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You can add Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw to ever-growing Tina Charles Fan Club. Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flournoy might have been short with her comments after Charles torched the Hoyas for 33 points and 15 rebounds Saturday.
But McGraw had a lot to say following practice this afternoon. And why not, Charles finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds in a 70-46 victory over the Irish at Gampel Pavilion Jan. 16. She needs just 13 points and five rebounds at a sold-out Joyce Center tomorrow night to become UConn’s career leader in scoring and rebounding.
“She passed (Diana) Taurasi (on the scoring list),’’ McGraw said. “I didn’t think anybody was going to pass Taurasi. That is really remarkable. I, honestly, would’ve voted for her for Most Improved Player in the league as well as best player in the league. I just think she got that much better from last year. I think it’s amazing. We looked at tape from last year to this year. She’s really gotten a lot better. I’m really impressed with her. She’s not turning the ball over as much. And she’s just so much more efficient, really efficient. She’s scoring well. Her field goal percentage is good. She’s improved her range a little bit. Now you’ve got to guard her out away from the basket. And she’s playing with more of an intensity I think every minute.’’
McGraw even joked about using a gimmick defense in an attempt to try to contain Charles.
“We’re thinking about a box-and-1, with the box on her,’’ McGraw said. “I don’t think that’s going to work either. Maybe a triangle-and-2.’’

McGraw and the Irish are, obviously, hoping for a far different outcome in the rematch. They trailed 17-2 out of the gate last month and by as many as 26 in the first half.
Notre Dame established season-lows in scoring, points in a half (19, first), made field goals (18), field goal percentage (.269) and also committed 19 turnovers. Leading scorer Skylar Diggins, who is averaging 14.3, was held to six points – tying her season-low – on 2-of-13 shooting in 34 minutes.
“Just our attitude when we came out … We looked like we didn’t think we could win, I thought,’’ McGraw said. “I don’t know if (the game) should be out of our minds. I think we need to remember how poorly we came out and just have a different attitude. And I’ll be pleased if we come out with a good attitude. That’s something that has to be there from the tap.’’
Said senior guard Melissa Lechlitner: “That was pretty embarrassing for us. We didn’t play like we know how we can play. Individually, no one stepped up. And as a team we just kind of threw the game away. So it’s really important for us just to prove ourselves a little bit and show that we can play with them.’’

Notre Dame held its Senior Night last Tuesday against Marquette rather than tomorrow against the Huskies. The reason was because the game is being aired nationally on ESPN2. But Lechlitner thought it would have been fun to hold it with UConn in the house.
“It would’ve been, but I think with the TV game and everything it kind of interfered,’’ Lechlitner said. “So I think that was pretty much why we had to do it.’’

Senior Lindsay Schrader scored a team-high 12 points and played 24 minutes Saturday in her second game back after missing two with a sprained left ankle. She suffered the injury on a drive to the basket against DePaul Feb. 14.
Schrader, who continues to experience soreness, is averaging 14.5 points (13-of-20 FG) and 4.0 rebounds since her return. She is currently tied for second on the team in scoring (11.6) and is third in rebounding (5.4) in 25.3 minutes.
“Just getting her back it just makes such a difference for us because she’s a presence for us emotionally,’’ McGraw said. “Just having her out there I think is good for the rest of the team. So we’re happy to have her back. She’s not 100 percent yet, but it’s great to have her out there.’’

There is a strong likelihood that UConn-bound recruit Michala Johnson, a 6-foot-3 post player from Lombard, Ill., will be in attendance tomorrow.

Rich

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The day was almost perfect for All-American Tina Charles Saturday. It started with her being honored on Senior Day in the final regular season home game of her decorated career during an emotional pregame ceremony.
Charles then went out and took apart No. 13 Georgetown to the tune of a season-high 33 points and 15 rebounds in 38 minutes. She made 14 of the 16 shots she took, including a pull-up jumper in transition with 4:40 left in the first half that drew raves from her teammates.
Charles left the game to a standing ovation with 1:36 left in the second half. And she capped the day by grabbing hold of the Big East regular season trophy and posing for pictures with it during a postgame ceremony.
But there was one thing that was missing. Charles did not get the chance to attempt a 3-pointer, which was something she cleared with coach Geno Auriemma before the game.
“In the beginning of the season, I never took a 3-pointer in my life,’’ Charles said. “So in the beginning of the game I had asked him if I could take a 3. And he said, `yeah.’ But the way the game was going I didn’t want to chance it. So (when I came out of the game) I said, `You forgot about my 3.’ He said, `Do you want to go back in for it?’ And I was like, `No. That’s fine.’’
For the record, Charles has attempted one 3-pointer in her career. It came at Duke Jan. 18. But that one did not come in the flow of the offense. It was a desperation heave from well beyond the arc with the shot clock winding down.
“Let me tell you how bad Caroline (Doty’s) been shooting the ball,’’ Auriemma said. “Tina came up to me before the game and said, `Coach is all right if I shoot a 3 today?’ I said, `Sure.’ She goes, `Are you serious?’ I said, `Yeah.’ Meghan (Gardler) said, `We’re gonna run spread.’ I said, `Run it the first play and let her shoot it. What is she going to do miss any worse than Caroline’s been missing?’ Just shoot it. And if Caroline didn’t start hitting a couple like she did (Saturday), we were looking for alternatives.’’
One person who was not in on the agreement to set up Charles for a 3-pointer was Huskies associate head coach Chris Dailey.
“That was the whole point,’’ Charles said. “Not to tell her.’’

Charles was also hit with her second technical foul of the season after making a layup against Jaleesa Butler with 12:15 remaining in the game. In fact, it was Charles’ second in the past five games after being hit with one against St. John’s Feb. 13.
“I thought Caroline would have more techs than me,’’ Charles said. “I just had emotion. I just said, `And 1.’ And I guess it was just miscommunicated as to where I was facing when I said it.’’
“The next game she’s probably going to get ejected,’’ joked Kalana Greene said.
Butler was called for a personal foul and a technical on the play. Charles ultimately missed the free throw
“She was talking to us,’’ Greene then added.

During the postgame news conference Greene, Doty and Charles simultaneously yelled, “Pull-Up,’’ when Charles’s pull-up jumper was brought up.
“She’s the only center that runs down the floor like that,’’ Greene said. “Every time we watch film and we see everyone else jogging down the court we say, `Oh, yeah, Tina’s going to get a lot of fastbreak layups because she sprints the floor. Her game is not just inside. You’ve seen her at the foul line all year. I’m just surprised she pulled it up like that, like a guard. I won’t put it past her. She’s an All-
American. She was feeling it (Saturday). She should have given like a little shimmy afterwards or something.’’

With Maya Moore scoring 38 points at Syracuse Wednesday and Charles getting 33 against Georgetown, it was the third time in team history that the Huskies have had a player score at least 30 points in two straight games. Chris Gedney had 30 at UMass Jan. 23, 1980 and Cathy Bochain followed with
31 against Northeastern Jan. 26, 1980; Also, Svetlana Abrosimova had 39 at UCLA Nov. 17, 1998 and Shea Ralph followed with 30 against Washington Nov. 28, 1998.

Rich

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It has not been an easy couple of weeks for sophomore Caroline Doty. For a player who has long been recognized as a shooter, she entered today’s game against No. 13 Georgetown mired in an extensive slump.
Doty had been 10-of-39 shooting from the field and had made just 2-of-19 3-pointers over the last five games. Following a 1-of-7 (0-of-3) performance at Syracuse Wednesday, UConn coach Geno Auriemma told Doty to stay out of the gym during the Huskies’ off-day Thursday. The two then spoke about her situation Friday.
“She’s a very conscientious kid,’’ Auriemma said. “She wants to make them. She wants to be a good player. She wants to be a team leader. She wants to be that guard that you’re counting on all the time. So for her to come out every day and be reminded that you haven’t made any in a while, it’s hard on her because I know she’s prideful. We talked (Friday) about it.’’
Doty rediscovered her touch from long range against the Hoyas. She finished with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting (3-of-5 3-pointers) in 26 minutes. The first 3-pointer she made gave UConn the lead for good (25-22) with 9:38 left in the first half.
It was the first time Doty, who also had four assists and one turnover, made at least two 3-pointers in a game for the first time since making three at Louisville Feb. 7.
“It was definitely nice,’’ Doty said. “The emotions were flowing after a couple of them. But I sat down with Coach. He kind of was getting my head straight, thinking if your shots aren’t going in do other things. Make the right pass. Get however many assists, get a couple steals here and there and just try and control the offense. He said once you do that then shots will flow. Having these guys behind me 100 percent … And it was flowing today.’’

Tina Charles scored a season-high 33 points in 38 minutes against Georgetown. She needs 13 points at No. 8 Notre Dame Monday to overtake Nykesha Sales, who scored 2,178 points from 1995-98, and become the team’s all-time leader.
Auriemma quickly took a trip into the past Saturday, recalling when Sales became the leader by making an orchestrated layup at Villanova three days after she had ruptured her Achilles’ tendon against Notre Dame at Gampel Pavilion.
“No, she’s not (going to break the record),’’ Auriemma said laughing. “I’m not going to play her long enough (Monday). I get to decide who the leading scorer is in this program. So if she thinks she’s going to decide that, she’s got another thing coming.’’
Charles also needs only five rebounds to move past Rebecca Lobo (1,268) to become the leader in that category.
“Maybe that’s why I got choked up a little bit when she came out there,’’ Auriemma said. “I was tearing up going, `How did she score all these points and get all these rebounds? But it’s pretty amazing.’’
UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey, who provides instruction to the post players, was also in tears as Charles made her way to midcourt to accept her framed jersey.

Fans can purchase Big East regular season championship t-shirts on-line at www.huskydirect.com or at the UConn Co-op Store in Storrs.

UConn recruit Brianna Banks, a 5-foot-9 junior guard from Newnan, Ga., was among those in attendance today. So was UConn-bound point guard Bria Hartley. She has been a fixture at games this season.

When asked what makes Charles so difficult to defend, here’s what Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flournoy had to say: “She’s big and we’re not. We always struggle with post players because we’re not (big). We’re small.’’

Rich

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Tomorrow’s game against No. 13 Georgetown at the XL Center might start at noon. But don’t forget about the annual pregame Senior Day ceremony. Tina Charles, Jacquie Fernandes, Meghan Gardler, Kalana Greene and Kaili McLaren will all be honored during a ceremony that is slated to commence at about 11:40 a.m. So get to town as early as possible, especially with a sellout crowd of 16,294 expected to be on hand.
As usual, UConn coach Geno Auriemma will start all five seniors. Here is Auriemma’s take on this year’s senior class.
“Misfits who fit together very nicely,’’ Auriemma said. “Don’t ask me to explain why. They just do. I don’t think any of them have anything in common with each other. It’s the funniest thing. But you put them all together, and it kind of works. Maybe that’s why. They’re all so different. They have different backgrounds, different aspirations and certainly different levels of talent. And it works. They’ve won a lot of games (135-6). They’ve been here through a great four years. Regardless of what happens this year, they can go home and say they’ve played in two Final Fours and won a national championship and accomplished something that is hard to do.
“I think in most recruiting classes you’re going to find there are two players in that class. Certainly it’s been that way at Connecticut. If you recruit 4-5 players, there’s a pretty good chance two are going to be at a pretty high level that can play at a certain level to keep your program where it is or make it even better. Kalana would have left last year, and you have Kalana and Renee (Montgomery). This particular class is a little bit different. Certainly Tina is Tina. Coming out of high school everyone expected she would continue in college the great career she had in high school. And she certainly has done that. Everybody else was a little bit of a question mark. Can they play at this level? With Kaili there were questions about her conditioning. Meghan wasn’t recruited by certainly anything above the Atlantic 10, and even the Atlantic 10 schools were passing on her. She has become an integral part of what we’re doing. Jacquie’s story has already been written about not having any offers from basketball schools. So it turns out in this class you have two really high level players who have demonstrated they can play at the highest level, and others who have contributed in their own way to make it all work. I think that’s why this class, as different as they are, they have a pretty good group.’’
It could be a doubly special day for the seniors. The Huskies, who have won 67 straight games, will clinch their fourth straight Big East regular season championship outright with a win.
“I think that would be the cherry on top of the day if we end up beating Georgetown,’’ Gardler said. “Just the fact that we can hold the trophy up and I can show my family that doesn’t really get to come to a lot of games besides Villanova.’’

With three games in five days beginning with last night’s 70-39 victory over Jacksonville State at home in a makeup game from Dec. 20, Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flournoy rested starters Jaleesa Butler and Shanice Fuller.

Montgomery worked out with the Huskies at practice today. She’s in town to see her best friend, Greene, participate in Senior Day events.
“It’s just something that you don’t really want to miss, and I was free so why not,’’ Montgomery said.

Rich

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The Huskies’ reality based show, “The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection,’’ will debut Friday at 3:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The 30-minute program is part of a four-part series that will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the team.
Friday’s episode will feature ESPN’s College GameDay at Gampel Pavilion last month, Tina Charles’ induction into the Huskies of Honor, segments on the success of the sophomore class and the importance of bench play. Each episode is told through the words of the players and coaches.

There are less than 1,000 tickets remaining for Saturday’s game against No. 13 Georgetown at the XL Center.

Rich

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Maya Moore and Tina Charles were among 30 midseason finalists for the Naismith Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club was announced Thursday.
Moore won the award last season and is seeking to become the sixth player to be honored in back-to-back seasons since the women’s award was established in 1983. Former UConn All-American Diana Taurasi won the award in 2003 and 2004.
UConn, Ohio State, Stanford and Xavier each have two players on the list. St. John’s sophomore Da’Shena Stevens of Stamford was also named. 
The award will be presented at the Final Four in San Antonio in April. On March 22, fans will be able to text their votes for the player of their choice. Voting will end at 11:59 p.m. EST April 3. Standard messaging rates apply.
Fan voting will account for an unprecedented 25 percent of the final results.

Rich

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Here’s a look back at Wednesday’s UConn-Syracuse game:
TURNING POINT – Tiffany Hayes scored 10 straight points during a stretch of 97 seconds to jumpstart the Huskies offensively in the first half. The burst included back-to-back 3-pointers and a pull-up jumper that gave UConn a 19-9 lead with 13:21 left in the half. She had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting (2-of-3 3-pointers) at that point on her way to a 22-point effort. All of this came after she was a bit uneasy prior to tip-off.
“I knew it would be a fight coming here,’’ Hayes said. “Before the game I was kind
of nervous because I knew of the other things that went on in other
games with them. You have to stay composed in a game like this
because you know what you’re going to get. You have to stay together as a team. We did a good job.’’
UNSUNG HERO – Tina Charles. Syracuse made it a point to regularly blanket her in the lane, holding her to a season-low three points. She took just four shots – one shy of her career-low vs. South Florida Jan. 30, 2008 – in 25 minutes. However, she tied her career-high with four assists and added five rebounds and five blocks and did not commit a turnover.
“Tina was in the lane and they were going to put a couple people around her,’’ Auriemma said. “Tina didn’t have an offensive rebound. Maybe there weren’t many to get because Maya (Moore) got them all. And there weren’t a whole lot of shots to get because the other two guys were taking them all. But I thought Tina played great on the defensive the whole first half. There were just times when you couldn’t get near the basket against us. I think that’s what’s impressive about our team is Tina’s not sitting on the bench complaining about not getting the ball or complaining about not getting any shots. And she’s not complaining in the locker room about not getting any … She just sits there and listens to me complain about her not getting any offensive rebounds.’’
BEST ‘X’ AND/OR ‘O’ – Syracuse had outrebounded 22 of its first 26 opponents. Entering the game, the Orange was also leading the Big East in total rebounds (45.8) and offensive rebounds (17.7). But powered by a career-high 20 rebounds from Moore, the Huskies finished with a 50-30 advantage on the boards, including 30-11 in the first half.
The Orange finished with season-lows in rebounds and offensive rebounds (10).
“That was a huge part of the scouting report because we know Syracuse gets a lot of extra possessions by attacking the offensive glass,’’ Moore said. “So to make it a lot harder for them we had to rebound. So we knew coming in that was a must. And I’m really proud of the way our team tried to lead with that. Just be aggressive and go after the ball.’’
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS – Last season’s game between the teams ended with Nicole Michael trying to trip Auriemma following a verbal exchange in the postgame handshake line. Wednesday’s game ended with Hayes sporting a cut on her lower lip after bumping heads with Syracuse junior Erica Morrow as the two battled for a loose ball. Morrow was ejected for throwing a punch in the incident, a blow that caught by officials when they looked at the replay monitor at the scorer’s table.
“I just saw Tiffany come out of there holding her face and there was blood,’’ Auriemma said. “I heard somebody on the bench say, `I think she got punched.’ So the referee stopped the game and they said we’re going to check and then they saw it on the film.’’
Hayes said she did not realize the extent of her injury until after she had left the game. “I didn’t think it was that bad,’’ she said. “Then I looked in the mirror and saw it and was like, `Oh, wow. That’s not good.’’’ Morrow’s teammates and Orange coach Quentin Hillsman did take the time to ask Hayes about her health after the game. “Some of her teammates asked me if I was OK and the Coach apologized,’’ Hayes said. “I’m fine with them.’’… In the far from right category, Auriemma predicted that Moore would not have a strong game Wednesday. She had already secured her 10th double-double of the season with 8:43 left in the first half. “I said Maya was going to be horrible,’’ Auriemma said. “She had a bad shootaround. She was acting like her typical dopey self, like she always does. And then she missed the first couple shots and I said to the players on the bench, `You guys think I’m not that smart. I said that Maya was going to be out of it. See I’m right.’ Thirty-eight points and 20 rebounds later … They don’t listen to anything I say anymore. They think I’m crazy.’’ … Moore was asked which stat she appreciated more, 38 points or 20 rebounds. “Twenty rebounds, easy,’’ Moore said. “Hearing you can’t rebound, `You’re not a good rebounder’ every day at practice it feels good to come out and actually do what I know I can do.’’ … Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim and long-time friend of Auriemma was seated in the second row behind the hoop.
LOOKING AHEAD – The Huskies (28-0, 14-0 Big East) will look to clinch their fourth straight Big East regular season championship –18th overall – on Senior Day Saturday at the XL Center. Tina Charles, Jacquie Fernandes, Meghan Gardler, Kalana Greene, and Kaili McLaren will be honored during a pregame ceremony that is slated to commence at approximately 11:40 a.m.
BY THE NUMBERS
4 – Games with at least 30 points for Maya Moore in her career, tied for second all-time in team history (Kerry Bascom, 11)
16.7 – Rebounding average for Moore in three games vs. Syracuse
30.3 – Scoring average for Moore in three games vs. Syracuse

Rich

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