TULANE vs No. 1 UCONN

areas of the court that will lead to more body contact has helped in her maturity as a player.

“It’s hard to say if she’s always been like that,” Auriemma said. “Sometimes you don’t always have to show it. To me it is always important that you present a certain attitude, a certain mentality when you are a player. When you are an athlete, you are a competitor, you have to expect certain things, you have to expect that it is going to be hard, you have to expect that there is going to be injuries, you have to expect that you are going to have to play with a sprained ankle, you are going to have to play with a black eye. You are going to have to play through all of that stuff.

“I had to give her the Tom Hanks’ line (from A League of Their Own movie) that, ‘Lou, there is no crying in basketball.’ Sometimes you have to act the part before you become that. Instead of just cruising through and you realize that you are the go-to player in a lot of ways, things are not going to be easy anymore. Freshman year, you just rented a spot in the corner and jacked up 3’s every possession, things were easy and nobody bothered you. Those days are long gone, she has made adjustments. I think she understands it and plays through it and that to me is what every great player has to do.”

In addition to Samuelson and Fernandez being honored, Cincinnati’s IImar’i Thomas was named the conference’s freshman of

When: Where: Records: TV: Radio: Internet:

Sunday, 6:30 p.m.

Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville

Tulane 14-16; UConn 29-0

ESPNU

WTIC-1080; WELI-960; WILI-1400; WGCH-1490 ESPN3

Lighting it up: KEEP AN EYE ON

⏩ Tulane senior guard Kolby Morgan is the only active player to have scored more than 100 career points against the Huskies. Her scoring prowess is not limited to UConn games as she has scored more points in American Athletic Conference and tournament games (1,213) than any other player. Former USF star Courtney Williams, now a member of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, held the mark of 1,210 even though the Bulls were not playing in the AAC until her sophomore season.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Caylah Cruickshank Tatyana Lofton Kolby Morgan Maddison Wells Harlyn Wyatt Crystal Dangerfield Kia Nurse

Katie Lou Samuelson Gabby Williams Napheesa Collier the year and Kitija Laksa of South Florida was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The tournament began with Temple playing league newcomer Wichita State on Saturday at noon. UConn, the four-time defending champion, will play the winner of the Tulane/Memphis contest on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals.