It finally hit Caroline Doty Tuesday that she will get the chance to play in her first game in nearly 10 months Thursday when the Huskies open their exhibition schedule against St. Rose at Gampel Pavilion. And she is certainly excited about taking the floor.
Doty has not played in a game since tearing the ACL in her left knee in the final seconds of the first half against Syracuse Jan. 17. She credits strength coach Amanda Kimball and team trainer Rosemary Ragle for assisting her in her recovery.
“I’m definitely thrilled,’’ Doty said. “The whole preseason with Amanda Kimball, practices and our individuals I think really prepared me. Rosemary did a great job of getting me in there and having me do all my exercises. She still has me in there to stay strong, just kind of doing some more rehab. Just preventative stuff. I give all my thanks to her because she’s been getting strong and I feel stronger than ever.’’
Doty met with Dr. Robert Arciero Wednesday night following practice for “just a little check-up.’’
“We probably meet once a month just to kind of see how everything’s feeling, making sure there’s no kinks,’’ she said. “Just to kind of keep a heads-up on it.’’
Doty will come of the bench for the first time in her UConn career Thursday with coach Geno Auriemma electing to start junior Lorin Dixon and sophomore Tiffany Hayes in the backcourt and senior Kalana Greene, junior Maya Moore and senior Tina Charles up front.
Doty will still log plenty of minutes this season. And the role change doesn’t seem to faze her.
“Lorin worked her butt off all summer and Tiffany has improved tremendously just with every aspect of her game,’’ Doty said. “Whether I’m off the bench or starting I’m still going to be playing a good majority of the time and I’m excited for it.’’
Dixon took 600 to 700 shots a day over the summer to prepare herself for this season. In talking to her over the past few weeks, she clearly is a different player from a mental standpoint. She is as confident as she’s been at any point in her career and she truly believes in her ability to lead the Huskies this season.
“Last year I would just go and get down on myself and I would be like that day after day after day,’’ Dixon said. “And it’s just something I didn’t realize. It was just how I was last year because you had Renee (Montgomery) so there was no big pressure to be like, `Alright, you have to step up’ because (Renee) was there. Now I can realize it and say, `Oh, you can’t do it.’ It’s like you can’t just have relapses like that and snap out of it. Honestly, I do look at myself as the point guard of this team and somebody who has to be a leader for this team.’’
Rich
