UConn women's basketball

UConn All-American Maya Moore has no idea when she injured her right knee. Not even looking at the film of the exhibition game against Australia while training for the World University Games showed any evidence.
Moore, who has long iced both knees after practice and games, finds herself in an unfamiliar situation being forced to sit out the tournament with a sprained knee. When reached by phone Monday in Serbia, her usual bubbly personality was replaced by the disappointment and frustration of enduring an unexpected setback.
“I don’t really know how it happened,’’ Moore said. “That’s the frustrating part. It’s kind of weird because I’ve never really injured anything in knees. I guess it’s a knee sprain. I’m pretty sure it’s not (anything more than that). I think I would feel a lot worse if it was.’’
Moore underwent a battery of tests, which confirmed nothing more than a sprain at this point. She will return to UConn after the team returns home and will be re-evaluated by the team medical staff. Once she arrives in Storrs she said she expects to learn more about the exact extent of her injury.
Moore said she has not yet started any rehabilitation. Instead, she has focused on again walking normally and resting the knee. She is walking “fine’’ right now.
“From all the positives you can take from this it’s been great,’’ Moore said. “I have a lot of people who are taking good care of me. Doctors are around. We’ve got the equipment that we needed. I’ve got the facilities I needed. I’ve got staff that takes care of me. So I’m in a great position to come back from this stronger. I’m really happy with the support that I have.’’
Moore was the consensus national Player of the Year as a sophomore last season in leading UConn to its sixth national championship and its third undefeated season. She averaged team-highs of 19.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals, while also averaging 3.3 assists and 1.5 blocks in 31.0 minutes.
The Huskies won’t begin their quest to repeat until mid-November. Practice does not officially begin until Oct. 17. This provides Moore with plenty of time to regain full usage of her knee. In fact, she expects to be fully operational when individual workouts begin in a couple of months.
“Definitely,’’ Moore said. “I shouldn’t have any problems with UConn season so I’m really hopeful right now. I’m not worried about that with respect to the season.’’
The U.S. (4-0) will meet the Czech Republic (4-0) Tuesday at 9 a.m. EST in its final second round game. The medal semifinals and finals will be Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
UConn rising senior Tina Charles is averaging a team-high 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in 18.5 minutes. Rising sophomore Tiffany Hayes is averaging 9.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.5 steals in 20.3 minutes.
“They been playing great,’’ Moore said. “Tina’s been dominating inside. She’s taken a lot of confidence on the offensive end. Tiffany, as well, is just driving in the lane and finishing with her gliding through the air kind of layups that she’s so good at. Hitting big shots. Getting in the passing lanes. It’s been a lot of good things.’’

Rich

Tina Charles finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes to lead the U.S. to an 75-67 win over Poland in its first game of the second round today at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. Tiffany Hayes added eight points, two rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes off the bench.
USA Basketball spokesperson Jenny Maag said in an e-mail that Maya Moore has a right knee sprain, an injury sustained during training camp, and will not play in the World University Games. She will be reevaluated when she returns to UConn.

Rich

Tina Charles finished with a game-high 17 points (8-of-10 FG) and five rebounds in 21 minutes to lead the U.S. to an 84-50 win over Serbia today in its final game of Group A preliminary round play at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. Tiffany Hayes added six points, three rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes off the bench.
“We have checked off three wins, and we need seven total,’’ head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “It’s a game-by-game process, and I’m looking at it one game at a time. Our goal is to win every game, and I think we have positioned ourselves well.’’
Maya Moore missed her third straight game due to a sore right knee. She continues to be listed day-to-day. USA Basketball personnel remain quiet when it comes to providing updates of any kind regarding her condition. But Alysa Auriemma, Geno’s daughter, wrote today on her Twitter account that it is just a tweak and she will be fine.
In second round play, the U.S. (3-0) will meet Poland (2-1) Sunday at 11:30 a.m. EST and the Czech Republic (3-0) Tuesday at 9 a.m. EST. The medal semifinals and finals will be July 9 and July 11, respectively.

Rich

Tiffany Hayes had nine points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals in 19 minutes off the bench to lead the U.S. to a 93-59 win over Great Britain today at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. Tina Charles added six points (3-for-11 FG) and two rebounds in 13 minutes.
“I think we improve every time we play, just getting better as a team and coming together,’’ Hayes said.
Maya Moore missed her second straight game due to a sore right knee. She continues to be listed day-to-day.
The U.S. (2-0) will conclude preliminary round play in Group A Friday against Serbia at 11:30 a.m. EST. The second round will be held Sunday through Tuesday. The medal semifinals will be July 9 and the medal finals will be July 11.

Rich

The Big East announced the launch of its official Facebook page and several Twitter accounts today as new social media platforms where fans can gain exclusive real-time access to official conference information, such as breaking news, video, photos and more that cannot be found anywhere else.
The conference has launched these platforms as a means to both feed content that resides on the official Big East web site (www.bigeast.org) and to supplement that content for fans on these sites with an inside look at what is happening around the conference and in the conference office from Big East staff members dealing with each of the league’s 24 sponsored sports.
“We are constantly evaluating the opportunities that exist in the ever-changing world of the Internet and social media,’’ Big East Commissioner John Marinatto said. “Launching our presence on Facebook and Twitter will not only provide us a unique vehicle to further develop our brand, but it will allow us another way to provide our content to fans of the league and our 16 schools, many of whom are students and alumni who frequently access these sites.’’
Fans should expect to see breaking news, including preseason polls, Players of the Week and all-conference team announcements, on these sites before they can be found anywhere else. The Big East Facebook page can be found by searching Big East Conference in Facebook.
The Big East has also launched five Twitter accounts, where fans can gain access to official conference “tweets’’ containing 140 characters or less about a particular sport or championship.

Big East Twitter Accounts
@BigEastConf – All news and information about the league and its 24 sponsored sports. Follow now by visiting www.twitter.com/BigEastConf.

@BigEastFB – All news and information about Big East football. Follow now by visiting www.twitter.com/BigEastFB.

@BigEastMBB – All news and information about Big East men’s basketball. Follow now by visiting www.twitter.com/BigEastMBB.

@BigEastWBB – All news and information about Big East women’s basketball. Follow now by visiting www.twitter.com/BigEastWBB.
@BigEastChamps – Look for real-time updates from Big East Championship sites in all sports as well as any news or information pertaining to conference championships on this account. Follow now by visiting www.twitter.com/BigEastChamps.

Rich

Senior All-American Tina Charles led five players in double figures with 18 points and six rebounds as the U.S. opened the World University Games with a 115-30 win over France this morning in Belgrade, Serbia. Sophomore Tiffany Hayes added 15 points and five steals for the U.S., who shot 56.1 percent from the field and forced 44 turnovers.
Junior national Player of the Year Maya Moore did not play due to what was described as a sore knee. She is listed day-to-day and will be further evaluated later today.
The U.S. will continue preliminary round play against Great Britain tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. EST. It will meet Serbia Friday at 11:30 a.m. EST. The second round will be held July 5-7. The medal semifinal round will be July 9 and the medal finals will be July 11.

Rich