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The news spread fast today. When it comes to this day and age it doesn’t take long. There are countless blogs, just like this one. Newspapers, both the hard copy and the on-line version. And word of mouth always does the trick too.
In this part of the world when an opposing player, especially one from UConn’s most heated rivals like Tennessee or Rutgers, calls the Huskies “scared’’ it’s big news. Freshman point guard Lorin Dixon lit the fire after practice Thursday when she volunteered to the members of the media that had gathered around that Scarlet Knights guard Epiphanny Prince, the same player that torched them for 27 of her career-high 33 points in the second half of a 73-71 loss Feb. 5, had said that the Huskies looked scared that night at the RAC.
“Epiph had spoken to my dad (Kirby) before and she was like she saw it in our faces that we were scared and she told her team to bring it to us,’’ Lorin said. “And that’s why they came out in the second half like that.’’
Kirby came across this quote from her daughter today and was completely caught off guard. He said tried to get in touch with Lorin, but her phone was off. He did get in touch with myself as I was sitting at the desk in my hotel room on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago in an attempt to clear the air.
According to Kirby, Prince never once even implied that UConn looked scared or otherwise during a conversation between the two at a recent Murry Bergtraum High girl’s basketball game.
“I’ve got to talk to my daughter,’’ Kirby Dixon said. “She’s totally confused. I was talking to some of my family members and said, `the team looked a little nervous. They looked scared, this and that. And then … We were at a game. I was talking to Piph and I was like I didn’t like the way Lorin played because she had no points. She had (one) assist. And Piph said, `oh, I think you’re being a little hard on her.’ And that was it. She was basically giving Lorin a compliment. I think (Lorin) must have just got it wrong. Epiphanny Prince never said that, and that’s coming from my mouth. That never came out of her mouth. She would never say that. I’ve known Piph a long time. Piph is a good friend of mine. She just wouldn’t say that. She’s just not that type of person to say something like that. My youngest daughter (Cecilia’s) friends with Piph and she was shocked. She was like, `Epiphanny Prince said that?’ I said, `no she didn’t say that.’ Something got mixed up here. If anything that might have been me talking about what me and my sister were saying. I think Lorin just got the words mixed up.’’

In other news, Brittany Hunter returned to practice today. She has missed the last two games and did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. If she’s unable to go against DePaul tomorrow night, Kaili McLaren, who played the best game of her career at LSU Monday, would draw the start.

Rich

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Whether it was her intention or not, Rutgers sophomore Epiphanny Prince has given the Huskies a motivational tool for Monday’s rematch at the XL Center that will likely decide the Big East regular season championship.
Freshman guard Lorin Dixon said following practice today that Prince told her father, Kirby, that she thought the Huskies were scared in a 73-71 loss at the RAC Feb. 5. Prince told her teammates as such during the game before Rutgers outscored UConn 49-38 in the second half. Prince scored 27 of her career-high 33 points in the half.
“Epiph had spoken to my dad before and she was like she saw it in our faces that we were scared and she told her team to bring it to us,’’ Dixon said. “And that’s why they came out in the second half like that. And I heard about that and I was like, `wait, that’s not going to happen again.’ They just got us good that one time. So we’re really prepared, waiting for them.’’
Dixon, who is friends with Prince, clearly was not pleased by the remarks. She said she planned to tell the rest of her teammates.
“We weren’t scared,’’ Dixon said. “ And it really angered me that she came out and said that. But if that’s how we looked, if that’s what she has to do to pump her team up that’s what she did and that’s why they came at us like that. But that’s going to us make us or make me want to play more and show that we’re not scared. You just caught is off-guard one good time and that’s it.’’
Junior co-captain Renee Montgomery also responded to Prince’s words. And she actually commended her.
“It doesn’t bother me really,’’ she said. “It just looks as if she was trying to motivate her team. So kudos to her. There’s nothing wrong with that. I definitely wouldn’t characterize our actions as being scared. A lot of people do different things to get their team pumped up. Whatever you need to do to motivate your team, that’s what you do. That’s probably what she was trying to do. Some of the things I say to my teammates might not be true of the other team. I don’t go telling the media what I tell to them. I think it’s whatever you need to do to get your teammates there and with you and fired up. That’s being a competitor, actually.’’

Brittany Hunter has not played in the last two games and it does not look promising at this point that she will play Saturday at DePaul either. Geno Auriemma said that she has not practiced — Wednesday or today — since the team returned from LSU. Kaili McLaren would start if Brittany is unable to go.
Geno also let on that he will start Dixon at DePaul instead of Ketia Swanier in order to keep Ketia in contention for the Big East Sixth Man Award. Ketia has started three conference games and cannot start more than four. But she is expected to start Monday against Rutgers.

There are less than 1,000 tickets remaining for Monday’s showdown against Ruters. They can be purchased at www.uconnhuskies.com.

Rich

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Maya Moore did it again today. She was named the Big East Freshman of the Week for the ninth time this season, extending her conference record. She averaged 24.5 points and 10 rebounds and shot 62.1 percent from the field (18-of-29) and 63.6 percent from 3-point range (7-of-11) in wins over Marquette and St. John’s.
The week included a 31-point barrage against Marquette, which tied her career-high. Still, it wasn’t good enough to earn Big East Player of the Week honors as the Huskies moved to 0-for-15 in that category this season.
DePaul senior Allie Quigley was named Player of the Week. She averaged 28.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and shot 57.9 percent (22-of-38) from the field and 60 percent (6-of-10) from 3-point range in two games.

Here are a couple of tidbits for you to chew on before tonight’s showdown at LSU: In light of the brutal job turned in by officials Bob Trammell, Tina Napier and Bonita Spence in the final seconds of Rutgers’ 59-58 loss at Tennessee Feb. 11, Spence has been pulled from the UConn-Rutgers regular season finale next Monday at the XL Center. It’s a game that will likely decide the Big East championship. Dennis DeMayo has since been added to the crew that will also include Bill Titus and Denise Brooks-Clauser.
Also, the Huskies’ chartered flight had to stop in Knoxville Sunday to refuel.

Enjoy the game tonight.

Rich

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Charde Houston has had more ups and downs throughout her career than any player I can remember. Tomorrow when she’s honored during the pregame Senior Day ceremony at Gampel Pavilion everything that has transpired over the course of the last four years will come to a head.
She will walk out onto the court flanked by her aunts Claudia Foy and Louise Moorer. She will meet coach Geno Auriemma at the end of her walk where the two are certain to share an embrace. This is a moment Charde is anticipating, one that is certain too be emotional.
“I feel like if he didn’t (care about me) he could’ve easily released me,’’ Houston said. “So just the fact that he continues to keep me here and push me every single day just shows that he expects a lot from me and I think that it will be an emotional moment when he does embrace me.’’
Despite her roller coaster journey through the program Charde has assembled a fine career statistically. She enters the 128th game of her career ranked 23rd all-time in team history in scoring with 1,255 points and ninth in blocks (128). She also has 676 rebounds and is averaging 19.6 minutes.

Geno was asked to describe each of the seniors in one word following Friday. Of course, he couldn’t keep it to one word, but here’s what he came up with:
Mel: “Tenacious; Old school; Chuck Taylor’s Hi-Top Black Converse; Black & White pictures.
Ketia: “Stubborn; Hard-headed; Quiet; Introverted; And better than anyone in America that saw her as a freshman could ever imagine at this point right now.
Brittany: “Lucky; Incredibly fortunate I think to still be able to play; Getting her here was great. It’s a shame we didn’t have her earlier; What if; If she had been healthy would we have gotten over that hump (in the NCAA tournament) last year and the year before?
Charde: “Mysterious; Because there’s things that she does that are just a complete mystery, and people will be surprised to hear this – a mystery to her. Not just a mystery to us; There are things that Charde does that if you ask her she would say, I don’t know.’ Charde, you had 27 and 15. why? `I couldn’t tell you, Coach.’ Charde, you had four points and one rebound and five turnovers. What happened? `I couldn’t tell you, Coach.’; So you say which is the real Charde? Both. But if you take it away from the basketball standpoint, the Charde that came to Connecticut four years ago and the Charde that’s leaving are two completely different people in one respect. She’s never been asked to do the things that she’s been asked to do in all aspects of her life than in the four years that she’s been here. Has she handled it the way she wanted to coming in? Probably not. Has she had the career that she wanted to have? Probably not. On a scale of 1 to 10 is it better than most kids that go to college? I would say, yeah. The inconsistency of it all is probably what would frustrate her the most.’’

Charde and Brittany did not practice Friday. Charde bit through her upper lip when she was took an elbow in the face in the second half against Marquette Wednesday. She said she will play today. Geno said he was uncertain whether or not Brittany would play because her knee.

Rich

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What was initially thought to be only a bruise has turned out to be much worse for Rutgers and sophomore forward Myia McCurdy. Coach C. Vivian Stringer confirmed this morning that McCurdy will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament, the lateral cruciate ligament and the lateral meniscus in her right knee.
McCurdy, who underwent a MRI Wednesday, sustained the injury when she landed awkwardly after attempting a shot during the first-half of Tuesday’s win over No. 14 Notre Dame. According to team spokesperson Stacey Brann, she walked off the court under her own power and was stretching on the sideline.
The Scarlet Knights have also lost freshman guard Khadijah Rushdan for the season to a torn ACL.
“She’s had a much more serious injury than Khadijah,’’ Stringer said. “She tore up everything. I couldn’t believe it. We’re thin as ever. We used to call her `Myia on Fyia’ because she was the front side of that (full-court) press. Right now we’ve got seven players and I think that’s asking a bit much from anybody. So that’s a major blow and we’re trying to lick our wounds and regroup and figure out how we can try to win because we’re not quitters. We’re fighters. It does seem like we’re snake-bitten, but we’ll persevere. We’re not going to outscore people by millions of points. We just have to find another way to get it done and it’s going to test our coaches’ as well as our team’s resilience and ability to withstand in the face of all odds to somehow find out who we are.’’
McCurdy was averaging 2.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 15.4 minutes in 25 games (six starts) this season.

Maya Moore has been named Big East Freshman of the Week a record eight times in 14 weeks this season. And she probably should have been named a few more times. But the Huskies have yet to have a player honored by the conference as Player of the Week.
Pittsburgh (three weeks) DePaul (2), Louisville (2), West Virginia (2), Marquette, Villanova, Cincinnati, Seton Hall and Rutgers have each had at least one player honored.
UConn’s absence is not sitting well with coach Geno Auriemma. He voiced his displeasure during today’s Big East conference call when he was asked who he thought would be named the conference Player of the Year.
Moore, Huskies junior Renee Montgomery, Rutgers sophomore Epiphanny Prince and Louisville junior Angel McCoughtry, the reigning Player of the Year, were each mentioned by numerous coaches as being the top candidates for the award. All ballots are due March 3.
“I’ve always thought the best player on the best team, provided they deserve it because of their performance, usually ends up with Player of the Year,’’ Auriemma said. “The fact that we’ve not had one player all year long get a Player of the Week honor leads me to believe that somebody’s not paying attention. So I don’t think anybody on our team can possibly be the Player of the Year because not one of them has gotten Player of the Week. So how are you going to vote for someone Player of the Year in the league who’s never even won Player of the Week. We just win by accident.
“Who do I think the best player in the league is? Maya Moore.’’

Heather Buck had 24 points and 16 rebounds to lead Stonington to a 52-50 victory over East Lyme in the Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament semifinals Wednesday. The Bears (17-4) will meet Norwich Free Academy in the final Friday.

Tiffany Hayes had 18 points and five assists to lead Winter Haven High to a 73-40 victory over Boca Ciega in the Florida Class 5A semifinals Wednesday. The Blue Devils (30-2) will meet Naples Barron Collier in the final Friday.

Rich

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The Huskies didn’t need to check the replay to see if the clock stopped last week. They took care of business by defeating Georgetown and Pittsburgh to run their record to 24-1 (11-1 Big East). And coupled with Tennessee’s loss to LSU at home last Thursday, UConn reclaimed the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press poll today.
The Huskies, who are beginning their eighth week this season at the top of the rankings, received 38 of the 50 first-place votes in what was the most diverse of the 15 polls of the season. North Carolina moved up one spot to No. 2 and received two first votes. Tennessee dropped to No. 3 and for some ridiculous reason was given a first-place vote from Bob Thomas of the Florida Times-Union. I know these polls are an opinion thing, but that’s brutal.
As a fellow AP voter I dropped the Lady Vols to No. 5. In my mind they lost twice last week so put a big fat asterisk next to their win column. Rutgers won the game Feb. 11 and I’m not buying that Pat Summitt was unaware of any clock malfunction. Do you think for one second that Geno Auriemma would have been unaware of any clock malfunction if was Tina Charles being called for a foul on Nicky Anosike with the clock frozen at two-tenths of a second? Not a chance.
It would have taken Geno less than two-tenths of a second to run out on the court and make his point heard to officials Bob Trammell, Tina Napier and Bonita Spence. And his postgame remarks would have been Pay-Per-View material.
Rutgers picked up eight first-place votes and held strong at No. 5. No. 6 LSU picked up the final first-place vote.

By the way, the game in Baton Rouge next Monday night between UConn and LSU is going to be spectacular. Must-see TV at its finest. Don’t worry it won’t be on CSTV or ESPNU. It will air on ESPN2 at 7.

Rich

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Maya Moore set a conference record Monday when she was named the Big East Freshman of the Week for the eighth time in 14 weeks this season. Former UConn All-American Rebecca Lobo had previously held the mark, receiving the honors seven times in 1991-92.
It was also the 80th time that a UConn player has been tabbed conference Freshman of the Week, easily the most in the conference. Providence is a distant second with 34.
Maya averaged a team-high 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in wins over Georgetown and Pittsburgh last week. She has scored in double figures in all 25 games and has scored at least 20 points in nine games (tied 4th Big East).
Maya currently has scored 438 points, the third highest total by a UConn freshman. She needs seven to pass Tamika Williams (444, 1998-99) and 19 to pass Tina Charles (456, 2006-07) to move into second place.
Svetlana Abrosimova set the team freshman record with 538 points in 1997-98.

Incidentally, the Huskies are 0-for-14 when it comes to having a player named Big East Player of the Week this season.

Rich

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Coach Geno Auriemma tried to send a message to Kaili McLaren by sitting her against Stanford in the first round of the Paradise Jam Nov. 22. He was not happy with her progress since she worked herself into the best physical condition of her life during the off-season.
It worked that time because McLaren, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, followed with productive performances against Old Dominion and Duke in a span of three days. But nearly three months later, Auriemma has been forced to again deliver the same message. McLaren has grown stagnant as her commitment to conditioning and improvement has waned.
This time it cost McLaren two games. She was the only UConn player not to play against Seton Hall Feb. 9 and against Georgetown Tuesday. But after having a conversation with Auriemma Thursday, McLaren has found her way back into the rotation and will play Sunday at No. 18 Pittsburgh.
“She’s been cleared (Friday), cleared by me,’’ Auriemma said. “I asked her (Thursday), `are you as good as you were when we were down in the Virgin Islands?’ Not only that, I said, `have you improved since then?’ She said, `no.’ I said, `well, that’s what I’m trying to get you to understand.’ Physically, you’ve got to keep doing certain things and you’ve got to be able to meet certain standards when we’re playing or it’s going to be hard to play. Conditioning is a huge, huge, huge part being able to play this game, especially the level we’re trying to play at.’’
McLaren has not played since seeing 17 minutes of action at Rutgers Feb. 5. How she performs Sunday against a talented Pittsburgh team will be important. But how she performs in the upcoming weeks will be doubly as important. The Huskies need to have her in the rotation, especially against the elite teams.
“I think Kaili understands,’’ Auriemma said. “She’s not blessed with tremendous quickness. So she’s got to work exceptionally hard every day to get the most out her God-given ability. And when she does she makes us a different team.’’

Rich