UConn women's basketball

Kaili McLaren (right foot) will participate in shootaround today at the AT&T Center. Barring any last minute setbacks, it looks like she will be active tonight when the Huskies face No. 10 Texas.

Rich

Kaili McLaren practiced today in San Antonio, keeping her on target to play tomorrow night against No. 10 Texas at the AT&T Center.
A sore right foot kept McLaren out of the season opener Saturday against Northeastern.

Rich

There may not have been a player that needed to prove more in Saturday’s season opener against Northeastern than Huskies’ red-shirt freshman Heather Buck. She had shown little in two exhibition games, registering a combined two points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.
Buck has been constantly prodded by the UConn coaching staff and her teammates to be more aggressive this preseason. Yet, it has remained a problem for a player coach Geno Auriemma spoke very highly of last season as she sat out after coming down with mononucleosis during the preseason.
But just as Saturday marked a new start for the top-ranked Huskies, it seemed as though Buck started anew too. Seeing enhanced playing time due to the foot injury that sidelined Kaili McLaren, Buck made the most of her time on the floor by finishing with four points, 12 rebounds and one steal in 21 minutes.
“Being the first game I just wanted to go out and play some good defense and get rebounds,’’ Buck said. “And try to prove to Coach that I can do it and that I can step up. If I can keep doing that then hopefully Coach will trust me a little more.’’
This was the type of performance that should give Buck plenty of confidence heading into tomorrow’s game against No. 12 Texas. The level of talent will, of course, be markedly better. But just the fact that she was able to make an impact while in the game was significant.
The Huskies are going to need Buck to contribute. Aside from All-American Tina Charles and McLaren, she is the only other player on the roster that is a true post player. She isn’t going to be asked to deliver 12 rebounds every game. However, she must be a factor off the bench, especially against the more talented teams on the schedule.
“It’s been a little bit of a rocky road there for Heather in the beginning,’’ Auriemma said. “The game is just so physical and so fast for her and she’s just not accustomed to that. It’s got to start somewhere. So (Saturday) on the defensive end and on the rebounding end she was able to establish herself and do the things that you have to do to get started. She didn’t try to do too much. She didn’t try to make every play. So she took advantage of the things that were there and she probably left this game feeling a lot more confident about herself than she did the two exhibitions. So hopefully that’ll help her going forward.’’

Rich

Senior forward Kaili McLaren is listed as probable for Tuesday’s game against No. 12 Texas. An MRI taken Saturday revealed nothing more than a sore right foot, according to a statement made by the UConn sports information office today.

McLaren did not play in Saturday’s season-opening 105-35 victory over Northeastern after stepping on a foot in practice Friday.

Rich

Here’s a look back at Saturday’s UConn-Northeastern game:
UConn 105, Northeastern 35
TURNING POINT – This was not a game that the Huskies were going to be remotely tested. There will be plenty of these throughout the season too. But they certainly made sure that this one would be a rout in a hurry by burying Northeastern with a 28-0 run to open the game. Led by nine points from Tina Charles and eight from Caroline Doty, all five starters scored. Remarkably, Maya Moore had just two points in the run. This exemplifies the balance this team possesses.
UConn made 11 of its first 13 shots. Northeastern missed its first 10 and committed three turnovers.
“It’s a mindset just not to get caught up in the score, not to necessarily get caught up in the stats,’’ Moore said. “But just to go out every possession and get a stop and get a great bucket on the other end and do it as many times until there’s a timeout or a whistle or until somebody stops you. And that’s what we did. It’s just a mindset and a mentality that I think we need to have every game. I’m glad we did it in this kickoff home opener because hopefully that’ll set the tone for our next game.’’
UNSUNG HERO – Kalana Greene does not garner a whole lot of attention playing along side the All-American tandem of Moore and Charles. And Tiffany Hayes is being touted as the Huskies’ next All-American. Yet, Greene finds a way to make plays within the offense and through her play defensively.
Greene finished with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, a game-high four steals and no turnovers in 23 minutes.
“She’s in a really good place right now,’’ coach Geno Auriemma said. “She’s enjoying herself. She’s enjoying playing and she’s enjoying her teammates. And you could tell just by watching her on the court.’’
BEST ‘X’ AND/OR ‘O’ – The Huskies didn’t have to do much more than show up in this one. But they took advantage of Charles’ gross mismatch inside against 6-foot-2 Kim Carr. Charles, who is 6-4, scored the first six points of the game and had 13 points and seven rebounds in the first 7:31. She finished with game-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds in only 18 minutes.
“Tina was dominating inside, which sparked us,’’ Moore said. “Any time we can get our post game established early it usually translates into good things for the rest of us.’’
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS – The 2009 national championship banner was unveiled prior to the introduction of the starting lineups. The players stood in reverence, basking in the glory of their accomplishment as the crowd gave them a standing ovation that came in two waves before it was said and done.
UConn-bound recruit Bria Hartley took in the day’s events from the seats behind the UConn bench.
“It felt great,’’ Charles said referring to seeing the banner. “I had a lot of emotions. It was the icing on the cake to see that unveiled, especially with this team and just everything we went through last year and how we came together and were able to pull off 39-0. It was good.’’
The student section was again packed, which is a huge plus for the Huskies because there were many bare areas in other reaches of Gampel Pavilion. Of course, it didn’t hurt that one student was going to win an iPhone at the end of the game either. And they had to be present to win it.
“It dawned on me that our program has been really good since 1995, I mean like on television all the time and everybody in state of Connecticut knows who we are,’’ Auriemma said. “Well, for those last 15 years, a lot of these kids were in middle school and high school and all along the way they kind of grew up with Connecticut women’s basketball. Now here they are in college and they get a chance to experience it first hand. That’s why they’re all here and I think that’s pretty cool. And they’ve made an effort to be here. We had more students here during an exhibition game than we used to get 10 years ago at a non-TV game. They all show up for the TV games like ESPN or CBS. And I think our players appreciate that. And we wanted to let them know… these are kids they sit in class with. That’s pretty cool for them to come out on a Saturday afternoon and sit through a 70-point win waiting to see who won their iPhone. We have our methods. We know how to keep these guys here.’’
The Huskies showed their appreciation after the game by walking over and exchanging high-fives with a number of fans in the student section.
Northeastern coach Daynia La-Force Mann spoke about her recruiting experience with UConn after the game. I have heard many things that have caused a player to choose another school over UConn. Never have I heard that it was because they saw a red barn. Until Saturday, that is.
“It’s funny,’’ La-Force Mann said. “When we were driving in for shootaround (Saturday) I saw that red barn I saw when I first came on my official visit. That was one of the reasons why I chose to go to Georgetown, a more city school, than the University of Connecticut. It brought back some bad memories. But you could never look back and regret any decisions that you made in life, and I certainly don’t do that. They’ve built a great program here. I’m just honored to say that I was recruited by the University of Connecticut That’s my legacy. That’s my story that I tell everybody. I was recruited by them. But I think just the atmosphere coming on my official visit (in 1991) wasn’t comfortable for me being a city girl. And I just chose Georgetown for that reason.’’
LOOKING AHEAD – The Huskies will get their first test of the season against No. 12 Texas in San Antonio Tuesday night at the AT&T Center at 9:30. The crowd is obviously expected to be pro-Texas and the fact that Tennessee is playing in the first game of the doubleheader will only add to the number of fans rooting for the Longhorns. It will be interesting to see how Kelly Faris and Heather Buck respond to their first national television game against a quality opponent and whether or not Kaili McLaren (foot) will be able to play.
BY THE NUMBERS
0 – Assists for Northeastern in the first half to go with 11 turnovers
69 – Points scored in the first half – the most in any half by UConn ever
1,008 – Career rebounds for Tina Charles.
1,012 – Career points for Kalana Greene.

Rich

Already without the services of junior point guard Lorin Dixon, who is expected to miss at least two weeks with a strained left hamstring, the Huskies were also without senior forward Kaili McLaren for today’s season opener against Northeastern.
McLaren injured her right foot during practice Friday. She wore a boot while sitting on the bench during the game today and is considered day-to-day. The Huskies currently have only nine healthy players.
“She stepped on somebody’s foot (Friday) in practice,’’ coach Geno Auriemma said. “She’s getting X-rayed (Saturday afternoon). I don’t think it’s like really bad, but I’m not a doctor. I’m a coach. I would’ve looked at it and said, `Get your (butt) out there.’ But today doctors are a lot more precautionary than my coaches used to be when I was her age.’’
A team spokesman said the results of the X-ray should be available Sunday.
Freshman Heather Buck stepped up in McLaren’s absence by producing four points and 12 rebounds in 21 minutes.

UConn-bound recruit Bria Hartley, a 5-foot-10 point guard from North Babylon, N.Y., was on hand today. She sat behind the bench with her family. After the game she spent some time meeting with Auriemma.
Auriemma addressed why Hartley is the most recognized figure in this talented five-member recruiting class.
“Well, because she has the ball in her hands all the time,’’ Auriemma said. “And she just has that kind of game that you notice right away because she just makes lot of plays. She makes shots. She makes plays for others. She scores in crunch time. She’s a good defender. She’s got a great personality on the floor. She’s just really, really, really good and everybody is kind of like `wow.’’’
The Huskies have also signed Stefanie Dolson, a 6-5 center from Port Jervis, N.Y., Lauren Engeln, a 5-11 guard from Laguna Hills, Calif., Michala Johnson, a 6-3 forward from Lombard, Ill., and Samarie Walker, a 6-1 swingman from Dayton, Ohio. The class is considered to be among the Top 5 in the country.
“Like every recruiting class, I think there’s a really good mix in our class of players,’’ Auriemma said. “We’ve got some big guards. We’ve got a big center. We’ve got some pretty athletic kids coming in. They’re all used to being in winning programs, which is obviously what we like. They all get along great. They all know each other from playing against each other every summer.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do when they get here. But I know that they all have potentially the ability to be really good players. They all love the game. They enjoy being in the gym. And, you know what, recruiting them was (a snap). These kids all wanted to come to Connecticut. That’s everything to me. It didn’t take a whole lot to convince them that this was the place for them. And that, to me, means they’re going to be really, really good players because they’re where they want to be. They’re playing where they want to play.’’

Rich

Kaili McLaren will not play today after twisting her right foot in practice Friday. She has a boot on her foot and is listed day-to-day.
Lorin Dixon (hamstring) is also out, leaving the Huskies with nine healthy players.

Rich

Here’s an interesting tidbit pertaining to Northeastern head coach Daynia La-Force Mann … She was once recruited by UConn – and even made a visit – before signing with Georgetown.
La-Force Mann had two points in three minutes as the Hoyas defeated the Huskies 64-62 at Gampel Pavilion Feb. 27, 1993. Georgetown finished 23-7 that season, shared the Big East regular season championship with Miami and reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.
That was the last time the Hoyas beat UConn and it is their only NCAA tournament appearance.
Here are coach Geno Auriemma’s thoughts on recruiting La-Force Mann and beyond.
“That was a long time ago, at a time that I don’t know if we were Connecticut and I don’t know if a kid felt compelled to come here,’’ Auriemma said. “I just remember how much I liked her as a person and how highly I thought of her. I think, as a player, she could have helped us tremendously back then.
“I run into her all the time during the summer when we’re out recruiting. She does a great job. She’s in the Jen (Rizzotti), Jamelle (Elliott), Tonya (Cardoza) mode that they got into coaching and went out and got their own programs. I’m really happy for her.’’
La-Force Mann, who was the head coach at New Haven in 2005-06, is in her fourth season at Northeastern.

Rich