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The injury reports coming from the Greensboro Coliseum this afternoon were positive regarding the left shoulder of sophomore center Tina Charles and the left knee of junior guard Renee Montgomery. Both joined one another for rehabilitation Sunday night and again today and both practiced today with the Huskies.
“Obviously, they got banged around a little (Sunday) ,’’ Auriemma said. “But they will be ready to go (tomorrow). That won’t be an issue.
Charles, who said she’s not in any pain, tweaked her shoulder when it was grabbed by a defender in the lane with 3:40 left in the game. Montgomery twisted her knee diving to control a loose ball and then had an Old Dominion player land on it during the play.
“They just gave me some medicine (Sunday) and I just took that and then I slept,’’ Charles said. “Then I had rehab (Sunday) night and then I did a rehab just before we came (to the arena). I’m fine.’’
Said Montgomery: “I feel like I’m great, but the trainers know the medical aspects of things. So I have to continue to do treatments and I have to wear a knee sleeve. But I feel fine.’’

Rich

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We have yet to speak with Geno or any players, but team spokesman Randy Press said moments ago that there are no further problems with Renee Montgomery (left knee) and Tina Charles (left shoulder).
Both were hurt in the final minutes of Sunday’s win over Old Dominion. Both are expected to play tomorrow night against Rutgers in the regional final.

Rich

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The Huskies are again one step away from the Final Four. It has been a long, trying journey for the nation’s top-ranked team. But one more win will make everything worthwhile. I wanted to pass long a few tidbits from today’s game.

Freshman Lorin Dixon, who had not played the first two games of the tournament, played four scoreless minutes. “The fact that I finally got out there was just great,’’ she said. “Everyone wants to play in an NCAA Tournament. It is every girl’s dream, every guy’s dream. So to actually have a chance to get out there for the first time was amazing to me. I was really nervous in the first half. I hadn’t played the last two games and the team has been playing so great that I wanted to go out there and do well. I was fine in the second half. Before every game I am nervous and I have to settle down, but I am fine after that.’’

Renee Montgomery became the 10th player in team history to reach 200 steals (201).
Ketia Swanier (247) needs one steal to tie Rita Williams for sixth all-time in team history, and five to tie Shea Ralph for fifth.

How much admiration do the Huskies have for senior Brittany Hunter? Here’s this comment from Montgomery: “She practices only half the time, and she comes in the game and still plays with a good rhythm and still plays in sync with us,’’ Montgomery said. “You can tell she’s extremely talented. She’s playing on one leg, and she still gets a lot of stuff done. She makes me so nervous. Any time anything happens where she might get hit hard, I’m on pins and needles because I know with her knee she could get hurt any moment. How aggressive she plays is amazing. You wouldn’t think somebody who has had that many injuries would be that aggressive and be relentless after every rebound. She plays as if she was never hurt, and I admire that.’’

And one more from Geno: “She is a real magnetic force on this team,’’ he said. “Kids are drawn to her. She’s a little bit older. She has a great way with the younger guys. Man, some of the plays she made down there in the second half were just … She’s one of the few guys on our team that’s athletic enough. She can make a 15-footer, post you up. She blocks shots. She goes after every rebound. I’m really proud of her.’’

Lastly, a few Rutgers fans had “ODU’’ signs on their red sweatshirts in the stands today and were cheering for the Lady Monarchs.

Rich

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It was a lesson that UConn freshman point guard Lorin Dixon wished she didn’t have to learn. Not at this point in the season, anyway.
While the top-ranked and top-seeded Huskies were racing past Cornell and Texas in the first two rounds of the NCAA Greensboro regional, Dixon was fastened to the bench by coach Geno Auriemma for her failure to meet the academic standards he set in place.
Dixon, who is the only UConn player that has yet to play in the tournament, returned to Storrs Monday to attend to three classes – statistics, anthropology and economics – before rejoining the team prior to Tuesday’s second round game against the Longhorns.
“I went to school,’’ Dixon said. “I did what I had to do at school. I came back and just came prepared to support the team. Honestly, I feel like I let my team down. But I’m hoping that’s in the past. From previous years, I haven’t really learned what I was supposed to have learned and now I learned what I needed to know and I’m going to grow from it. And, basically, I’m just hoping I could play. But, if not, I’m just going to be there for my team and support them like I’ve been doing for this whole tournament.’’
Dixon, who celebrated her 19th birthday Saturday, participated in practice Saturday morning at UNC-Greensboro. Aside from competing, she was forced to skip around the court as her teammates sang “Happy Birthday’’ to her.
Auriemma said that Dixon will be available when the Huskies face fifth-seeded Old Dominion today in the regional semifinals at Greensboro Coliseum (noon; ESPN). He would not, however, guarantee that she will definitively see action.
“(Saturday was) her birthday so she’s a year older,’’ Auriemma said. “She’s much more mature than she was (Friday). She has a lot more experience. She sees things a lot clearer. So she’s grown up a lot in the last 24 hours. So I’m inclined to give her an opportunity this coming weekend. How much of a piece of the cake she gets, though, remains to be seen.’’
Balancing athletics and academics can be a very delicate task for players, especially freshmen. This is what Dixon has been attempting do this season. It finally caught up with her this week.
She said her priorities weren’t in order and that she needed to polish her organizational skills. This week has been up and down for Dixon, but judging by her demeanor in the locker room Saturday this was an experience that will prove to be beneficial moving forward.
“Honestly, I think it’s just something I had to go through,’’ Dixon said. “To be an athlete you have to learn to balance academics and athletics. You can’t always expect to get by so you have to learn how to balance everything out and that’s what I needed to learn. It really just was responsibilities and the fact that I just didn’t come to people when I needed help or just ask for things instead of just trying to do everything by myself.’’

Rich

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Junior Renee Montgomery and sophomore Tina Charles are among the 12 finalists for the Wade Trophy, given annually to the nation’s top player, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced today.
The reason Huskies’ star freshman Maya Moore is not on the list is because freshmen are not eligible for the award.
Members of the selection committee will select the recipient of the Wade Trophy from the 10-member State Farm Coaches’ All-America Team. It will be announced April 5. Sue Bird (2002) and Diana Taurasi (2003) are past winners for UConn.

UConn announced today that there are numerous travel packages available for fans who wish to join the Huskies in Greensboro, N.C. this weekend for the regional. The packages include a three-night full package that includes charter airfare with a late Saturday afternoon departure from Bradley International Airport.
A three-night, land-only package and a four-night, land-only package are also available.
Game tickets are not included in these packages, but can be purchased at the same time travel is ordered. UConn Club members have the option of purchasing game tickets only.
The travel packages and game tickets can be ordered online on a special link on UConnHuskies.com or by calling 1-888-GO-UCONN.

Rich

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A source confirmed late Tuesday that 6-foot-5 former Washington forward/center Jess McCormack has contacted UConn about transferring to Storrs next season. UConn is one of several schools McCormack, a native of Auckland, New Zealand, has contacted.
There were whispers last summer that McCormack would leave Washington in light of the abrupt firing of former coach June Daughtery and the subsequent hiring of Tia Jackson. She finally left last month. Fellow freshman and leading scorer Katelan Redmon is also transferring.
McCormack averaged 7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 20.3 minutes in 19 games (14 starts) this season for the Huskies. She is a member of the New Zealand national team and has been tabbed as a Lauren Jackson-type player. She was the youngest player selected to the New Zealand senior women’s national team at 15 in 2005.

Rich

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The starting lineups have been released by the NCAA. And Tina Charles will not start for the Huskies for the second straight game.
It’s the first time she has not started in back-to-back games since she came off the bench in four straight games Dec. 31, 2006 through Jan. 9, 2007.

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Junior Kelly Faris, a 5-foot-11 All-State guard from Plainfield, Ind., has orally committed to attend UConn, Heritage Christian High coach Rick Risinger confirmed Tuesday afternoon. She becomes the first member of the Class 2009 to extend a commitment to the Huskies.
Faris chose UConn over Notre Dame.
“She loves their style of play,” Risinger said. “I wouldn’t want to compare our program to theirs, but it is similar in that we are both team orientated. She really loves the UConn program and wants to play at that level.”
Faris averaged 12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists in leading Heritage Christian to a 27-1 record and its third straight Class AA state championship this season. She has amassed 1,046 points, 667 rebounds and 394 assists during the first three years of her career.

Rich