UConn women's basketball

The selection process must have been as easy as it has been in recent memory for Big East officials. How could anyone other than UConn senior Tiffany Hayes be named the conference Player of the Week? Not after the ridiculous week she had.

Hayes averaged 34.0 points (21-of-30 FG; 8-of-12 3-pointers), 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals in 35.0 minutes in wins over Syracuse and South Florida last week. The Big East did in fact reward her for her success today by honoring her as the conference Player of the Week for the first time in her career.

Hayes, who set a UConn two-game record with 68 points, is the first member of the Huskies to receive the honor this season.

She had a career-high 35 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes against the Orange last Wednesday. She followed with 33 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals in 39 minutes against the Bulls Saturday.

Ossining High coach Dan Ricci stressed that they are “still early in the recruiting process,’’ but 5-foot-9 junior guard Saniya Chong has landed on UConn’s radar. Huskies’ assistant coach Shea Ralph is expected to attend Chong’s game at Northern Highlands (N.J.) Tuesday.

Chong’s statistics this season are like those you see in a video game. She is averaging 34.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 5.3 steals for Ossining (15-0).

Ricci said that Chong has received scholarship offers from Rutgers, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, St. John’s, Louisville, Marist, Hofstra and is receiving “strong interest from several others.’’

Rich

Here’s my advance for Monday’s nationally televised showdown between No. 3 UConn and No. 5 Duke …

There were high expectations when Bria Hartley joined the UConn women’s basketball program last season. She was a talented guard with exceptional playmaking and scoring ability. There was a toughness about her and a propensity to be a leader too.

But Hartley had played in only one game when the Huskies met No. 2 Baylor and 6-foot-8 All-American Brittney Griner at the XL Center. It was an ideal spot for Hartley to prove that she was as good as her resume indicated in front of 12,628 and a national television audience.

She missed her first six shots of the game as she looked like a typical inexperienced freshman. But like a seasoned veteran, Hartley never wavered. She scored eight points in the final 3:56, making two 3-pointers, to help lead UConn to a come-from-behind 65-64 win. She had laid the foundation for establishing herself as a big-game player, something that she has only expanded on this season.

“She’s just a competitor,’’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “She likes the challenge. I think Bria’s a really confident kid. She doesn’t really get affected that much by what’s happening. She knows she’s good. She believes in herself and she plays really hard. I get on Bria Hartley about some of the decisions she makes or what she does with the ball at crazy times or how she might lose her man or whatever and things that I want to fix about her. But I don’t think we have a better competitor or anybody that plays harder than Bria. And that’s why in the big games it helps her so much.’’

Hartley, who is having an All-American caliber season, has enough confidence in herself that she expects herself to play well in the biggest games on the schedule. She is averaging 13.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 34.9 minutes in 23 career games against ranked opponents.

But she has been even better this season. Hartley is averaging a team-high 18.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals in 38.0 minutes in six such games.
She will look to continue her big game success Monday night when No. 3 UConn (19-2) faces No. 5 Duke (17-2) at Cameron Indoor Stadium (7; ESPN2).

“I always like to stay pretty confident because I think one thing is if you don’t think you can do it nobody else will think you can,’’ Hartley said. “So just make sure you go out there and play hard and play confident. You know if you have an open shot you know you can hit it. And even if you’re missing, go out there and still have the guts to still take that shot after you missed seven in a row or do something else. Get in the lane or create for your teammates. Just go out there and believe in your ability and know you’re a good player and you can play well in these games.’’

Hartley, competitive by nature with a burning desire to win, has been at her best against the elite teams in the country this season. She is averaging 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals in 37.3 minutes in three games against Top 5 teams.

Hartley had 19 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals in 38 minutes against No. 4 Stanford Nov. 21. And she had a season-high 25 points at No. 1 Baylor Dec. 18 and again at No. 2 Notre Dame Jan. 7.

She also added a career-high nine rebounds and six assists in a career-high 45 minutes against the Irish.

“That’s Bria,’’ UConn junior Kelly Faris said. “That’s her attitude. She’s going to say, `OK, I’m taking it on my shoulders and I’m going. I’m going with it. I’m going to lead you. I’m going to do this. I’m going to do that.’ And you just kind of feed off of her. So she’s definitely got that mentality that if she wants something done she’s going to do anything and everything to get it done.’’

The ability of Hartley, who is averaging 17.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals in 36.0 minutes in five career games against Top 5 foes, to produce under the glare of the spotlight has taken some pressure off of players such as red-hot senior Tiffany Hayes and star freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. It is Hartley who has evolved into UConn’s go-to player in key spots in key games.

“She doesn’t really get fazed by much,’’ former UConn All-American Sue Bird said. “Even just in practice that I’ve been around, when Coach Auriemma yells at her she just kind of takes it. It doesn’t bring her too far down. When she’s playing well, from what I notice, she doesn’t get too high up. She just kind of stays even keel. And they’re probably going to need that from her. It’s nice to have that somebody who you can count on, whether it’s a big moment or just day-to-day kind of the routine of practice and games and what-not.’’

Coupled with her prowess against the nation’s best, Hartley is averaging career-highs of 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 32.3 minutes (team-high) this season. She is shooting 52.2 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from 3-point range and has a 1.5 assist to turnover ratio.

Hartley has played so well on the big stage that UConn sophomore Stefanie Dolson said that she expects her to play well in every game at this point. Hartley will get another opportunity to add to her legacy tonight against the Blue Devils.

“I think she proved it last year, except no one noticed because we had Maya Moore,’’ Auriemma said. “But you look at all the big games we played last year, starting with the Baylor game at home, she just has knack for making big shots or making big plays.’’

Rich

UConn coach Geno Auriemma, as usual, is not placing a great amount of significance on Monday’s Big Monday match-up at No. 5 Duke. He sees it as a chance for the Huskies to continue to improve and a chance to play well on the road against a talented team.

The Huskies have won the last three games against the Blue Devils by an average of 34.7 points. Last season they rolled to a 75-40 win in the NCAA Philadelphia regional final March 29 and an 87-51 win at Gampel Pavilion Jan. 31.

“I think certainly Duke has a lot of incentive going into this game based on what happened last year the two times that we played them,’’ Auriemma said. “I think you can help yourself an awful lot by getting a win. But to me, it is a fine line between winning and losing. The two big road games that we played, three or four plays either way and maybe you win that game. Both games. So I don’t know that changes your whole season. If we had won those two games and were undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country, I don’t know that would make our team any different than it is right now.

“So going down there Monday night in late January, the goal is to win. But, more importantly, the goal is to play great. I would be disappointed if we don’t play well. Not like I was… you come out of the Baylor game and you say, `Man I’m really disappointed. We should’ve won that game.’ But we played really well for the most part. So I want to come out of there Monday night and I want us to win, No. 1. But I want us to play really, really well. I want us to really play well. I want our young guys to play in an environment that’s not easy to play in, and play really well. I think that would be a big step for them, for the three freshmen.’’

Rich

Senior Tiffany Hayes has been riding the best stretch of her career over the past few weeks. She has scored in double figures in a career-high 10 straight games. She has had at least five rebounds in a career-high six straight games.

Hayes is averaging 19.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals during this 10-game run, shooting an extraordinary 64.1 percent from the field (66-of-103) and 51.5 percent from 3-point range (17-of-33). And she has punctuated her surge by scoring a team-record 68 points over the last two games – 33 against South Florida Saturday and a career-high 335 at Syracuse last Wednesday.

The stretch has gained plenty of attention. But, apparently, the Wooden Award National Advisory Board has not been among those who have taken notice. While teammates Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis were named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 20, Hayes was not.

The omission came as a surprise to South Florida coach Jose Fernandez.

“I was surprised her name’s not in there,’’ said Fernandez, who is a member of the State Farm All-America committee. “I think she’s very, very talented. You know it’s different at the end of the year. You guys know the media and the WBCA State Farm All-America team is different from the AP All-America team. There’s so many All-America teams. Maybe it’s a product… I think Hartley’s had a very good year. I was surprised by (Hayes not being named). Do I think she’s deserving to be on that list? Yes, in my opinion.’’

Hayes, who leads the Huskies in scoring (16.5) and is second in rebounding (5.9), steals (2.2) and minutes (29.0) and third in assists (3.3), does not seem bothered at all by the omission. In fact, she admitted that she didn’t even now about the list.

“I wasn’t aware,’’ Hayes said. “But, at the same time, they’ve been there. They’re on the committee. They know who the best players are and what not. So I’m not going to let that get me down. I’m just going to continue to play the way I’ve been playing the last couple weeks or so to help my team out.’’

Here are UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s thoughts on Hayes’ omission from the Wooden Award Midseason list:

“I don’t think there are 20 players in the country that I would rather have than Tiffany,’’ Auriemma said. “And if she played somewhere else, she’d be averaging 35 points every night. But I think it goes to show you that it’s all about what you do in those big TV games that everybody watches. Because we’ve had a couple of those where Bria’s played great and Kaleena has shot the ball great. Obviously, they’re the two people who have gotten the most attention for us. But when it comes right down to it, nobody’s as good an offensive player as Tiffany Hayes, maybe in the whole league. I don’t know there’s somebody you would say, `Well, you know there’s this kid playing here that’s a way better offensive player than Tiffany Hayes.’ I don’t know that there is a better offensive player in our league.’’

The annual Wooden Award Gala will be held in Los Angeles April 6. Auriemma will be honored for receiving the Legends of Coaching Award.

Here is something to keep an eye on Monday night when the Huskies face No. 5 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium: Maya Moore set the UConn record for most points over a three-game span with 94 last season. She had 31 against Marquette Dec. 9; 22 against Ohio State Dec. 19; and 41 against Florida State Dec. 21.

Rich

Tiffany Hayes walked into the postgame interview room today wearing a UConn warm-up suit, a backpack and holding a blue baseball cap. She took her position in the far corner and began to answer questions.

Hayes finished with a game-high 33 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals in a season-high 39 minutes in a hard-fought 77-62 win over a determined South Florida team at the XL Center. For the second game in four days, she was the best player on the floor as she continued the best stretch of her career.

Never did we expect to see Hayes break down in tears during the Q&A. Never. But that’s exactly what happened as Hayes opened up about what has been motivating her over the past couple of weeks.

“One of my friends that passed used to say, `Play every play like it’s the last play you’ll ever play,’’’ Hayes said. “His birthday is today. So I think I’ve been living by that the last couple weeks. And that’s definitely been a lot of motivation.’’

The friend Hayes is referring to is former UConn defensive back Jasper Howard, who was stabbed to death on campus Oct. 18, 2009 at the age of 20. He would have turned 23 today.

The hat Hayes was holding had Howard’s No. 6 on it. She broke into tears when she was asked if was more emotional for her to play a game on his birthday.

Rich

Freshman Kiah Stokes came to UConn with the potential to make an immediate impact. She earned All-American honors as Linn-Mar High in Iowa. And with 6-foot-5 sophomore Stefanie Dolson as the lone legitimate post player in the primary rotation for the third-ranked Huskies, an opportunity for Stokes to earn ample playing time presented itself.

Stokes, a 6-foot-3 center, initially did not take advantage of her opportunity. She never before had been required to play to her to full capabilities each time she stepped on the floor. And this was something Stokes struggled with for some time.

Her effort at practice paled in comparison to that of her teammates. It would become a point of frustration for the UConn coaching staff and players. So much so that Coach Geno Auriemma twice benched her and Stokes learned that the Huskies had reached a point where they were not fond of playing with her if she was not going to compete to the fullest.

“Your teammates, you’re with them all the time,’’ Stokes said. “You think off the court everything’s fine and then (UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey) tells you something like that … It kind of hits home like, `Oh, my teammates, they don’t like playing with me if I don’t play how I should.’ Once I heard that it was kind of like another wake-up call. It just kind of hit me like, `This is serious. I need to get going.’’’

This had nothing to do with the Huskies, who will host South Florida Saturday at the XL Center (1; CPTV), shutting Stokes out. Off the court everything was fine. But when it comes to positioning themselves to win a national championship, every player being on the same page on the court is vital.

Auriemma benched Stokes against Fairfield Dec. 29 and at Villanova Jan. 14. It was following the Villanova game that it became crystal clear to Stokes that she needed to change.

“It was frustrating,’’ UConn junior Kelly Faris said. “You look at somebody and you’re around them every day, and you know what they can do. And when you see them not be able to get that, you want to push them. You want to do this. You want to do that. And you really want them to get there. And that’s what this program is about is getting to that point and pushing past it.’’

To Stokes’ credit, she has changed. Stokes is averaging 7.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 17.3 minutes over the last four games. It is her best four-game stretch of the season.

“She’s definitely done a 360, and good for her,’’ Faris said. “Good for her that she’s realizing it and she’s changing and working on the things that she needs to work on. So she’s definitely changed, and she’s gotten a lot better.’’

Just two days after being benched at Villanova, Stokes responded with her first career double-double –
11 points, 11 rebounds – in 12 minutes against then-No 24 North Carolina. She finished with eight points, seven rebounds, one steal and three blocks in a season-high 24 minutes at Syracuse Wednesday.

Stokes has had at least six rebounds in three of the last four games. She has also played a combined 43 minutes the last two games, her highest two-game total of the season.

“For every two steps forward she gives you a little bit of hope,’’ Auriemma said. “And then there’s things that, obviously, she’s still a freshman. But I don’t hesitate as much more to throw her in the game as I did earlier. And her practice habits have changed a lot. I said going forward that her development was going to have a big impact on how good our team was going to be down the road. And she’s getting better.’’

Not only has Stokes refined her practice habits, but she is putting in extra work with Dailey and assistant coach Marisa Moseley. The workouts feature shooting drills and 1-on-1 exercises in the lowpost.
Stokes said that she will also work with an available practice player at times, allowing them to attempt to block her shot so that she has to be stronger with the ball and more physical in the lane.

“Every day I’m working harder and getting extra workouts in,’’ Stokes said. “Each day is progress. But it’s getting better. I’m getting more minutes and I think my teammates trust me a little bit more, which is what I keep hoping and hoping is they build more trust in me.’’

For Stokes, it is all about working harder at this point. She seems to have finally grasped what it takes to have success at this level, and at UConn in particular. And her teammates have taken notice.

“It was really hard for us to see somebody like Kiah that we know is good, that we know can be a great player and a great asset to our team not playing up to her ability and not playing up to everybody else’s level,’’ UConn freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis said. “She’s doing a lot better and she’s being a lot more help to our team. She’s getting aggressive and she’s scoring for us. She’s rebounding. And I think that she feels better about her performance, which makes us feel more confident in her.’’

Rich

Junior guard Caroline Doty has been fully cleared and will start Saturday against South Florida at the XL Center (1 p.m. CPTV). She did not play Wednesday at Syracuse after suffering a bone bruise in her left knee at DePaul Jan. 21.

“I feel good,’’ Doty said. “The few days (off) definitely helped out. I’m a little winded, but that can come back. But I feel comfortable. It feels great now.’’

“I kind of kept questioning it. What made it a bone bruise? There’s so many different types of reasons that it could happen or just like the ACL is like a freak accident. So it was kind of like, `Uh, again.’ But it’s great to see that I’m only out a few days and not a few months or the rest of the year. I feel good.

Doty practiced fully today at Gampel Pavilion. UConn coach Geno Auriemma was pleased with what he saw from her during the session.

“She looked good today,’’ Auriemma said. “I think taking a couple days off was probably the best thing for her. And she did everything we did (today) so there was no restrictions on her whatsoever. Something’s going to hurt everyday until she stops playing, and then probably after that something’s going to hurt. It’s just a matter of being able to tolerate it and at what point do you say `it’s enough.’ But she’s nowhere near that. She’s found her new normal and we’re happy to have her back.’’

Both Doty and Auriemma said that there will be no limitations placed on Doty against South Florida.

“The plan from the beginning of the season was `let’s just play her and let’s go,’’’ Auriemma said. “So tomorrow’s not going to be any different. We’ll play her and if she says to me, `Hey, I need a breather.’
I’ll give her a breather. If she doesn’t say anything then we’re good to go. That’s kind of how we’ve treated it the whole year.’’

Here is what Doty said regarding what her knee felt like last Saturday when she was injured:

“It was kind of like a sting,” Doty said. “Nothing tweaked. Nothing turned. Nothing anything scary. I wasn’t concerned about the ACL. It was more concerned that it was the outside of my knee. It felt a little weird, but I wanted to get it checked out and make sure it was nothing serious. Doc T (Tom Trojian) was able to look at it and (team athletic trainer) Rosemary (Ragle) was able to look at it right at the game and they figured it was a bone bruise. They just wanted to get some testing just to make sure nothing else was wrong. Everything else looks great. So the fact that it was a bone bruise was a sigh of relief.’’

Here is Auriemma’s response when he learned that future Husky Breanna Stewart had been named the 2011 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year:

 “She deserves it,” Auriemma said. “The only USA team she didn’t play on was the men’s team that won the World Championship.’’

Sophomore Bria Hartley and freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis have been named to the Wooden Award Midseason Watch List.

Rich

UConn-bound recruit Breanna Stewart has been named the 2011 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, it was announced today. She was a member of the gold-medal winning 2011 USA U-19 World Championship Team that competed in Puerto Montt, Chile July 21-31 and the 2011 USA Pan American Games Team that competed in Guadalajara, Mexico Oct. 21-25.

Stewart was also named to the five-member All-FIBA U-19 World Championship Team.

“It is exciting because this is a pretty big award,’’ Stewart said. “I’m just honored to be thought of as USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year.’’

Stewart, who was the second youngest member of the U-19 team, led the team in scoring (11.2), rebounding (7.3) and blocks (1.7) in 19.9 minutes. She also led the Pan American Games Team in scoring (15.3), rebounding (11.3), blocked shots (1.8) and minutes (27.8).

Stewart was the only high school player on the Pan American Games Team.

“Breanna Stewart ranks up with Maya Moore as one of the most competitive young players that I’ve ever seen,’’ U-19/Hartford head coach and the 2011 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year Jennifer Rizzotti said. “She has the ability to tremendously impact the game on both ends of the floor. She works constantly to improve all aspects of her game, and I look forward to watching her growth as she develops into an even more complete player. Her desire to win and compete on every possession raised the level of intensity for our team and was crucial to our winning the gold medal.”

USA Basketball will now nominate Stewart for the U.S. Olympic Committee’s 2011 SportsWoman of the Year, which will be announced at some point this year. The USA Basketball Board of Directors is responsible for selecting USA Basketball’s annual award winners.

“In her third consecutive summer playing for USA Basketball, Breanna was an important part of two USA teams,’’ USA Basketball Executive Director/CEO Jim Tooley said. “Anyone who has seen her play knows what an incredible athlete she is, and how much fun it is to watch her play. She has shown dedication and commitment, and we are very proud to recognize her efforts.’’

Rich