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UConn will play the Georgetown/Syracuse/Seton Hall-winner in the Big East tournament quarterfinals Sunday at the XL Center at 2 p.m.
Here are the seedings for the tournament, which will be held in Hartford Friday through March 8 …
1. UConn
2. DePaul
3. Notre Dame
4. Rutgers
5. Marquette
6. Louisville
7. St. John’s
8. Georgetown
9. Syracuse
10. West Virginia
11. Providence
12. Pittsburgh
13. South Florida
14. Villanova
15. Cincinnati
16. Seton Hall
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The most emotional night of the season has once again arrived for the Huskies. Senior Night is here. There have been a number of memorable ceremonies over the years as the program and the fans have paid homage to the players for their contributions throughout their career. But when Lorin Dixon and Maya Moore are honored tonight at Gampel Pavilion at approximately 7:13 it figures to be one of the most memorable in team history.
Moore, who is one of the best players to ever play the game, said she has tried to think about it. What she doesn’t want to think about is how emotional she will be when she walks on the court accompanied by her mother, Kathryn.
“I know every Senior Day I’ve cried. Maybe not like falling on the floor crying, but I’ve definitely cried because it’s an emotional thing,’’ Maya Moore said. “This experience is something that requires your emotion. We’re not just dead robots running around out there on the floor and hanging out with each other. This is a family. So to think that you’re wrapping it up now it’s going to be very emotional. I don’t know. I’ve never had that experience before a game so I don’t know if that’s going to make it worse or maybe make me more reserved. But I know it’ll be an emotional moment. I’ll just make sure that I wear my waterproof mascara.’’
Sophomore Kelly Faris is not sure who will cry more, Moore or Dixon or even Huskies’ coach Geno Auriemma. Her bet is on Moore, though.
“I don’t think Lorin will cry that much, if she does,’’ Faris said. “I think Maya will some. I don’t know that she’ll bawl, but she’ll cry. Coach? I didn’t know he was capable of crying until last year. That kind of stunned me. Who will cry the most on the team? It might be Caroline (Doty). Stefanie (Dolson) wouldn’t surprise me. That girl cries over everything. She’s a crier. Nothing wrong with that.’’
Here are Auriemma’s thoughts on tonight’s festivities and Senior Night, in general …
“Every single Senior Night has its own unique characteristics,’’ Auriemma said. “Sometimes you’ve got five seniors or six seniors and it’s like a love fest out there and everybody loves everybody. And this year it’s one of the smaller classes with Lorin and Maya, but we’re, for sure, losing two kids to graduation that couldn’t be at two more opposite ends of the spectrum. One who’s had to struggle and fight and scratch and claw for every little thing that she’s gotten since she’s been here in the classroom and on the court. And one who kind of planted her flag when she got here four years ago and has kind of owned the territory for four years. So the emotions I think are going to be one extreme to the other. It’s not often that you lose the leading scorer in the history of the school and it’s not often that you do it back-to-back years. So it’s a little bit different, obviously. And there’s no way to prepare for something like that. You just kind of know it’s coming and you hope that it’s as special and it’s as kind of inspiring as I think it’s going to be for everybody. Mostly for the parents, you know. I’ve been to a lot of Senior Nights at other places watching kids play and it’s always the same. The parents are beaming from ear to ear and so happy for their kids, and the kids are trying to play it off like, `Yeah, you know, it’s no big deal.’ And in the end Senior Night is more special I think at Connecticut than it is anywhere else. I think what we do for the kids here and the way they’re treated by the fans on Senior Night I think it’s unlike anywhere else.’’
Rich
Maya Moore had not yet played her first game at Gampel Pavilion. In fact, she had not yet signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the UConn women’s basketball team when she first found herself taking the time to gaze at the inductees in the Huskies of Honor.
Names such as Bascom, Lobo, Wolters, Rizzotti, Ralph, Abrosimova, Taurasi and Bird epitomize the greatness of the program. Moore said this wall is like a museum. Monday night, she will become its next exhibit.
Moore will become the 13th player inducted into the Huskies of Honor during a pregame ceremony prior to No. 1 UConn facing Syracuse in the regular season finale at Gampel Pavilion (7:30; CPTV).
“That’s a special wall,’’ Moore said. “There’s so much history, so many great players have walked on the court whose names are up there. And just looking at all the names… So it means a lot to me. Some players who play aren’t necessarily big fans at the college level. But I’m a huge fan. So I think I realize how special it is to have the opportunity to be up there because it’s so hard because of all the great players who’ve walked through here.’’
The ceremony will be one of four that Moore will participate in in her final regular season game. Along with Lorin Dixon, she will be recognized during the pregame Senior Night festivities. Moore will also be honored at halftime with Heather Buck, Caroline Doty and Kelly Faris for earning a 3.0 GPA during the 2010 spring or fall semester. And after the game, UConn will be presented with the Big East championship trophy and championship T-shirts in the wake of clinching its fifth straight regular season championship (19th overall) at Georgetown Saturday.
It will be quite a celebratory night for a player who has achieved greatness during her career with the Huskies (28-1, 15-0 Big East). Her induction into the Huskies of Honor has been a forgone conclusion since her freshman season when she was named a first team All-American, which is the stipulation implemented by UConn coach Geno Auriemma for a player to qualify for induction.
Moore is the all-time leading scorer in UConn and Big East history with 2,848 points. She is ranked second in team history in made 3-pointers (293), third in rebounding (1,190), fourth in steals (289) and blocks (193) and eighth in assists (522).
“There’s some things that are just such a foregone conclusion that’s it’s almost anti-climatic,’’ Auriemma said. “I think the only people that would be shocked and surprised when her name goes up there probably don’t live anywhere near a television. But that’s as good a wall as there is in America. Maybe that’s as good a wall as there is in the world of women’s basketball. And to add (Moore), if anybody was even close to having a wall like that, this just solidifies it. This guarantees that that’s the No. 1 wall in all of America.’’
Moore is averaging 23.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.2 blocks in 32.6 minutes this season. She has led the Huskies to within one win of their third straight unbeaten season in the Big East. A win over Syracuse (21-7, 9-6) would also give them their eighth unbeaten season in conference play since the 1994-95 season.
It will unquestionably be an emotional night for Moore. Yet, it won’t be until after the season ends that she allows herself to truly reflect on the significance of her spot in the Huskies of Honor.
To Moore, there are two more championships to be won before she moves on for good.
“It is something I don’t think I can wrap my mind around right now,’’ Moore said. “It would be a shame to get distracted at this point in the year whether it’s a good thing or not a good thing. But it’s exciting to know that after this season if we end it the way I want to, that’ll be something special to talk about.’’
Rich
From Jefferson City, Mo. to Storrs, Conn., there have been many people that have touched the life of Maya Moore. They have helped her grow as an individual and as an athlete, helped her form her core values and shape her work ethic and passion to succeed in life and athletics.
Moore has become an iconic young woman over the course of her career with the UConn women’s basketball team. She is recognized as the top player in the sport today.
Yet, while many people have made an impact in her life there is one person that stands above the rest. It is a person who has been with her every day of her life, helping her to overcome the hurdles that life put in her path. It is her mother, Kathryn. Maya’s teammate in life.
“She’s more than a teammate,’’ Maya Moore said. “I know she’s going to be on my side. We’d do anything for each other. And definitely a teammate as far as you work hard with your teammates … You have preseason workouts and you go through crazy practices and when games come you feel that sense of `that’s my sister out here.’ So I feel the same way with my mom. It’s like we’ve gone through a lot of things. We moved when I was a kid and just kind of being on our own for a little while. We’ve been through a lot of things that brought us closer. So it’s kind of like that unspoken bond that you know you have with that person that I have with my mom.’’
The impenetrable bond between mother and daughter was evident minutes after Maya was born June 11, 1989. A nurse wanted to take Maya to the nursery, which would allow Kathryn to get some rest.
Kathryn was not concerned with getting any rest. What she needed was to hold Maya and to have her only child near. As a single mother, she has raised Maya to be a strong, intelligent young woman with a future that seems to be without limits.
Maya will be named a four-time first team All-American next month. She will be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft April 11. Endorsement deals are certain to follow.
“We’ve been very close since the very beginning,’’ Kathryn Moore said. “I consider her more than just a daughter. We’re very best friends. We’re partners. Hopefully, that will continue depending on how things unfold at the next level. I look forward to continue to be there as a partner and helping her in whatever she decides to get into.’’
Kathryn and Maya lived in Jefferson City, Charlotte, N.C. and Lawrenceville, Ga. until Maya graduated from Collins Hill High School in Georgia. Each time Kathryn was looking out for Maya, looking to the best opportunities that would allow her to grow on many levels.
Maya tried her best to put up an independent front when the time to head off to college was closing in. She was going to make the trip by herself. However, she lowered that front in a hurry once she committed to play at UConn.
“When I actually verballed I’m like, `You’re moving, right,’’’ Maya Moore said. “Because her and I … We’ve just been traveling a lot. She’s not afraid to move. I’m not afraid to move. But it did help the fact that I knew she’d be willing to come up. And I think it was a great decision because it made my life a lot smoother and allowed me to focus a lot on school and basketball.’’
Together, they have found another home in Connecticut over the past four years as both have become a part of the UConn community. Kathryn has been on hand for the home games and local regular season road games of significance, such as the game against Ohio State Dec. 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City when UConn tied UCLA’s record with its 88th straight win. She has also been in attendance at the NCAA regionals and the Final Four in Tampa, Fla., St. Louis, Mo. and San Antonio.
When they walk onto the court together at Gampel Pavilion Monday night during Senior Night festivities it will punctuate the journey the two have been a part of now for nearly 22 years. Mike Dabney, Maya’s father and a basketball star at Rutgers in the mid-1970s, attends games. But he still does not occupy an active role in her life. It remains a subject that Maya prefers not to discuss.
“I really haven’t thought about (Senior Night) a whole lot,’’ Maya Moore said. “I have thought about it in that I know I’m going to be crying. Ugly cry. But it’ll be really special to have her there to share in it and to be right there with me. I think it’s really special to how we do it with our parents. It’s going to be a special moment for her. I know it’s going to bring her a lot of joy. And it’s cool because she is a part of this community now too. So I know people will embrace her. So that’s even more special I think the fact that she’s a part of this community and gets to share in it and know that are a lot of them are clapping for her.’’
The night will also serve as an official coronation for Maya as she will become the 13th player inducted into the Huskies of Honor. It is fitting, too, that Kathryn will be with her to share in this moment reserved for only the greatest players in the history of the program. The ovation should be thunderous.
“She is definitely a great young woman,’’ Kathryn Moore said. “I’m very proud of her. The type of young woman she’s grown to be it’s fulfilling to see that she’s having an impact off the court. Teammates and her community and her family and I think that’s something that every parent would want is to see that they are making a difference in the environments that they’re living in.’’
Fellow senior Lorin Dixon has been roommates with Maya for four years. She has seen firsthand the relationship shared between Maya and Kathryn. It’s a relationship she admires.
“They have a really special relationship, her and her mom,’’ Dixon said. “They are extremely close. And that’s something that I think helps her a lot. When you have somebody in your life like that that is always there for you every step of the way it’s kind of like somebody she can always fall back on, somebody she knows is always in her corner and will always be there. So their relationship is really special.’’
Kathryn had witnessed Maya achieve success at various levels while she was growing up. Maya won her first national championship of any kind on the AAU circuit as a member of the Georgia Magic when she was 14. She won three state championships at Collins Hill.
But despite this level of success in the past, Kathryn could not have predicted that Maya would reach the heights she has reached with the Huskies. She is considered one of the best players to ever play the game.
“When she was very young I saw greatness,’’ Kathryn Moore said. “Anything that she was to do with her career or her life I think she would do great things. I never imagined, though, that it would be quite like this. It was just amazing to me. I guess amazing and awesome are the words that I would use that it continued to grow and grow.’’
Moore is the all-time leading scorer in UConn and Big East history with 2,848 points. She is currently ranked 13th all-time in Division I in scoring and is on pace to become only the seventh player to reach 3,000 points.
Moore is also the only women’s basketball player in Division I history to reach 2,500 points, 1,000 rebounds (1,190), 500 assists (522), 250 steals (289) and 150 blocked shots (193). She is ranked second in team history in made 3-pointers (293), third in rebounding, fourth in steals and blocks and eighth in assists.
When it comes to Kathryn’s perception of Maya and her unworldly success, she views her as her daughter and as a great player.
“Both, absolutely. Because I definitely see her as one of the great players,’’ Kathryn Moore said. “I do see her like that. Although, there are some great kids out there. So I just like to see that maybe she’s had an impact on raising the level of the game and taking a part in that and seeing that the young ones coming behind her that are being pushed to do more and more great things. So I’m hoping that’s the impact she’s had.’’
The impact Maya has had on the game is undeniable. She will leave UConn as the most decorated player in team history. She is destined to be a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team and beyond. And Kathryn has been, and will be, by her side.
Maya said that her mother has been the single biggest influence on her life. Their relationship is one that she has always cherished.
“It’s hard to think about because she’s just there,’’ Moore said. “You don’t really think about all the ways she impacts you or all the ways she’s impacted me. But I know that she’s given me a good home environment to grow up in. I always felt like I had a safe, healthy, loving home with my mom. And just seeing how dedicated she was to me and our family, just working hard every day to forwarding my basketball dreams has made me want to work that much harder. I know she finds joy in seeing me succeed. I’d do anything for her.’’
Rich
Sophomore post player Heather Buck will miss a minimum of two weeks due to a stress reaction in her left ankle, UConn announced today. Buck sustained the injury in practice Thursday.
The loss of Buck, who is averaging 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 9.3 minutes this season, leaves the top-ranked Huskies with only eight healthy players.
Rich
UConn-bound senior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, a 6-foot wing from Anaheim, Calif., has been named the State Farm/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) High School Player of the Year, it was announced today.
Mosqueda-Lewis, who is regarded as the top player in the Class of 2011, is averaging 22 points for Mater Dei High (27-1). She has scored at least 20 points in 20 games this season, at least 30 in three and is the sixth WBCA High School Player of the Year that has been signed by UConn. Elena Delle Donne (2008), Maya Moore (2007), Tina Charles (2006), Ann Strother (2002) and Tamika (Williams) Raymond (1998) are others.
“Kaleena’s remarkable achievements, both on and off the court, make her truly deserving of this prestigious award,’’ State Farm Marketing Vice President Pam El said.
Mosqueda-Lewis will be formally honored during a press conference announcing the State Farm Coaches’ All-America Team and the State Farm Wade Trophy recipient at the Final Four in Indianapolis April 2.
Rich
Senior All-American Maya Moore was been named the Academic All-America of the Year in the University Division for the second straight season today. She is the first player in the University Division to twice win the award.
Moore, an Individualized major with a 3.70 GPA, was named to the Academic All-America Women’s Basketball University Division team for the third time. She was also a first-team twice last season, while being earning second-team honors as a sophomore in 2008-09.
“It’s something we don’t talk about as much,’’ Moore said. “So whenever I find out from (the media) that it happened, it’s kind of like, `Wow.’ It’s been something that just makes me think back to just high school and taking AP classes and always having a challenging schedule. Just really getting a positive educational experience growing up so that when I got to college I wanted to be a good student. I wanted to learn. I wanted to engage with my professor and fellow students in class and really just try to soak up as much of the academic environment as I could being a Connecticut women’s basketball player. So it makes me proud. I know it makes my family proud and my teammates and any of my fellow students that I worked on projects with or anybody who has helped, professors who helped me along the way. Academically, I know it’s cool to know people feel a sense of pride with it, as well.’’
Moore, an Individualized major with a 3.70 GPA, was named to the Academic All-America Women’s Basketball University Division team for the third time. She was also a first-team pick the last two seasons, while earning second-team honors as a sophomore in 2008-09.
Leigh Curl (1984, ’85) Wendy Davis (1992), Rebecca Lobo (1994, ’95), Jen Rizzotti (1995, ’96), Ann Strother (2006) have also earned Academic All-America honors for the Huskies.
“I think it’s just an extension of what Maya is,’’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Maya’s a lot like Jen Rizzotti in that respect. The same intensity level and the same passion and the same kind of attention to detail and focus that you see on the court every time you watch them play. If you were to talk to any of their professors they would tell you that’s the same exact approach they bring to class. That’s probably the closest one that I can remember, those two. And I think Maya … Some kids get awards because they’re just naturally gifted, and that might be the case in Maya’s career. She’s naturally gifted. But you don’t get to where she is right now without taking those gifts and then working extremely hard, harder than anybody, to make sure that you get the most out of it. And that’s what she’s done. She’s done it every day, 365 days a year ever since she’s gotten here.’’
Heather Buck injured her left ankle and missed part of practice today. She was wearing a boot and using crutches afterward. However, she said it was only a precaution.
Rich
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