UConn women's basketball

The debut of UConn’s reality-based show that will air on ESPNU has been pushed back to Feb. 26 at 3:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. The show was to begin tomorrow.
It will also air March 5 at 3:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., March 19 at 4:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. and April 2 at 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

Rich

Harriet Unger, the executive producer of national programming and UConn women’s basketball at CPTV, passed along an e-mail today in an attempt to clear up any misunderstanding of whether or not CPTV will broadcast the Senior Day events Feb. 27 prior to UConn’s game against Georgetown at the XL Center at noon. It is the Big East Game of the Week, but the answer is a resounding YES!!!
Unger said CPTV will air the ceremony, which is slated to begin at 11:37 a.m., live with Meghan Culmo and Beth Mowins. Below is the day’s complete schedule of UConn coverage on CPTV:

9 a.m. – Geno Show with special guests Bob Joyce and Kara Wolters of WTIC Radio
10 a.m. – A Tribute to the Class of 2010
11:30 a.m. – Senior Ceremony (Live from the XL Center)
12 p.m. – UConn vs. Georgetown
x-2:15 p.m. – A Tribute to the Class of 2010 replay
x-3:30 p.m. – Witness To Perfection: UConn Women’s Basketball 2009
x-time approximate

Don’t forget … My weekly live chat will be tomorrow at noon.

Rich

A look back at Monday’s UConn-Oklahoma game:
TURNING POINT – The Huskies trailed by one three times in the first four minutes of the second half. Trailing 39-38, they went on a 22-8 run to seize control. Maya Moore and Tina Charles each had six points in the run. Kalana Greene had four. Tiffany Hayes and Caroline Doty had three.
“I think in the second half we did a much better job of just doing the things we execute in practice,’’ Moore said. “Coach (Geno Auriemma) always says there’s not many things that we haven’t seen from other teams at this point. So we know if we can do it. We just had to all get on the same page. I think in the second half, in general, we just had a different mindset so really whatever defense they had I feel like we attacked it much better than anything we did in the first half.’’
UNSUNG HERO – Greene scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half and added six rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes. She was also 6-of-9 shooting – 4-of-5 in the second half – after going 2-of-12 against St. John’s Saturday.
“I thought it was a great second half by her because I thought the first half she passed up a couple opportunities,’’ Auriemma said.
BEST ‘X’ AND/OR ‘O’ – The Huskies thrive off of their ability to shut down the opposition with their man-to-man defense. But it was a zone look that caused trouble for Oklahoma in the second half as they broke it open.
The Sooners were 3-of-14 during UConn’s game-changing run.
“We tried to mix it up a little bit and going zone I wanted to just give our team a chance to maybe not have to work so hard on the defensive end, not pick up any more fouls,’’ Auriemma said. “And I was hoping they would be a little tired too and they wouldn’t have the legs to make some 3s. So we took a shot at it. We generally are not a zone team, but it worked out well for us.’’
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS – Every seat had a pink “Pack the Place Pink’’ t-shirt draped on it before the game. Nearly every seat was occupied as a season-high 11,865 fans were on hand and they were spectacular. “When we were scheduling this game and they (ESPN) said will you play it in February so we can make it a Pink Out game I said absolutely it will be full,’’ Sooners coach Sherri Coale said. “It didn’t cross my mind that it would not be full. That’s what Oklahoma fans do.’’… Sooners football coach Bob Stoops was seated on the baseline. … Fans seated courtside and on the baseline were treated to waitress service. … Current assistant coach Shea Ralph scored the 1,000th point of her career in UConn’s first trip to the Lloyd Noble Center Dec. 29, 1999. That game drew 10,713. “We came out here 10 years ago as like a favor to Sherri and because we had two kids from out here – Stacy (Hansmeyer) and Paige (Sauer),’’ Auriemma said. “So we were trying to accomplish two things. Stacy and Paige play a game back where they grew up and Sherri to get a chance to show everybody in Norman what big-time college basketball looks like. We came out here (Monday) and they showed us what big-time college basketball looks like. They’ve come a long way in 10 years. I’m really happy for them. I’m thrilled that in the beginning we were there to help. I just hope they continue to be good hosts every time we come down here and let us win.’’
LOOKING AHEAD – The Huskies (26-0, 12-0 Big East) will have four days off before hosting Providence at the XL Center Saturday at 1 p.m.
BY THE NUMBERS
0 – Bench points vs. Oklahoma
5 – Fouls committed by Greene; She had 43 in the first 25 games
178 – Minutes played by UConn starters out of a possible 200 Monday

Rich

Caroline Doty made only two shots in 10 attempts in Monday’s 76-60 win at No. 11 Oklahoma. She started by missing her first seven (six 3-pointers).
But often times it’s not how many you make, it’s when you make them. And Doty hit the one shot that she needed to in the second half to help power a 22-8 run that considerably altered the complexion of the game.
Doty connected on 3-pointer with 11:37 left to give UConn a 49-41 lead. She finished with just five points. However, she also added four rebounds, four assists and one steal in a career-high 38 minutes.
“That’s something that I think all of us would say we’re really proud of Caroline is the fact that she came in and contributed and she didn’t have to necessarily score a lot of points or hit a lot of 3s,’’ junior Maya Moore said. “She hit shots that she needed to. She was confident the entire game. She’s our floor leader along with Tiffany (Hayes) … and when Lorin (Dixon) came in. So I’m really proud of her and I think that by her playing a great game without scoring gives us confidence.’’

The Huskies played at the Lloyd Noble Center for the first time since Dec. 29, 1999. If things had worked out differently a few years ago it could have been Geno Auriemma’s home too, and not just that of good friend Sherri Coale.
There was a time back in 2006 when Auriemma was being courted by Oklahoma to fill the vacant men’s basketball head coaching slot after Kelvin Sampson left for Indiana after 12 seasons amidst a firestorm of controversy.
Auriemma did not feel it was the right time for such a move. He stayed put. And he has kept winning.
“I don’t think of it,’’ Auriemma said. “The more I’m involved in this, the more I see. I just really enjoy the games. I enjoy where I am. I enjoy coaching. I enjoy the pressure that comes from having to win every game. God forbid if we play a close game. Everybody’s in a panic. It’s something that I’ve almost kind of grown up with the last 10 years or so, 15 years. So I try not to think about what could’ve been, what might’ve been, any of that other stuff.’’
Current Sooners coach Jeff Capel was ultimately hired at Oklahoma April 11, 2006.

One of the battles inside the battle that was waged Monday was between 6-foot UConn junior forward Maya Moore and 6-1 Oklahoma senior forward Amanda Thompson. It was physical and there was a lot of production.
Moore finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes. Thompson registered 16 points and 13 rebounds in 40 minutes.
“It was fun,’’ Thompson said. “It was a great opportunity to play against her. She’s a great player and I just felt like I just wanted to match it. I just wanted to have fun. And it was fun out there. It was a battle.
“She’s real aggressive and she tries to body you down there. And she couldn’t do that (Monday). And that’s why she didn’t have like 30 (points). She did awesome, but I wasn’t a punk either.’’

Rich

UConn’s reality-based show will first air on ESPNU Friday at 3:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. It will also air
March 5 at 3:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., March 19 at 4:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. and April 2 at 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

Rich

Of no surprise, senior Tina Charles was named the Big East Player of the Week today for the fifth time this season. It is the most by a UConn player in a single season since Diana Taurasi was honored five times in 2002-03.
Nykesha Sales set the Big East record, one that she shares with former Louisville All-American Angel McCoughtry, with seven awards in 1998-98. Rebecca Lobo was named six times in 1993-94. Sales and Lobo were subsequently named the Big East Player of the Year in their respective seasons.
Charles, who became the 12th player inducted into the Huskies of Honor Saturday, averaged 22.0 points (19-of-31 FG), 13.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in wins over DePaul and St. John’s last week. She had 25 points and a career-high 21 rebounds in 40 minutes Saturday against the Red Storm. It makes you wonder what her numbers would be like if she played more than the 24.8 minutes she is averaging over the 138 games in her All-American career.

Kaili McLaren’s senior season of inconsistency took another turn for the worst Saturday when she did not play against the Red Storm. It was the third game she has missed this season. However, she was kept out of the season opener against Northeastern due to an injured right foot injury.
“Sometimes you just play teams, it’s like Villanova, where you can’t play two big guys,’’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “I maybe should’ve gotten her in for Tina a couple times, but I didn’t want to take Tina out. And in a game like this, Meghan (Gardler’s) really important. Defensively because she matches up pretty well, and physically because of what she’s going to do. And she’s going to set good screens. So I thought about it, but it just didn’t seem to fit.’’
McLaren has played a total of 37 minutes over the last five games. She has not played more than 10 minutes since logging 21 against Rutgers Jan. 26.

Check out ESPN’s Outside the Lines today at 3 p.m. According to the release, the show will center on the “Contrasting fortunes of UConn’s women’s (dominance) and men’s (Calhoun’s future?) teams.’’

Rich

Junior guard Lorin Dixon did not put in the necessary time academically as a freshman in order to prosper. She said she was lazy. Arriving at UConn in 2007, she believed everything would be handed to her on a “silver platter’’ and that she wouldn’t have to work as hard as everyone else to earn success in the classroom.
Coach Geno Auriemma provided her with a stiff wake-up call during the NCAA tournament that season when she was benched for the first two rounds at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport. Dixon was forced to return to campus on the off-day between games to attend classes in statistics, anthropology and economics.
“I think I was just in shell shock when I came up here,’’ Dixon said. “I wasn’t expecting school to be this way. I wasn’t mature enough coming into college to be ready for it. I didn’t realize the work that had to be put in. That might have been the most embarrassing thing ever for me because you want to be with your team and you’re in the tournament. It was a place I had never been before because me and Maya (Moore) were freshmen. Just to be sent home. I thought I let my team down and I thought I embarrassed my family and the program. And I put myself in that situation to not be there for my team. That really took a toll on me.’’
That sequence of events trigged a change in Dixon. She began to more work diligently on her academics, determined never to let anything remotely close to that happen again.
“They say your character is the way you are when nobody’s watching,’’ Dixon said. “You can’t just be playing basketball up here. They’re trying to make you into an overall good person and that has to do with academics, basketball and how you carry yourself off the court.’’
Dixon completed her comeback Saturday when she was among eight players honored at halftime of UConn’s 66-52 victory over No. 25 St. John’s for earning a 3.0 grade point average either in the 2009 spring or fall semester. Not only is she enjoying her most productive year on the court for the Huskies, she now too is enjoying success off the court.
It is a sign of maturity and growth. And, right now, Dixon has never been stronger.
“It was something I wanted to see if I could do, and now that I have done it I want to keep myself there,’’ Dixon said. “The coaches were really happy for me. It’s a different year this year, and I’m just trying to do better for my team in all aspects. So that was just something I committed myself to and my teammates definitely did help me out with that.’’
Said Auriemma: “You know when you go to college you’re supposed to grow up. If you stay the same that you were in high school, then what’s the point? So she came to college thinking one thing, and hopefully is leaving thinking something different. In high school she was an OK student. And if you come to college and just want to be an OK student and play basketball, I don’t know that that’s going to work. So she’s worked really hard to become better than just OK. And I’m happy for her because I know how far she’s come. And I know how hard she’s worked. As have all the other ones. To some of them it comes easy and to some it doesn’t come as easy. But regardless of how you do it, to play basketball at this level and to travel the way we do and to have the commitments that we have and still be able to do that, I think that’s very impressive. That says a lot about who these kids are and what they stand for and what they value.’’
Heather Buck, Tina Charles, Caroline Doty, Kelly Faris, Jacquie Fernandes, Kaili McLaren and Moore were also be honored Saturday.
“Last year we had nine, but we had 14 players, though,’’ Moore said. “It was a higher percentage this year. It just goes to show you that we’re more than just basketball players. I feel like a lot of times you can learn work ethic on the court and you can know how to win on the court, and then you get off the court and you don’t carry anything over. Not just for school but how you treat people, your relationships, planning for your future careers. All the little things that you try to do to get ahead. We’re a competitive bunch, so I feel like we carry that over to the classroom. I know I do. I am going to get a higher GPA hopefully this semester than last semester. That’s just how we think.’’

Rich