UConn women's basketball

Starting guard Tiffany Hayes sustained a sprained left ankle with 17:30 left in the first half in the Huskies’ 83-51 victory over Cincinnati tonight. She was called for a foul on a play in the lane and immediately fell to the ground.
Hayes was helped off the court by team trainer Rosemary Ragle and team doctor Tom Trojian before limping to the training room with 15:56 left. She returned to the bench about four minutes later and was in good spirits. She sat out the remainder of the game for precautionary reasons.
Her status for Saturday’s game against No. 7 North Caroline Saturday at Gampel Pavilion is unclear at this juncture.
“As of right now all I know is she’s got a sprained ankle that’s pretty swollen,’’ Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said. “So we’ll see what we can do about it tonight and tomorrow and see if she can practice a little bit. And then do some more of that and see of she can go Saturday. Obviously, we don’t have a replacement for her. We’re not two-deep at every position contrary to what people think. We don’t have the seven best players in America. We have the two best players. So everything beyond that is kind of a fine line. I don’t want to think about playing Saturday without her. Let’s put it that way.’’

Rich

Seventh-ranked North Carolina is likely to be without talented 5-foot-10 freshman guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt Saturday against the Huskies at Gampel Pavilion. Ruffin-Pratt sustained a dislocated right shoulder last Saturday against Winston-Salem State.
North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said today that she isn’t even sure Ruffin-Pratt will be in uniform for the nationally televised showdown. Ruffin-Pratt, who missed Wednesday’s game against Georgia Tech, is fourth on the team in scoring (8.3), second in rebounding (6.3) and third in steals (1.4) in 21.3 minutes in 13 games (nine starts) this season.
“She dislocated her shoulder and it popped out completely and they put it back in,’’ Hatchell said. “They’re going to put a harness on her. But her other shoulder is that way, too. So she’s going to be in a double harness. I don’t know if she will be able to even shoot the basketball. I don’t know if she’ll even dress out Saturday. We’ve still got to wait and see about that. But she had a pretty serious injury with that shoulder. Ruffin-Pratt is a tough kid. She’s physical. She’s very skilled. She’s a very intelligent basketball player. Even though she is a freshman, she’s not your typical freshman. But she is so restricted with those shoulder harnesses on her. This is a very talented kid, an All-American high school player that is a really good player. And she’s not been able to show how good of a player she is because of those shoulder harnesses on her. But as far as Saturday, we’ll just have to wait and see.’’
Sophomore Chay Shegog, a 6-5 post player, returned to action against Georgia Tech after missing the previous two games due to a concussion. She had 10 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes.
“She played last night,’’ Hatchell said. “It didn’t seem to bother her.’’
Shegog is third on the team in scoring (8.6) and third in rebounding (6.2) in 23.1 minutes in 12 games (10 starts) this season.
Hatchell purposely stopped the teleconference at one point to give a shout-out to the UConn fans.
“I’ve been coaching a long time and there’s a few places throughout the country that I’m not real crazy about going to play,’’ Hatchell said. “But UConn … This may be our fifth time coming up there. Win or lose, it’s a tremendous environment up there. The fans are fantastic. They’re fans of women’s basketball, and we’ve always been treated first-class there by the fans and the people in Storrs. I don’t mind coming up there and playing just because it’s such a great environment for women’s basketball and they do such a fantastic job. I love coming up there to play, win or lose. I may be saying something different Saturday after the game but I don’t think I will because the fans are so good. We’ve always been treated great, and I love the UConn fans.’’

Rich

Here’s the link for my live chat that will run from noon to 1 p.m. today. See you then.

Rich

Senior forward Kaili McLaren is expected to play tomorrow night when the Huskies host Cincinnati and former UConn player/assistant coach Jamelle Elliott at Gampel Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. McLaren did not play Monday against South Florida after landing wrong on her right ankle in practice Sunday.
McLaren, who missed the season opener against Northeastern Nov. 14 due to a sore right foot, fully participated in practice today. She said the injuries are unrelated.
“I’m alright,’’ McLaren said. “It’s a little better now. It was a little stiff. I practiced the whole practice so that was good.’’
McLaren was one of the players closest to Elliott, who spent the past 12 seasons as an assistant coach with the Huskies. McLaren said she is excited about seeing Elliott again and that the one word that comes to mind when she thinks about her is “excitement.’’
“She’s just always up about everything,’’ McLaren said. “We’ll probably see her first right after shootaround (Thursday) since they come on right after us. But just seeing her I know it’ll be crazy and everybody will be happy. I just can’t wait to see her when game time comes and the ovation she’s going to get when they introduce her.’’
McLaren said it will be different seeing Elliott on the opposing side of the court. And she might catch herself staring at Elliott during the game.
“I might say a couple words during the game,’’ McLaren said. “I’m excited for her. This is definitely new for her and different and I can’t wait to see what she does with that program.’’
There is little doubt that tomorrow night will be a memorable one for the Huskies and Elliott. For a variety of reasons, McLaren will also never forget the day last spring when Elliott informed the team that she had accepted the head coaching position at Cincinnati either.
“That was just a bad day,’’ McLaren said. “I woke up late and I didn’t know there was a meeting and I looked at my phone and I was already five minutes late. So I parked outside. I ran down here and then she told me and I just sat there. And then five minutes later I walked outside and I got a ticket on my car. So it was just a bad day all in all. When we lost Tonya (Cardoza to Temple) everybody was just kind of down and kind of out of it. And then the same thing happened with J. We kind of knew it was happening, but it was still kind of like, `uhhh.’ We knew we couldn’t be selfish and we had to be excited for her because she was taking a step in her life that she needed to make.’’

The Huskies will host the first ESPN College GameDay for women’s basketball at Gampel Pavilion Jan. 16. The live show will air at 10 a.m. The day will be capped by the matchup between No. 1 UConn and No. 3 Notre Dame at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
In an attempt by ESPN to gather some advance footage, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma wore a microphone during practice today and the Huskies filmed a promo for GameDay.
“Basically, it’s trying to fill time for the GameDay show,’’ Auriemma said. “They’re here all day so they’ve got to have a bunch of stuff to talk about. Typical TV, ESPN stuff. It usually involves making fun of (ESPN analyst) Digger (Phelps) somehow, someway.’’

Just a reminder: My weekly live chat will be held tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m.

Rich

The Huskies and Baylor are in the final stages of finalizing a home-and-home deal. UConn has signed the contract and sent it to Baylor. The contract, though, has not yet been returned.
The series would begin next season in Connecticut in what will be an early season made-for-TV event and will conclude during the 2011-12 season.
The Huskies already have high profile non-conference games scheduled against Oklahoma, North Carolina, Duke, Stanford, Florida State and Georgia Tech next season.

Rich

It has always been difficult for Geno Auriemma to play games against friends and former players. Whether they are against the likes of Jennifer Rizzotti, Doug Bruno or Harry Perretta, there is an uneasy feeling existing within Auriemma, especially when the games get out of hand.
Thursday’s game against Cincinnati won’t be easy either. Former Huskies standout and long-time assistant coach Jamelle Elliott will make her highly anticipated return to Gampel Pavilion for the first time as the head coach of the Bearcats.
Following Monday’s win over South Florida at the XL Center, in his typical wise-guy fashion Auriemma delivered a sarcastic jab in Elliott’s direction when he was asked about the game.
“Any surprises for Thursday? No,’’ Auriemma said. “We’re playing Cincinnati. Jamelle has won a lot of games at Gampel Pavilion as a player and as a coach. Thursday night is not going to be one of them. Not if I have anything to do about it. Jamelle’s coming over the house for dinner Wednesday night. That’s the most fun she’ll have while she’s in Connecticut.’’
In the 16 years she spent at UConn, Elliott certainly had her share of fun. She had a hand in 519 wins and five national championships in four years as a player and 12 as an assistant coach.
Elliott said during a conference call today that she is not exactly sure what she will be feeling when she walks into Gampel Pavilion for the first time as a member of the opposition.
“I would love to answer that question,’’ Elliott said. “I would love to tell you exactly how I’m going to feel, what my emotions are going to be like. Today, I know I’m not really looking forward to the emotions that I’m going to feel when I’m going to walk out there. I know they’re not going to be happy, laughter and all those types of things. I’m going to feel some emotions that are really sad. Obviously, I miss Connecticut and the people there and the team and the coaches and everything that goes with it. I spent half my life there and people ask me all the time, `Where are you from?’ And I say, `Washington D.C.’ But I also say that the place that I grew up and matured is the state of Connecticut and being around UConn and the people that are affiliated with that program.’’

South Florida coach Jose Fernandez has given Auriemma his share of Cuban cigars in recent years. He was looking for some reciprocation Monday night, looking, in particular, for a bottle of Auriemma’s wine.
“I told him all the Cuban cigars I’ve given him through the years and I can’t get a bottle of wine from him,’’ Fernandez said. “He’s got his own wine label now. … He’s going to mail it to me. We’ll see if I get it.’’
Auriemma’s response: “I told him, `Get your money out of your pocket.’ He’s Cuban. You know where he gets those cigars. He’s not paying for them. I know where he gets those cigars.’’

Maya Moore moved into the Top 10 in scoring at UConn Monday with 1,680 points. Here’s how much the accomplishment meant to her: “All I’m looking at is I had more turnovers (two) than assists (one),’’ Moore said. “So I’ve got to go and work on that.’’

If Tina Charles continues to average 17.1 points per game she would break Nykesha Sales’ team scoring record (2,178) in the semifinals of the Big East tournament March 8. She is on pace to score 2,527 career points if UConn reaches the NCAA tournament final. If Charles continues to average 8.4 rebounds per game she would break Rebecca Lobo’s team rebounding record (1,268) in the Big East tournament final March 9. She is on pace to finish with 1,322 career rebounds.

Caroline Doty was sick Sunday night and did not practice Monday. Her status was questionable prior to the game against South Florida. But she gutted out 14 minutes, finishing with seven points, three assists and no turnovers. She even forced a travel during a collision in the backcourt with Jasmine Wynne 67 seconds into the game.

Meghan Gardler has just five turnovers in 132 minutes over the last eight games.

Rich

Tina Charles was named the Big East Player of the Week for the second time in her career – both this season (Nov. 23) – today. She averaged 21.5 points on 62.5 percent shooting from the field, 8.5 rebounds in 26.0 minutes in wins over then-No. 12 Florida State and Seton Hall.

Rich

Seton Hall coach Phyllis Mangina has been on the wrong side of a lot of lopsided losses to the Huskies during her 25 seasons with the Pirates. Last season, UConn won 81-50. The outcome was even worse Saturday as the Huskies rolled 91-24 at the Prudential Center in Newark.
And the 67-point margin came with UConn receiving a season-high 37 points from its bench. When asked after the game to compare last season’s national championship team with this season’s unbeaten team, she delivered an extremely favorable review.
“It’s interesting,’’ Mangina said. “Renee (Montgomery) is one of the great players I think that played college basketball, especially in that position. For me, I think they transition even better than they did last year. I think they really get up and down. I love (Tiffany) Hayes and (Kalana) Greene. I think they’re even longer and even more athletic defensively. I think the biggest difference for me is what (Tina) Charles is doing. She’s just playing a whole other level. She’s the best big kid in the country I think anyway, but when she’s playing like that I don’t think there’s anybody close. So I think she’s a huge difference for them. And just her approach to the game. How tenacious she is now. I’ve watched every game they’ve played so far. I just think the last four games last year and all through this year she’s playing at a whole other level. And I think that can more than make up for the loss of Renee Montgomery in the backcourt. And I think Hayes and Greene have done a nice job. Plus, (Lorin) Dixon’s back a little bit. I just think they get up and down the floor even better than they did last year. They’re incredible.’’
For the record, the Huskies are averaging 14.3 points in transition this season. They averaged 11.0 in 39 games last season (15.0 through the first 12 games).

Rich