Tina Charles picked up her fourth foul with 11:23 left in the game today. Geno Auriemma had no choice but to get her out of the game and turn to Kaili McLaren for help off the bench. And just like she did in the first two games of the Caribbean Classic, Kaili played a huge role in helping the Huskies dispatch Florida State to win the tournament championship.
Kaili finished with 10 points (4-of-6 FG), a career-high seven assists and two blocks in a season-high 23 minutes. She assisted on a layup by Kalana Greene with 8:25 left that triggered a 10-2 run after the Seminoles had closed to within 11. She also had another assist in the run. This time it was on a layup by Maya Moore.
Kaili averaged 8.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 21.3 minutes over these three games. And she has now played at least 20 minutes in three straight games for just the third time in her career. She played 20 minutes in a career-high six straight games last season, a string that ended when she played just 13 minutes in a season-ending loss to Stanford in the national semifinals in Tampa.
The news seemingly never stopped coming this week at the Moon Palace Resort. As the Courant’s John Altavilla and I said our goodbyes to tournament director Melissa Koza of Triple Crown Sports and commended her for a job well done, she told us that the Huskies might compete in the 16-team Preseason WNIT in 2010 and will be one of the host sights. Triple Crown also runs that event. The event is one of several that UConn is looking into at the moment.
Rich
