ties the 1988-89 team for the 10th most victories in a season with 24. That season the Huskies finished 24-6 in winning the school's first-ever BIG EAST regular season and tournament championship. They were also the first team to reach the NCAA tournament. With up to 10 games left on the Connecticut schedule, the Huskies could move into a tie for third with most wins (33) by winning the BIG EAST Tournament and national title.
FRIENDLY GAMPEL
With a win tonight, UConn will finish the regular season undefeated at home for the first time since the 1997-98 season. It will mark the sixth time the Huskies have gone into tournament play undefeated on their home floor. Coming into the game, Connecticut has a home record of 227-25 (206-21 in Gampel) under Geno Auriemma. He has led UConn to 86 percent of the schoolÂ's home court wins.
POINTS IN A SEASON
With 63 points, this seasonÂ's team will move into 10th on the schoolÂ's all-time list for points in a season. Currently, the Huskies have scored 2,162 while the 1989-90 team netted 2,225. Furthermore, UConn needs just 25 more field goals in order to move past the 1998-89 squad for 10th on the all-time chart for most field goals in a single season. Unselfish play has also been a key to the season as the Huskies need just six more assists to make it in to the top 10 in that category. The 1991-92 squad is currently in the 10th place position with 564 assists.
TONIGHT ON 20-20
In UConnÂ's last game against West Virginia on Tuesday night Swin Cash led the team with 20 points and 20 rebounds. Cash becomes the 13th player in school history to record 20-or-more rebounds in a game and the first to do it in five years. The last time a Husky notched over 20 in both departments was Nov. 19, 1995, when Kara Wolters scored 29 points and grabbed 20 boards. Rebecca Lobo did it twice in the same season and three times in her career with 24 points and 23 rebounds against Seton Hall (2/6/93). The next year she had 24 points and 20 rebounds against Georgetown (2/2/94) and 32 points and 21 rebounds against Boston College (2/16/94). Before that, Renee Najarian had 26 points and 21 rebounds against Drexel (11/28/87). The last time a Husky had above 20 rebounds, but was unable to reach 20 points was when Peggy Walsh had 25 rebounds against Pittsburgh (2/19/86). To her credit, she did tie the school rebounding record in the effort.
OPPONENT'S OPPONENTS
The collective record of the eight teams St. JohnÂ's has defeated this season is 74-117. Only two of the teams the Red Storm has managed to beat have a winning record. Take the two teams (St. JosephÂ's and Dartmouth) with winning records out of the equation and the record falls to 40-98. Even St. JosephÂ's is having some trouble this season as the Hawks are just two games above .500 at 14-12.
RED STORM CALMING
St. JohnÂ's hasnÂ't won a road game in 57 days, as the Red Storm is 2-9 on the road with the pair of wins coming at St. JosephÂ's and at Dartmouth. The Hawks and Big Green combine for a 24-25 record.
FAR AND FEW BETWEEN
In their last game, St. JohnÂ's upset Syracuse, 55-45, this marked only the third time in the last 15 games the Red Storm has come away with a victory after starting off the new year on a seven game losing skid.
TOP SCORERS
Just two players (Rasheeda Brown and Latasha Thompson) average more than 10 points a game. The next biggest contributor, Tynisha Miles, is averaging only 7.5. Connecticut has seven players hitting more than 7.5 per game.
SCORING DISCREPENCY
Coming into tonightÂ's game, the Huskies are averaging 86.5 points per game. So far this season, the Red Storm has only scored above 80 on one occasion and that came three months ago in the season opener against St. Francis, NY, in an 83-37 blowout (11/17/00). In fact, the Red Storm has only scored above 70 twice. St. Francis, NY, is 2-23 this season and 0-11 in road games and the two teams the Terriers did beat (Monmouth and Robert Morris) are a combined 16-32.
THE SENIORS
Tonight marks the last regular season home game for five seniors on the UConn women's basketball team- Svetlana Abrosimova, Marci Czel, Shea Ralph, Christine Rigby and Kelly Schumacher. The senior class has earned a national title, two final eight appearances, and three BIG EAST regular season and tournament titles. With Shea Ralph starting her career in the 1996-97 season, the combined record for the years she was here is 155-12. Christine Rigby joined the squad prior to the 1998-99 season so the record during her time is 88-8. For the other three members of the senior class, the record stands at 122-11. Shea Ralph has been involved in 30 percent of the games the University of Connecticut has ever won and in 21 percent of the games ever played in school history. Shea Ralph will graduate with the distinction of being the UConn player involved with the most wins in school history (155- five years).
WALK-OFF WINNERS
Losing only two home games during their collegiate careers prior to tonight, this yearÂ's group of seniors has walked off their home court a winner in 84 games or 98 percent of the home contests they ever played for Connecticut.
HEAD OF THE CLASS
Combined, the five members of the senior class have scored 4,296 points, which represents 7.6 percent of the points ever scored by UConn players.
FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE
It is 4,177 miles from St. Petersburg, Russia to Storrs, CT. At tip-off of tonightÂ's game it will be 4 a.m., Saturday morning in St. Petersburg. Tonight is the first time ever that Abrosimova's parents have ever been out of Russia.
STIFLING D
Over the last six games, no team has been able to manage better than 34.6 percent from the field against UConn, while West Virginia shot a season-low 19.2% (Last year, West Virginia held the season of 12.7% on 2/3/00). In the first game against Villanova (2/4) the Wildcats went 15-57, after that both Rutgers and Boston College went 17-52, while Virginia Tech hit 13-55. In the last game, Villanova managed just 11-42 from the field. West Virginia was 10-52 overall and had just four field goals in the first half. The lack of points for opposing teams starts with the top scorers. Coming into the game with Connecticut, Rutgers had three players averaging double-digits and none of those three got into double figures. Overall, in the last five games only four (Gottstein- BC, Tere Williams- VaTech, Juhline- Villanova, Darya Kuddryavtseva-WVA) of 14 players who typically score 10 or more points have neared their average.
STEP IT UP? NO SVET!
Now without the services of All-American Svetlana Abrosimova, the graph below shows who is making the biggest move in terms of averages over the last six games from where they were prior to SvetÂ's injury to where they are now in the order to fill the void in the categories that Abrosimova led the team in. So far, Ralph, Johnson and have made the biggest impact. With Taurasi out in the last game ConlonÂ's point production more than doubled from 2.2 to 4.5 night. (Bold shows increase in production.)
First 19 Games Games Played in Since Injury Points Steals Points Steals Ralph 8.7 1.74 10.5 2.0Taurasi 9.8 1.05 10.2 1.2Bird 9.6 2.16 11.3 1.2Johnson 4.4 1.32 10.5 2.2Cash 12.2 1.16 12.3 0.5Jones 8.6 1.05 8.2 0.6Schumacher 5.8 0.26 5.3 0.3Conlon 1.3 0.16 4.5 0.3Willams 10.8 1.42 4.5 1.5 Valley 3.5 0.74 2.8 0.2Rigby 2.6 0.16 1.2 0.0Czel 1.1 0.26 0.3 0.0
DEFENSE WINS GAMES
Over the past six games UConn has held its opponents to under 55 points. Versus Villanova and Virginia Tech, the Huskies held opponents to under 40 points in back-to-back games. The last time the Huskies held back-to-back opponents to fewer than 40 was last season versus West Virginia (35, 1/12/00) and Pittsburgh (36, 1/15/00). UConn started a new under 40 streak versus West Virginia, holding the Mountaineers to just 34.
MORE TALK OF D
So far this season the UConn defense has kept eight opponents under 50 points including five of the last six. The one exception being Boston College, which netted 53 on Feb. 11. Only one other time in the Auriemma era have the Huskies held five consecutive opponents under 53 points. This came during the 1996-97 season starting with Boston College on 11/24/96 and ending at Rhode Island on 12/9/96. In that streak Connecticut kept six straight opponents to 53 or less points.
HOME STREAKS STILL STANDING
The West Virginia game was UConnÂ's 68th consecutive home regular season BIG EAST win (Gampel and Civic Center) since UConn lost to Georgetown on 2/27/94 (64-62) and 81st consecutive BIG EAST home win overall (including conference tournaments). The Huskies are currently riding a 21-game home winning streak (including HCC games, not including exhibition games) dating back to the Tennessee game of 1999-2000 (2/2/00). The Huskies have won their last 15 games in Gampel (not exhib.) dating back to February 2, 2000.
GAMPEL PAVILION
All-time, UConn is 166-15 in games played in Gampel Pavilion (not including exhib.). Including the Rutgers game, the Huskies are 85-5 in BIG EAST regular season games. In non-league regular season games, UConn is 46-6. In BIG EAST Tournament games, UConn is 16-2, and in NCAA Tournament games, the Huskies are 18-2. Since the start of the 1993-94 season, UConn womenÂ's basketball is a stunning 119-3 overall at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.
LINEUP DAY-TO-DAY
Since the injury to Abrosimova, predicting Auriemma's starting five is like trying to predict the weather in New England. Auriemma shook- up the lineup a bit inserting three new starters against Villanova in the first meeting, including two first-timers. Diana Taurasi and Kennitra Johnson both made their first career starts in UConn's first meeting versus the Wildcats. KJ had a solid game finishing with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and grabbing three steals, while Taurasi had seven points, three assists and four rebounds in the affair. Williams made her first start of the season versus 'Nova and had 10 points and eight rebounds. With the recent injury to Taurasi and Williams, UConn another new mix to start the game versus West Virginia. Since the Tenn. game, UConn has seen five different starting lineups in six games. The Huskies have won with all five lineups.
BACK IN THE RACE
If Connecticut and Notre Dame run the table they will share the regular season conference crown. Of the four combined remaining opponents only one has a winning record, Georgetown. The Hoyas are on Notre DameÂ's schedule, while the biggest hurdle the Huskies have left is Seton Hall. Currently the Pirates maintain a 16-8 record and half of those wins have come at home with SHU going 8-3 on its home court. one of the two games remaining for ND will be played in the Joyce Center, where the Irish are a perfect 12-0 at home.
FINISH LINE
With two games remaining on the BIG EAST regular season slate, UConn is now tied with Notre Dame in the conference race thanks to Rutgers shocking the Irish on Saturday night, 54-53. The win came just three days after UConn had soundly defeated the Scarlet Knights, 70-45, in Storrs, CT. The halftime lead appears to be the key to knocking off either UConn or Notre Dame. ND and Tennessee had it when they defeated the Huskies and the Irish were down at intermission for the first time all season in their game against Rutgers. Also, in each one of the three losses Connecticut and Notre Dame have combined for, they have only hit 11 free throws in each game. UConn was 11-33 against Notre Dame from the line on 1/15, however, that effort increased greatly against Tennessee as the Huskies went 11-15 on 2/1. Notre Dame was 11-22 from the free throw line against Rutgers. Shown below are the what UConn was able to do against Rutgers compared to what Notre Dame did within a 72-hour time span:
TOT-FG 3-PT FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK SUConn 25-51 14-28 6-9 8 29 37 15 70 21 18 4 6UND 20-50 2-5 11-22 16 23 39 18 53 14 13 6 3
'TREY'MENDOUS SHOOTING
Versus Virginia Tech, UConn set a new school record for three pointers made in a game with 14 trifectas. On the same note, Virginia Tech was shutout from long range going 0-15. UConn has shutout an opponent from behind the arc one other time this season as Miami went 0-7 on December 5, 2000. UConn followed up the Virginia Tech game with a repeat record-setting performance nailing 14-of-28 threes against Rutgers. The Huskies are second in the conference in three-point field goals made (177), third in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.384) and first in three-point field goal percentage defense (.228).
UCONN'S DIAPER DANDY
Freshman sensation Diana Taurasi needs one more assist to break on to the top ten list for assists by a freshman. She has 74 assists so far this season and Laura Lishness holds the 10th spot with 75 assists as a freshman. Taurasi is already 9th on the blocks list for freshmen with 21, and needs only two more to move up to seventh. Paige Sauer and J. Weideman are ahead of Taurasi with 23 blocks apiece.
FRESHMEN LEAD WAY
When the UConn freshmen are mentioned, all consider Diana Taurasi the leader of the pack. However, with Taurasi out versus West Virginia, UConn's other two active freshmen led the Huskies for the first time this season. Freshman Maria Conlon netted a career-high 16 points on a team-leading four three-pointers and 5-of-7 shooting. Freshman Morgan Valley tied for the lead in assists with a career- high five assists on the night.
UCONN AT NO. 3
Connecticut is 63-4 when they are ranked No. 3 in the nation. The only four teams to have beaten UConn at the third spot are North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and NC State.
UCONN LOSES ABROSIMOVA FOR SEASON
Abrosimova underwent left foot surgery on Wednesday, Feb. 7, to repair a torn ligament and will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2000-2001 college basketball season. Following the surgery, Abrosimova will spend approximately six weeks in a walking boot. The normal return to basketball for this type of injury is expected to range in the five-to-six month span. Abrosimova concludes her four- year career ranked No. 5 in career scoring with 1,865 points, carrying a career scoring average of 14.7 ppg. She is No. 3 at UConn in career steals (299), No. 5 in career assists (473), and No. 7 in career rebounding (814).
A FOUL AFFAIR
This season, UConn athletes have already fouled out over twice as many times than they did all of last season combined (10 in 2001, 4 in 2000). A look at UConnÂ's fouls shows the Huskies have had a difficult time adjusting to the NCAAÂ's point of emphasis this season of cleaning up "rough play." UConn has been whistled for 478 fouls in 25 games an average of 19.1 per contest, up from 17.1 a year ago. In both of UConnÂ's losses this year, the Huskies have recorded 30-or- more fouls. These were the only two times that Connecticut has done so this season.
THE TENNESSEE CLUB
In the past five years, Tennessee is the only team in the country to have beaten UConn more than once. Connecticut is one of three teams (La. Tech and Georgia) to have defeated Tennessee multiple times. The only teams to have defeated both UConn and Tennessee in the last five seasons are La. Tech, Georgia and Old Dominion.
WIN-STREAK HALTED
UConnÂ's winning streak of 30 straight games which dated back to February 2, 1999, was halted on Jan. 15 versus the Irish. The streak moved UConn past Miami (Fla.) for eighth on the all-time list. Two other Connecticut streaks also rank inside the top 10, a school best 35 straight from 1994-96 and 33 from 1996-97.
MORE STREAKS FALL
Notre Dame ended UConn's regular season BIG EAST winning streak at 28 dating back to a 78-66 loss to Boston College in Chestnut Hill on Jan. 23, 1999. Notre Dame also ended UConn's regular season game winning streak on the road at 19 dating back to 2/13/99 when they suffered an 82-77 loss at Old Dominion.
TEAM EFFORT
Despite not having a single individual ranked in the national statistics, as of Monday (2/12), UConn is ranked in the Top 10 in seven different team categories. The Huskies are No. 1 in scoring margin (31.4), No. 2 in scoring offense (87.9), No. 3 in field goal percentage (50.8), No. 5 in win-loss percentage (.909) and in field goal percentage defense (34.9), No. 7 in rebound margin (9.0), and No. 8 in scoring defense (56.5).
THE BIG 400
When UConn defeated Illinois, it was the 400th career win for UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. His record is currently 416-97 (.811). Auriemma became the 30th coach in the history of the game to eclipse the 400 win mark, having done it in just 16 seasons. He became the second coach this season to go over 400 as Villanova head coach Harry Perretta collected his 400th victory in a 60-55 win over Temple. Muffet McGraw of Notre Dame became the third in the club this season with her 400th win over Miami on Tuesday night. Auriemma and McGraw join Perretta and RutgersÂ' C. Vivian Stringer to give the BIG EAST four current head coaches on the 400-or-more win list.
WINNINGEST COACH
Entering the St. John's game, head coach Geno Auriemma is currently the third winningest coach all-time by percentage. He boasts a winning percentage of .810 (416-97). Pat Summit, whose team is currently 27-1, is second at .833 (755-151) and the leader is Leon Barmore of LaTech (22-4 so far this season) with a current clip of .868 (543-82).
HUSKIES HANDLE ELITE TEAMS
Since the second Villanova game, the Huskies are 43-11 overall versus ranked opponents over the past five seasons and are 21-11 versus Top 10 opponents in that span. All-time, UConn is now 60-29 versus ranked teams and 28-19 against Top 10-ranked teams. The Huskies finished the 1999-2000 season 16-1 versus ranked opponents and an astounding 10-1 vs. Top 10 foes. Four of the nine occasions that the Huskies reached the century mark in 1999-2000 were against ranked teams. UConn boasted an average margin of victory of 20.0 points over ranked opponents (and a margin of defeat of 1.0 points).
A GOOD OMEN
ConnecticutÂ's victories over Louisiana Tech (Jan. 7) and Tennessee (Dec. 30) marked only the second time in as many seasons that the Huskies have beaten both teams in the same season. Prior to the Huskies doing it last year, the last team to beat both the Lady Techsters and Lady Vols in the same year was Purdue, in 1998-99. The Boilermakers went on to win the national championship as did the Huskies last year.
HEAD COACH GENO AURIEMMA
Head Coach Geno Auriemma is in his 16th season at the helm for the Huskies. Entering the St. John's game, he is 416- 97 (.811) overall in his career, and has two national championships at Connecticut (1995, 2000). Auriemma is third among active Division I coaches in winning percentage. He was also the first Division I coach (men or women) in basketball history to earn five consecutive 30- plus winning seasons. Auriemma has taken UConn to the 1995 and 2000 National Championship, four Final Four appearances, seven Elite Eights and eight Sweet Sixteen games. During his tenure, the team has also won 10 regular season BIG EAST titles and nine league tournament championships, including the last seven consecutive titles in each regular season and postseason.
GIVING A HAND
The Husky offense, known for its scoring, is one of the most unselfish teams in the country. UConn's assist to basket ratio is an astounding 68.8%. The Huskies average 22.3 apg. UConn had its worst assist effort versus LaTech when the Huskies only helped out on 11 of 30 field goals, but bounced back against Syracuse assisting on 24 of 30 hoops. UConn dished a season-high 33 assists versus Georgetown to finish the game with 33 assists on 38 field goals (86.6%). UConn had 20 assists on 22 field goals in the first half alone (90.9%). Six different players have led the Huskies in assists in 25 games this season. UConn point guard Sue Bird is the team leader with 132 assists (5.3 apg), and is followed by Shea Ralph who has dished 91 assists (3.6 apg) so far.
CPTV- ALMOST AUTOMATIC
Through the West Virginia game, the Huskies post a 136-2 record when playing on CPTV. UConnÂ's only two losses on the network have been at Rutgers in 1998 (74-70) and at Syracuse in 1996 (62-59). UConnÂ's debut on CPTV came in 1993-94 when they picked up four games. The following season, the network showed a total of 16 games en route to UConnÂ's 35-0 season. The 1995-96 season produced 18 games, 1996-97 showed 22 games, 1997-98 included 18 games, 1998-99 had 20 games and last season the Huskies played 22 games on CPTV.
HOT TICKET
UConn's game versus Villanova in The Pavilion attracted a record high women's basketball crowd of 6,229. The Conte Forum was sold out (8,606) for a BC women's game the first time this season when the Huskies came to town. The UConn- Tennessee game drew 24,046 fans to Thompson-Boling Arena, a season-high for a women's basketball game and the fifth highest crowd ever at Boling Arena. UConn's game versus Pittsburgh drew the largest crowd ever for a women's game at the Fitzgerald Field House as 3,418 people came to watch the game. The 11,418 fans that came out to the Joyce Center on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, was the first sellout crowd in the history of women's basketball at Notre Dame. The 1,516 fans that packed the Knight Sports Complex in Coral Gables was a sellout and the second highest crowd in history at the Knight Complex. The 2,024 at Syracuse was a season-high and the tenth highest crowd number in Manley Field House history. The Huskies drew 6,098 fans to the opening night of the Key Bank Arena in Seattle, WA., when UConn defeated UW, 90-63, setting a precedence for women's games in the arena (the men drew 6,313 the following night). UConn drew record crowds on the road in four different arenas in 1999-2000.
THE BENCH FACTOR
Overall, UConn's bench is outscoring opponent reserves by a 818-429 margin. Williams had been leading UConn off the bench averaging 9.7 ppg, but made her first start of the season versus Villanova. With Svetlana Abrosimova on the sideline, UConn's bench is a bit smaller and the lineup fluctuates often. Only three times season has the bench been outscored, the first was during the December game against Miami (31-17), the second was on Jan. 27 vs. Syracuse (28-26), and the third was versus Boston College (21-20). BC freshman Janelle McManus hit for 20 of the Eagles' 21 bench points. UConn's bench outscored Georgetown reserves, 43-15 (one hoop shy of GU's total offensive output), and the entire Providence team with a 60- 49 point effort.
SHEA'S BACK
Before the first Villanova contest, All-American Shea Ralph suffered through six games where she totalled 23 points (3.83 ppg), after averaging 12.1 ppg midway through the season. During the six-game stretch, she shot 9-of-31 (.290) from the floor and was 1-of-11 from behind the three-point arc. Versus Villanova, the senior went 5-for-5 from the floor, including 3-for-3 three-point shooting, to lead the team with 14 points. This was the fifth time in her career and third time in the month of February that she had a perfect outing from the field, three of the other four times came a season ago with two of those coming in back-to-back games. The other time came during the 1998-99 season.
Date Opponent FG-FGM 3FG-3FGM FT-FTA1/2/99 West Virginia 8-8 1-1 3-411/26/99 Old Dominion 9-9 1-1 4-52/15/00 at St. JohnÂ's 2-2 0-0 2-22/18/00 Syracuse 7-7 0-0 4-4
Shea followed up the Villanova game with a 13-point performance versus Virginia Tech and 10 pts. versus Boston College. It was the first time since Jan. 2 that Shea had back- to-back-to-back double-figure games. The most double- figure scoring games in a row she had this season was four dating back to Dec. 10-Jan. 2. Last season, the All-American had a string of 14-straight games in double-figures to open the year. Shea broke her new streak against Rutgers scoring only five points and was 1-for-8 against Villanova, despite pulling down 10 rebounds. The senior got back in the game with 16 points versus West Virginia, including nine rebounds.
THE TAURASI FACTOR
Freshman sensation Diana Taurasi pumped in a career-high 24 points against No. 3 Tennessee on 9-of-16 shooting (6-of-9 from three-point) in only 27 minutes of play. The freshman averages 9.9 ppg (fourth highest on the team), 3.1 apg, 2.7 rpg and made her first career start versus Villanova. She is 46-of-112 (first in three-pointers made) from behind the arc this season (.411). She leads the reserves in turnovers, however, with 53 (2.2 topg), leads the entire squad in fouls with 64 (including UConn's only player technical of the season for unsportsmanlike conduct) and games fouled out with three.
SCHUEY- ONE BLOCK AWAY
Senior Kelly Schumacher needs just one more block to tie for fourth on the all-time blocks list at UConn. The center has 161 career blocks and nees just one more to tie Peggy Myers (-86) for fourth place. Kara Wolters ('97) is third with 370 blocks.
BIG RIG
Senior Christine Rigby broke a string of 14-straight free throws versus West Virginia when she was 1-for-2 from the line in the last five minutes of play.
THE SCHUEY FITS
After sitting out six games due to a stress fracture in her right foot, Kelly Schumacher got her first taste of action in 240 game minutes against Wake Forest. She scored a career- high 20 points versus Pittsburgh on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor and swatted four shots. She hadn't had a career-high performance since her nine blocked shots versus Tennessee in the 2000 NCAA title game. Schuey followed up the Pittsburgh game with a 10-point performance against Miami on 5-of-8 shooting. Only one other time in her career has Schuey posted back-to-back double-figure scoring: her freshman season versus MIami (10) and Maine (19). The double-figure scoring streak ended against Syracuse when she finished with only two points in 11 minutes, however, she dropped off even more versus Tennessee with no points in five minutes of action. The senior had 10 points versus Virginia Tech(all in the second half) and eight points again Boston College in a combined 30 minutes of action. In the last three games, she has had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
ANOTHER UCONN WIN? NO SVET!
The Huskies handed the Tennessee Lady Vols their first and only loss of the year without the support of two-time All- American Svetlana Abrosimova back in December, who injured her back over winter break. The forward scored only four points in a career-low 11 minutes. Abrosimova seemed to be improving physically, however, and had 18 points in 25 minutes versus Tennessee before injuring her left foot. Her 1999-2000 season-high in scoring was also 25 points which she did on two occasions (1/2 vs. LaTech and 3/27 vs. LSU), and followed both up with double-digit scoring efforts in the very next game (10 pts. on 1/4 vs. Georgetown and 14 pts. on 3/31 vs. Penn State).
STEADY FLOW OF CASH
Swin Cash has been UConnÂ's most explosive player on the boards. The junior forward leads the team with 179 total rebounds (7.1 rpg). Cash is coming off her most impressive double-double of the yea,r and 11th career, with 20 points and 20 rebounds versus West Virginia. Cash opened the year with her seventh career double-double over then-No. 3 Georgia and had the second of the season and eighth of her career versus Miami with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Cash had her ninth career double-double, third of the year, versus No. 8 LaTech with 14 rebounds and a game-high 19 points and is coming off her 10th career double-double (fourth of the season) with 15 pts. and 10 rebounds versus Syracuse. The forward is second in scoring averaging 12.2 ppg (behind Abrosimova). She has reached double-figure scoring in 18 of UConn's 25 contests, including nine in a row, to lead the team. She led the team with eight rebounds and had 14 points during her homecoming at Pittsburgh.
AID FROM ASJHA
Asjha Jones started her first game of the regular season, and first since her freshman year, against Pepperdine on Nov. 21, and was reinserted into the starting five versus Rutgers. She is averaging 8.7 ppg for UConn. She has already recorded a career-high of five assists versus Washington, and a career-high five steals versus Holy Cross. She led UConn in scoring over Villanova with 14, making her the sixth different player to lead (or tie) the team in scoring. Jones was held scoreless twice this season, most recently against Boston College where she finished 0-for-7, and she played a total of six minutes against Tennessee with no points and fouled out of the contest. Only one other time in her career did she play less than six minutes which was freshman season versus Villanova (1/22) when she saw action in only two minutes. Jones was back in the starting lineup versus West Virginia and finished 1-of-9 from the floor with three points.
WILLIAMS OFF THE MARK
The junior forward led the league last season with a .714 clip (115-161) and is currently shooting 94-of-125 in 24 games (.752) to lead the team. Williams scored a season high 23 points versus Tennessee on 10-of-13 shooting in 33 minutes of play. She has been perfect from the floor in four games this season, including a 7-for-7 performance against Pepperdine. She made her first start of the season versus Villanova on Sunday and collected 10 points and eight rebounds. Since that start, however, in the last three games, the forward has scored a combined eight points, including none versus VaTech, and nine total rebounds. She is 4-for-8 in the last three games and sat out versus Villanova with a bruised rib.
ABROSIMOVA, RALPH EARN MORE ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Seniors Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph received recognition as All-Americans by Sports Illustrated for Women. Svet was a first teamer, while Shea Ralph was on the second team.
ABROSIMOVA AND SHEA STILL CLIMBING
Entering the West Virginia game, Svetlana Abrosimova (1,865) is currently ranked No. 5 in UConnÂ's all-time career scoring list- 268 points behind No. 4 Rebecca Lobo (2,133). Shea Ralph (1,615) uprooted Wendy Davis at No. 6 who had 1,552 career points, and now trails injured teammate Svetlana Abrosimova.
HERE IS THE UCONN ALL-TIME TOP TEN SCORERS UP-TO-DATE:
1. Nykesha Sales 2,1782. Kerry Bascom 2,1773. Kara Wolters 2,1414. Rebecca Lobo 2,1335. Svetlana Abrosimova 1,8656. Shea Ralph 1,6157. Wendy Davis 1,5528. Jennifer Rizzotti 1,5409. Cathy Bochain 1,53410. Peggy Walsh 1,413
UCONN VERSUS THE FIELD
Of the 23 scheduled teams UConn will face this year, none hold a winning record against the Huskies. With UConnÂ's win over Georgia, the Huskies moved to 2-1 in that series. The LaTech series was tied at two wins apiece until the Huskies defeated the Lady Techsters to go one game up.
ADD WILLIAMS TO LIST
With two points versus Rutgers, Tamika Williams moves past Paige Sauer (947 points) into the 19th spot on the all-time scoring list with 948 career points. She knocked Renee Najarian ('87)-839- out of the top 20, and is the third current player whose name appears on the list. Svetlana Abrosimova (fifth) and Shea Ralph (ninth) are the other two.
TAURASI HONORED
Freshman sensation Diana Taurasi was honored by her high school, Don Lugo, in Chino, CA, last Thursday, Feb. 9, when her high school jersey, #23, was retired. Hers was the first ever women's basketball jersey to be retired at Don Lugo.
MORE TAURASI HONORS
Taurasi picked up UConn's first BIG EAST weekly award on Monday, Feb. 12, when she was named Co- BIG EAST Rookie of the Week.
LIFE BEFORE 1995
With a win versus Pittsburgh, the University of Connecticut won the 500th game in the history of the program giving the school a record of 500-258, currently 505-259. The majority of the wins have come in the Geno Auriemma era, 413-97. The other 92 wins came under Jean Balthaser (52), Wanda Flora (38) and Sandra Hamm (2).
RANKED FROM THE START
Since 1990-91, the Huskies have been ranked nationally at the start of the season. UConn earned the AP No. 1 spot at the beginning of the 1995-96 season, the 1999-2000 season and at the start of this season. UConnÂ's lowest preseason ranking over the last 10 years was No. 24 by the AP in 1990-91. Since an AP ranking of No. 4 to start 1994-95, the Huskies have not opened the year lower than No. 6 (1997-98).
PHILLY AWARD
On Monday, Jan. 29, head coach Geno Auriemma was honored at the Philadelphia Sports Writer's Association's 97th annual dinner for the 2000 Performance of the Year. He is accepting the honor on behalf of the 2000 National Championship team.
UCONN TO HOST 2000-2001 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
The University of Connecticut will serve as host for the 18th BIG EAST WomenÂ's Basketball Championship, March 4-7, 2000, at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs... UConn has hosted the 13-team tournament on five previous occasions: 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1997. Connecticut was awarded the 2000 and 2001 tournaments by a vote of conference Directors of Athletics. The 2001 league championship will be held March 3-6.
NAISMITH HONOREES
The University of Connecticut boasts three finalists, the most of any other school, for the 2000-2001 Naismith Female Collegiate Player of the Year. Svetlana Abrosimova, Shea Ralph and Sue Bird are among the 15 finalists. Ruth Riley from Notre Dame is the fourth player representing the BIG EAST. Overall, the BIG EAST has a total of eight players up for Naismith honors (including men's players), the most of any other conference.
UCONN AND THE ESPYS
The University of Connecticut 1999-2000 womenÂ's basketball team was nominated for an ESPY for College Team of the Year, while Shea Ralph earned a nomination for College Women's Basketball Player of the Year. (Winners were- Catchings for College Basketball Player of the Year, and the Oklahoma Sooners football team for College Team of the Year). Past UConn ESPY winners include Rebecca Lobo as 1995 Female Athlete of the Year and 1995 College Women's Hoop Player of the Year. The 1995 undefeated National Championship Team (35-0) earned the College Team of the Year ESPY.
ABROSIMOVA, RALPH EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Seniors Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph received recognition as preseason First-Team All-America members by The Associated Press. Abrosimova and Ralph are the fourth pair of teammates, second from Connecticut, to make the preseason team since it started in 1994, following Catchings and Semeka Randall last season, Catchings and Holdsclaw in 1998 and ConnecticutÂ's Jennifer Rizzotti and Kara Wolters in 1995.
BIG EAST DEBUTS A NEW LOOK- WELCOME THE HOKIES
The BIG EAST Conference will continue its 16-game regular season league schedule during the 2000-2001 season and invites Virginia Tech into the mix... Each team will play three conference opponents twice (home and away) and will have five additional league home games and five road games. The Huskies have drawn home-and-away games with the following teams: Miami, Villanova, Syracuse. UConn will host Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, St. JohnÂ's, West Virginia. The team will travel to Boston College, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Virginia Tech.
ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE HUSKIES
The University of Connecticut womenÂ's basketball team will have another Â'firstÂ' to talk about this year. Every single regular season UConn game will be televised during the 2000-2001 season. ThatÂ's more television coverage received than any other womenÂ's team in the nation, ever. Along with the national games telecast by Fox, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS, UConn will have the rest of the games in the 2000-2001 season televised by Connecticut Public Television. CPTV has been covering the UConn womenÂ's program since the 1993-94 season. During the past six years, 106 UConn games have been televised regionally by CPTV. WTIC Radio will broadcast all the womenÂ's basketball games for the 2000-2001 season as well.
BACK-TO-BACK LOSSES
With UConn's wins over Old Dominion and Villanova, the Huskies haven't suffered two consecutive losses since 1993, when UConn fell to Providence (87-73) in the BIG EAST semifinals and then suffered a 74-71 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
INJURY UPDATE
Senior Svetlana Abrosimova suffered a torn ligament in her left foot during the Tennessee game. She will be sidelined for the season. Freshman forward Ashley Battle tore the UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) in her left elbow versus Miami. She had surgery on Friday, Dec. 8, to repair the ligament. She was sidelined for 8-10 weeks, and has decided to apply for a medical hardship to regain her freshman eligibility. Freshman Morgan Valley is back in action after having arthroscopic surgery on her left knee to repair torn cartilage. Tamika Williams suffered a bruised rib in practice on 2/17 and is day-to-day. Diana Taurasi sprained her right ankle versus Villanova and is also day-to-day.
