UConn women's basketball

The Big East officially welcomed Memphis as its newest member today. It will join the conference as an all-sports member in the 2013-14 academic year and will boost the football membership to 12 schools once Pittsburgh and Syracuse bolt for the ACC and West Virginia to the SEC.

Along with Memphis, the Big East has also added Central Florida, Houston and SMU as all-sports members and Boise State, Navy and San Diego State as football-only in recent months.

The 2015 Big East football membership will consist of Boise State, Central Florida, Cincinnati, UConn, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Navy, Rutgers, San Diego State, SMU and South Florida. And in 2015, the conference basketball membership will include Central Florida, Cincinnati, UConn, DePaul, Georgetown, Houston, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, SMU, South Florida and Villanova.

Here are UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s thoughts on the addition of Memphis …

“I don’t know that much about Memphis’ football program,’’ Auriemma said. “I do know about the basketball program. So I think from a purely basketball standpoint I think we’re doing a great thing. All the talk the last couple of months or years has been about the football thing, the football thing, the football thing. And here we’re adding a team, that obviously plays football and is going to play football, but it’s as much a basketball move as it is a football move. And I think it’s great for the conference. I think it strengthens an already strong conference.’’

Auriemma also made it perfectly clear where he hopes the Big East will turn to next for expansion.

“I hope Temple’s next,’’ Auriemma said. “That would be my unsolicited opinion. I hope the next team we add is Temple. They have a great (basketball) program, men’s and women’s. It’s a great school. Their football program’s great for where they were to where they are. So I hope we’re not done. I hope that’s the next school that we invite.

“I think anybody that understands the East coast and how it’s configured will tell you that there are not very many places where basketball and the athletic department is as up and coming and has a better guy on staff than (men’s basketball coach) Fran Dunphy and Tonya Cardoza on the women’s side,’’ Auriemma said. “I think they’re a natural for us. And I hope that that’s what we do because I think they’re great and it’s a great city and it will be a great rivalry with Villanova. I’ve always been partial to them and I hope that that’s the next thing that we do.’’

Louisville 6-foot-4 sophomore center Cierra Warren has decided to quit the team because she was not prepared to work as hard. She averaged 8.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 16.7 minutes in 22 games (10 starts) this season.

“They kind of had a team meeting after the DePaul game (an 86-61 loss Jan. 31),’’ Cardinals coach Jeff Walz said. “The players were just like, `Hey, this is not acceptable. We’ve got to go hard. We’ve got push ourselves.’ And Cierra just decided that she really didn’t want to work that hard. So she came into my office (last) Thursday and just said, `Hey, I think I’m going to quit.’ And that’s her choice. But, unfortunately, I just think kids don’t really actually think through what they’re doing. But I know that if she’s not willing to work hard then it’s not fair to everybody else on this team who is. So we just move on. It’s all you can do.’’

Rich

UConn-bound recruit Breanna Stewart has been named the 2012 State Farm/Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association (WBCA) National High School Player of the Year, the WBCA announced today. She will also join fellow UConn 2012 commits Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck in the WBCA All-America Game March 31 at the Pepsi Center in Denver as part of the Final Four.

Stewart, a versatile 6-foot-4 post player, is the nation’s top-rated player in her class. She will be formally honored at halftime of the All-America Game.

“Congratulations to Breanna for earning this award,’’ WBCA CEO Beth Bass said. “She has set the bar higher than ever for high school student-athletes, and the WBCA would like to wish her the best on her future in collegiate women’s basketball.’’

Stewart becomes the seventh WBCA National High School Player of the Year to sign with the Huskies, joining Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (2011), Maya Moore (2007), Tina Charles (2006), Ann Strother (2002) and Tamika (Williams) Raymond (1998). Elena Delle Donne (2008) initially signed with UConn before transferring to Delaware.

Rich

UConn has customarily been so good at not being sucked in by an opponent. The Huskies normally do not get flustered by the particular style of play employed by the opponent. They play their game and that’s that.

But Tuesday against No. 20 Louisville they got caught. And it nearly proved costly. The Cardinals were going to be as physical as possible. Not dirty. Physical. UConn decided to play along and lost that battle.

The Huskies were called for 20 fouls in a 56-46 win at the palatial KFC Yum! Center. It was their second highest total this season, trailing only the 23 they committed in an overtime loss at No. 2 Notre Dame Jan. 7.

“There was not really any cheap shots,’’ junior guard Caroline Doty said. “There wasn’t anything crazy or out of control. It was just tough because usually when the refs were to call fouls we’d chill out a little bit. But it was rough from the beginning to the end. We don’t mind. We fight every day in practice against our practice players. We’ve just got to be more composed.’’

UConn had been averaging 13.2 fouls through the first 23 games. The average was only slightly higher in eight previous games against ranked opponents (14.1).

The Huskies committed 13 fouls in the second half alone Tuesday. They have committed 13 fouls or less in 13 games this season.

UConn was called for seven fouls, including three by Kelly Faris, in the first 5:58 of the second half. Two were committed in a span of eight seconds at one point. Louisville, meanwhile, was called for just two fouls in this stretch.

The Huskies reached nine fouls with 13:04 left in the game. They had 10 with 8:20 left, putting the Cardinals in the double bonus.

“I don’t think we lost control,’’ sophomore center Stefanie Dolson said. “I think we just kind of lost our heads a little bit. And Coach (Geno Auriemma) said we need that person to come in and just huddle us up and be like, `Alright, guys, calm down. Let’s do this, this and this.’ I don’t think we had that. So we all kind of definitely lost our heads a little bit.’’

The game nearly turned violent with 17:25 left when Dolson and Louisville center Sheronne Vails got tangled up during UConn possession. Vails was called for a foul on the play. And the two needed to be separated.

“First of all, I’m a lady,’’ Dolson said. “I would not punch someone. I kind of lost my cool for a second when she was on me. I’ve just got to do a better job of keeping my head straight and not retaliating because normally it’s the person that retaliates that gets caught or called for a foul.’’

Doty played peacemaker for the Huskies, ushering Dolson away from the area. Vails, who glared at Dolson as Dolson peeled away from her, was tended to by several of her teammates.

“I just didn’t want anything to go down,’’ Doty said. “Probably my freshman year I probably would’ve egged something on. I’ve kind of grown up a little bit. I just didn’t want anybody to get hurt. The crowd was really into it and we don’t want any of that stuff. We don’t want any trouble. We just want to kind of keep our cool and just play good basketball.’’

Once order was restored Dolson scored a layup on Vails. But Dolson was then called for a foul at the other end with 16:52 left. Louisville coach Jeff Walz took Vails out of the game at that point. She would spend the next 6:30 on the bench.

Tiffany Hayes ultimately became only the third UConn player to foul out this season with 4:20 remaining. She joined Bria Hartley (vs. Notre Dame) and Kelly Faris (vs. South Florida Jan. 28).

“When we came out in the second half there was like a quick run on fouls,’’ Auriemma said. “Usually, if you look at the stat sheet, we don’t foul that much. But in a game like this where there was a whistle almost possession down the floor, you’ve got to be really disciplined. And I thought there were a couple opportunities where we had a chance not to get involved in the scrum. And, as Stefanie said, I thought we lost our composure a little bit. It’s easy to do. The same thing that happened at the foul line when Stefanie and (Vails) were going at it … You get hit and you want to hit back. It’s only natural, I think.’’

UConn will likely be involved in another physical game Saturday when it hosts No. 14 Georgetown at Gampel Pavilion (4 p.m.; CPTV). The game will be part of the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund’s “Play 4 Kay’’ initiative. Fans are being urged to wear pink.

As of late Tuesday there were less than 600 tickets remaining for the game. Fans can purchase tickets on-line at www.uconnhuskies.com or by phone at 1-877-AT-UCONN.

Rich

There will never again be any questions regarding the level of toughness that UConn guard Caroline Doty possesses. Not after coming back from three ACL tears in her left knee.

But there are instances when Doty proves exactly how tough she is when she summons the type of performance she did tonight in a 56-46 win at No. 20 Louisville. It was a tough game. One that was filled with fouls, collisions and a near altercation between Stefanie Dolson and Sheronne Vails early in the second half.

Not only did Doty help diffuse the Dolson-Vails situation, she matched her season-high with 15 points (5-of-11 3-pointers) and added three rebounds, three assists and four steals in a season-high 35 minutes. This effort came in the wake of dealing with further discomfort in her knee Monday in practice and again during shootaround today.

“Caroline Doty had the best game she’s had since she was a sophomore (2009-10), the one year that she played the whole year,’’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “And I didn’t think she was going to be able to play that much today because she was hurting at practice yesterday and at shootaround this morning she didn’t feel great physically. So I’m thrilled that she was able to get that much out of it given that it would’ve been just as easy for her to just say, `I can’t go tonight’ or `I can’t play as much as I had to play given the fouls.’ So I think the best thing that came out of tonight was the way Caroline responded to not being 100 percent, the fouls and all the other stuff. The one steal she made at the end of the game underneath the basket was huge. They’re the kind of plays that kids make that are tough kids.’’

Doty had not played more than 29 minutes in her first 22 games this season (Jan. 7 at No. 2 Notre Dame). She had played 18 minutes against then-No. 13 Rutgers Saturday, finishing scoreless for the second time in four games.

But Doty had nine points in 17 minutes in the first half tonight. And with UConn leading 51-41, she made a steal under the Louisville basket with 2:02 left in the game and followed with a 3-pointer at the other end 27 seconds later to officially dash Louisville’s comeback bid.

“She did a great job tonight,’’ Louisville coach Jeff Walz said.

Doty, of course, said nothing about the pain she had been dealing with. She said nothing about the 15 points she scored. Instead, she criticized herself for the three turnovers she committed and some of the plays she felt that she failed to make.

“I don’t really think of myself as a scorer,’’ Doty said. “I try to focus on keeping … I’m more disappointed about this game then I was this past weekend’s game. Just because I turned the ball over a few times. I didn’t really execute a few plays that I wanted to. I tried to get it back on defense a little bit. The 3-pointers definitely helped a little bit. But I was trying to tighten up a little bit and I think I was a little loose tonight.’’

Rich

A recruiting source has confirmed that Erica McCall, a 6-foot-3 forward from Bakersfield, Calif., is the latest player to surface on UConn’s radar for the Class of 2013. Huskies’ assistant coach Marisa Moseley attended one of her games during a West Coast recruiting trip last week.

McCall, who was a member of the 2011 gold-medal U.S. U-16 team, amassed 1,203 points, 888 rebounds, 64 assists, 102 steals and 468 blocks in 64 games during her first two seasons at Ridgeview High School. She has already set school records for points, rebounds and blocks.

McCall is averaging 26.0 points (57.9 percent FG), 17.0 rebounds and 7.6 blocks this season for the Wolf Pack. She is the sister of former Auburn All-American and current member of the Phoenix Mercury DeWanna Bonner. Her father, Greg, is the head women’s basketball coach at CSU Bakersfield.

The Huskies are also involved with juniors Diamond DeShields, a 6-1 wing from Norcross, Ga., Taya Reimer, a 6-3 forward from Fishers, Ind., Karlie Samuelson, a 5-11 guard from Huntington Beach, Calif., and Saniya Chong, 5-9 guard from Ossining, N.Y.

Rich

Not only was freshman center Kiah Stokes not bringing enough energy and effort to practice earlier this season, she lacked toughness in the lane too. She said that she would shy away from contact instead of initiating it.

That seems to be no longer the case judging by her performance last week in wins over No. 5 Duke and No. 17 Rutgers. Stokes generated four points and season-highs of 12 rebounds, five blocks and 28 minutes in outplaying Duke’s 6-foot-3 star freshman center Elizabeth Williams Jan. 30. Stokes followed with 10 points, five rebounds and one block in 15 minutes in battling Rutgers’ 6-2 post player Monique Oliver Saturday.

“The coaches have really impressed on me to make contact first,’’ Stokes said. “And I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job of that and I know that my teammates have noticed it. They come up to me after the games and I appreciate that. And I love what they do for me as well.’’

Adding a toughness factor to her game has further fueled what has been a remarkable turnaround for Stokes. She is averaging 6.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 16.9 minutes in seven games since being benched for the second time at Villanova Jan. 14.

Rich

Here is my advance for tonight’s game at Louisville …

The UConn women’s basketball team boasts several players with deft shooting and playing-making ability in its four-guard lineup. And freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis has proven to a prolific scorer off the bench.

Entering tonight’s game against No. 20 Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center (7; CBSSN), the third-ranked Huskies are ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (79.8). They are first in field goal percentage (.489), assists (20.4) and assist to turnover ratio (1.4), 13th in made 3-pointers per game (7.5) and 16th in 3-point shooting percentage (.365).

The statistics are certainly impressive. But UConn has proven this season that it is equally as productive defensively. Arguably the best in the nation. And it is in this phase of the game where the Huskies do not receive their due recognition.

“I don’t know that you can have anywhere near the kind of success that we’ve had without being able to play the kind of defense that we’ve played,’’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “I think those two things go hand-in-hand with however many number of games or Big East championships or tournament championships or national championships. None of those would be possible if we weren’t a really, really good defensive team. And you have to be a good defensive team every year. It can’t be like some years you are, some years you’re not. And we probably don’t get the credit that some other people might get because we don’t talk about it. We don’t have any special defenses and special presses and we don’t have fancy names for what we do defensively. And we’ve had so many really good offensive players play for us that it’s easy to overlook that their good defensive players, because everybody’s just so fixated on how good they are offensively. And that’s OK. I don’t mind that.’’

A prerequisite to playing at UConn is having the ability to score. However, the ability and the desire to play defense is what earns playing time in Auriemma’s system. And this team, led by junior Kelly Faris, takes great pride in shutting down the opposition.

The Huskies (21-2, 9-1 Big East) lead the nation in scoring defense (44.6) and field goal percentage defense (.300), which would account for team single-season records if the season ended today. They would also tie the Division I record in field goal percentage, which they set during the undefeated season of 2009-10.

UConn, who is ranked sixth nationally with a plus-12.7 rebounding advantage, has held 13 opponents to their lowest scoring output of the season.

“They do a great job of switching,’’ Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. “A lot of people don’t give them credit for their defense. They play out in passing lanes. They pressure the ball. They play personnel as well as anybody I’ve seen.’’

The Huskies utilize only two true post players in their eight-man rotation – 6-foot-5 sophomore Stefanie Dolson and 6-3 freshman Kiah Stokes. This has afforded Auriemma the opportunity to employ more fullcourt pressure this season.

UConn’s pressure, as well as its active halfcourt man-to-man defensive looks, has produced an average of 21.3 turnovers and 12.5 steals, which is ranked 13th nationally and would also account for a team single-season record.

The Huskies have forced at least 20 turnovers in 14 games this season, and at least 25 in seven games. Fifth-ranked Duke (15), No. 1 Baylor (14) and South Florida (12) are the only teams that have committed less than 16.

UConn has converted these turnovers into 576 points (25.0).

“I think coming into this year we thought we could be a really good defensive team,’’ Dolson said. “And I think we’ve lived up to it so far, but we still have a lot of room to get better. I think defense for us every year there’s always an emphasis on it. And we had a couple games where Coach wasn’t pleased with our defense. So I think we’ve definitely been stepping up our defense just to prove to him and everyone else that our defense is the best in the country and that we can just buckle down and not let people score.’’

Second-ranked Notre Dame (74; OT), Baylor (66), South Florida (62) and West Virginia (60) are the only teams to reach 60 against the Huskies. There have been 15 teams that have failed to reach 50 and 11 that have failed to reach 40.

Also, 11 teams have shot below 30.0 percent from the field. Only Baylor (47.9) and West Virginia (44.9) have shot better than 40.0 percent.

The Huskies last week held Duke and No. then-No. 13 Rutgers to a combined 79 points and 26.5 percent shooting from the field, holding both teams to season-lows in scoring and shooting percentage.

“This particular group … I’m surprised, but we’re a really good defensive team,’’ Auriemma said. “Maybe the fact that we’ve got four interchangeable players. We switch a lot of screens. It’s difficult for teams to get comfortable against us because you might have a different kid guarding you every time down the floor. But the effort (has been) unbelievable. We kind of pride ourselves on that. We think we’re the best defensive team in the country. Kids buy into that.’’

While the Huskies are ultimately who must execute during games, Auriemma gave credit to the scouting reports prepared by associate head coach Chris Dailey and assistant coaches Marisa Moseley Shea Ralph.

Auriemma said that Ralph prepared the scouting report for Rutgers. Moseley will assemble the report for Louisville. Dailey will do so for No. 14 Georgetown Saturday and then the cycle will return to Ralph for UConn’s game at Oklahoma Feb. 13.

“One thing that doesn’t maybe get as much notoriety is the scouting reports that our guys come up with, Chris, Marisa and Shea,’’ Auriemma said. “They take it real seriously. Those guys are really, really serious about this stuff and all three of them, when it’s their turn, they are really into the scouting report and they make sure that the players are really into it. And by the time game time comes around there’s very little that our players don’t know that they have to know about what we’re trying to do and how we’re going to defend them. Preparation is a big, big part. Defense is a lot of effort, don’t get me wrong. And so is rebounding. Those two things are all about effort. No question.’’

UConn has proven the ability repeatedly lock down the opposition is a collective effort. And, while the Huskies might not gain a great deal of notoriety for their success defensively, it does not come as a surprise to the players.

In their minds, they believe that their success is a byproduct of the significant amount of time that they spend on the defensive part of the game in practice.

“The goal for our defense really is to make it look like we have six players on the court to their five,’’ Mosqueda-Lewis said. “We’ve got to be everywhere at once. We try to outsmart the other team, basically. We’ve been working on it so much in practice that we’re just like no one should ever score on us. So I think when you take that much pride in your defense and you work on it so much you’re definitely going to be a little (mad) when they actually get a bucket.’’

Rich

The Huskies are urging all fans to wear pink to Saturday’s game against No. 14 Georgetown at Gampel Pavilion (4 p.m.). The game will be part of the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund’s “Play 4 Kay’’ initiative.

UConn is offering $10 tickets, while supplies last. That’s $12 off of the regular price. To take advantage of this offer, click here and enter the promo code “PINK.’’

Fans can also donate to the cause at this site…

Rich