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UConn coach Geno Auriemma said that there is still is no surgery date set for sophomore guard Brianna Banks, who tore the ACL in her right knee at St. John’s Feb. 2. However, he said that in determining a date academics will be considered.

Auriemma cited that the first few weeks of a semester can be difficult for a student-athlete. The spring semester began Jan. 22. A possible timeframe for Banks’ surgery could come during the days around Spring Break March 17-23.

“I know that one of the things that we talked about was the hardest part of school for a basketball player is the first three, four weeks of a semester,’’ Auriemma said. “And it’s not ideal to all of a sudden be laid up after surgery at the beginning of the semester. So I think we’re going to have to look at the schedule and find out what works, what timeframe works best. But my guess is we’re going to give her a chance to do some rehab, get stronger and get herself in pretty good shape for this semester school-wise and then go from there.’’

Auriemma expects that Banks will be ready to play at the start of next season.

“I would think so,’’ Auriemma said. “We’ve certainly had our share. And if there’s anybody better than (team athletic trainer) Rosemary (Ragle) out there I don’t know who it is. So we’ve got great doctors. We’ve got great athletic training. And (Banks’ tear) was pretty clean cut. No other complications. Everybody’s body reacts differently. So all I know is we’ve done it. We’ve been through this before and not it’s just time unfortunately to go through it again.’’

Rich

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DePaul was originally scheduled to fly to Connecticut at noon Central Time Saturday. However, due to the fact that Bradley International Airport was closed due to Winter Storm Nemo, the Blue Demons were forced to fly in from Chicago this morning.

Here is the breakdown of DePaul’s travel schedule …

8:11 a.m. Central Time: DePaul left campus

9:33 a.m.: Board charter flight at O’Hare Airport

9:48 a.m.: Departed O’Hare

12:20 p.m. Eastern Time: Arrived at Bradley International Airport

1:04 p.m.: Bus arrived at Bradley International Airport; Its arrival was delayed by a tractor trailer accident

2:09 p.m.: Bus arrived at Gampel Pavilion

3:40 p.m.: Tip-off between UConn and DePaul

DePaul coach Doug Bruno refused to use this hectic travel schedule as an excuse for a 91-44 loss to UConn.

“I don’t want to minimize what our players went through, but at the same time I just saw (former UConn men’s basketball coach) Dee Rowe, and that’s what these teams did all the time, except they took buses,’’ Bruno said. “Five hours on a bus and then had to get out and play. It’s something that our athlete in today’s day and age isn’t used to, but that’s the way it goes. You just have to strap them on and play. You just can’t have excuses like that. You really can’t.

“As long as our players were going to be safe getting here, I knew we were going to do everything we could to get here. I packed Wednesday night. I was ready to go. I knew we weren’t leaving Thursday morning. We’re in the middle of finals and there’s no way we were even thinking about leaving Thursday morning. But we were working very hard Thursday morning to get out Thursday night or Friday, but we couldn’t. People don’t realize we handle snow very well in Chicago, but we did have eight inches on Thursday night. There was an ice storm on Thursday night. And planes were already in a state of disarray over what was coming out here.

“So Saturday morning was the earliest we could get out. Then we didn’t get out yesterday because the weather over here wasn’t going to let us in. The airport at Bradley didn’t open until 6 this morning. So we did what we had to do and we got here. And that’s the way it is. And that’s the way it should be. We played and it’s over and it’s a no-excuses team. Last year we got beat by the symmetrical 88-44 and we were at home. So what’s the excuse? We slept in our own beds and didn’t have to travel. So …’’

Rich

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UConn coach Geno Auriemma was not expecting to see a large crowd at Gampel Pavilion today. Not after Winter Storm Nemo had dumped a ridiculous amount of snow on the state the past couple of days. But he was wrong.

A crowd of 8,861 was on hand to witness UConn’s 91-44 rout of DePaul. It was the third largest crowd of the season in six games at Gampel Pavilion – a sellout of 10,167 showed up to see Notre Dame Jan. 5 and 9,671 witnessed the Duke game Jan. 21.

“We’ve always had a core fanbase that’s been exceptionally loyal to us for the longest time, for as long as I can remember,’’ Auriemma said. “So these 8,800 people that came out I bet you they’re probably our absolute strongest fans and probably have been with us the longest. Maybe we should lock them up for a couple days before every weekend game and then let them out on the weekends. But it’s different here in Connecticut. We’re spoiled. We’re lucky to have the kind of fanbase that we have. Sometimes we take it for granted, but I said that there wouldn’t be anybody here because I was just worried that the roads weren’t any good and people would just say, `Forget it.’

“But this time of day has proven to be really, really successful for us. Like a Saturday at 4 o’clock or a Sunday at 3:30, 4 o’clock has proven to be really, really good. It doesn’t interfere with a whole lot of things and you can still get home at a decent hour. But it took a lot of effort for some people to get here and I’m … as well as the students. It took no effort for them. At least they made the walk down here. Sometimes they don’t even want to do that.’’

Rich

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The UConn women’s basketball team had not been able to practice since Thursday night due to Winter Storm Nemo. Once the third-ranked Huskies took the floor against DePaul Sunday they showed no signs of rust.

Stefanie Dolson scored 22 of her 23 points in the first half and UConn led by as many 25 points in the half en route to a 91-44 victory before 8,861 at Gampel Pavilion. Dolson also added five rebounds, six assists and set career-highs in made free throws (10) and free throws attempted (11).

UConn (22-1, 9-1 Big East) made its first five shots and six of its first eight to open a 15-3 lead less than five minutes into the game. The Huskies led by 40 less than seven minutes into the second half.

All-American Bria Hartley added 18 points, a season-high seven rebounds and four assists for the Huskies. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Breanna Stewart had nine points and nine rebounds, while Kiah Stokes had eight points and eight rebounds.

UConn shot 56.7 percent from the field, finished with a 48-26 rebounding advantage.

Megan Rogowski led DePaul with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists. The Blue Demons (17-7, 6-4) shot just 22.6 percent from the field.

Brittany Hrynko, who entered the game second in the Big East in scoring in conference games (19.7), was limited to three points (0-of-15 FG) and committed seven turnovers. Katherine Harry, who led the Big East in rebounding (11.4), did not have a rebound in 28 minutes.

STAR OF THE GAME: Stefanie Dolson. She finished with 23 points (6-of-8 FG), five rebounds and six assists in 24 minutes. She has scored at least 20 points in four of the last eight games.

KEYS TO THE WIN: The Huskies made their first five shots of the game and six of eight to open a 15-3 lead in the first 4:55 … DePaul started 4-of-20 from the field. … The Huskies scored 28 of their 52 first-half points in the paint and committed just seven turnovers in the half. … The Huskies opened the second half with a 19-4 run.

WORTH NOTING: Faris (six points, six rebounds) moved into 8th place all-time in team history in assists (485). … Mosqueda-Lewis moved in 10th place in made 3-pointers (162). … DePaul flew into Bradley International Airport at 9:48 Central Time and left the airport at about 1:04 p.m. Eastern Time to head to Storrs. The Blue Demons arrived at Gampel Pavilion at 2:09 p.m., 91 minutes before the 3:40 tip-off. … The Blue Demons played their fifth straight game without Anna Martin, who is their best player, due to a left knee injury.

NEXT: Tuesday at Providence, 7 p.m. (SNY)

Rich

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Stefanie Dolson has 22 points (9-of-9 FT), four rebounds and four assists to lead the Huskies. Bria Hartley has 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.

UConn made its first five shots of the game and six of eight to open a 15-3 lead.

Megan Podkowa has eight points for DePaul. The Blue Demons, who missed 15 of their first 17 shots, are shooting 30.3 percent from the field (4-of-16 3-pointers).

Rich

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WHEN: Today, 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs (10,167)
RECORDS: DePaul 17-6, 6-3 Big East; UConn 21-1, 8-1
ON THE AIR: ESPNU (Bob Picozzi and Brooke Weisbrod); WTIC-AM 1080 (Bob Joyce and Debbie Fiske)
UP NEXT: Tuesday at Providence , 7 p.m. (SNY)

DEPAUL

• Brittany Hrynko, G, 5-8 Soph.: Avg. 20.8p, 5.0r, 4.6a, 2.2s last five games
• Jasmine Penny, F, 6-1 Jr.: Career-high 29p vs. Seton Hall Wed.; 22p previous three games
• Anna Martin, G, 5-9 Sr.: Missed four straight games with left knee injury
• Katherine Harry, F, 6-3 Sr.: Leads Big East in rebounding (11.4)
• Chanise Jenkins, G, 5-5 Fr.: Avg. 9.0p, 5.3r, 2.7a last three games
• Megan Rogowski, G, 5-9 Soph.: Missed last eight games with broken hand
• Megan Podkowa, G/F, 6-2 Fr.: Avg. 9.3p, 4.3r, 2.0a last six games
• Kelsey Reynolds, G, 5-9 Jr.: Avg. 3.7p (4-of-15 FG), 2.7r last three games

UCONN

• Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, F, 6-0 Soph.: 20.0p (11-of-17 3-pointers), 6.7r, 4.0a last three games
• Breanna Stewart, G, 6-4 Fr.: 7.5p (6-of-18 FG), 4.5r, 2.5b last two games
• Stefanie Dolson, C, 6-5 Jr.: 16.7p, 5.7r, 2.0a, 2.0b last three games
• Kelly Faris, G, 5-11 Sr.: 14.0p, 6.0r, 3.5a, 3.0s last two games
• Bria Hartley, G, 5-7 Jr.: 15.0p, 3.0r, 2.5a last two games
• Morgan Tuck, F, 6-2 Fr.: Questionable after missing game vs. Marquette Tuesday (knee)
• Caroline Doty, G, 5-10 Sr.: 4-of-4 3-pointers vs. Marquette ; 4-of-21 previous nine games
• Moriah Jefferson, G, 5-7 Fr.: 2.5p, 4.0a, 1.5s in 22.5 minutes last two games
• Kiah Stokes, C, 6-3 Soph.: 4.5p, 5.5r, 2.5b last two games

STORY LINES
REUNION: Not only are UConn coach Geno Auriemma and DePaul coach Doug Bruno great friends, Bruno was an assistant coach under Auriemma in London last summer with the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team.
ONE-SIDED: The Huskies have won nine straight games against DePaul, including the last three by an average of 33.3 points.
UP AND DOWN: The Blue Demons have averaged 78.6 points in 17 wins and 63.6 in six losses. Auriemma said he is preparing as if DePaul will be at its best.
AT THE TOP: Harry is the only player in DePaul history to have more than 1,000 points (1,043), 1,000 rebounds (1,066) and 150 blocks (176). She needs two rebounds to move into the Top 20 in Big East history all-time.

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