The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Moseley evolves in second year at BU
UCONN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
With one year under her belt, Marisa Moseley is feeling a lot more confident coaching her alma mater, Boston University.
“I’m much more comfortable my second year just understanding what it is that I want to get out of each practice,” she said Friday by phone. “Managing games, managing practices, there’s no substitute for experience.”
Moseley, a former UConn assistant, won 15 games and was named Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2019, but was overwhelmed with the responsibilities of the job. At times, she was just “trying to keep my head above water.”
This season, Moseley is taking a more measured approach, integrating more of the lessons she learned under Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey to benefit her players. In nine seasons with the Huskies, Moseley won five national championships, including four straight (2013-16).
She has the Terriers off to an 11-10 start, including 6-4 in league play. Her roster is young, with three freshmen starting and another playing steady minutes off the bench. Junior guard Katie Nelson leads the team in scoring (13.2 ppg).
Moseley prioritized chemistry-building activities off the court, including a tour of the Golden State Warriors new arena in December and trip to Broadway to see the Temptations in January.
“All those things that Coach and CD made priorities at UConn that it was bigger than just basketball, I wanted to really build and implement that into our program this year,” said Moseley,
who returned to Connecticut last week to celebrate the 2009 and 2010 championship teams. “I’m really proud that we’ve been able to do some of those things that our players can look back on.”
Moseley had wanted to do similar activities last year, but ran out of time. Her plate was already full. The responsibilities seemed endless.
Yet, Moseley guided the Terriers to a 15-14 record and a fourth-place finish in the Patriot League, their best ever. This after winning only 10 games in 201718.
“I was thinking I made a huge mistake and needed to go back to UConn,” Moseley joked. “But my players really bought in to what we were trying to do. I appreciated that. I’m just really thankful for what we were able to accomplish and know that it was just the beginning of what this program can be.”
Team USA wraps up college tour: The U.S. national team beat Louisville 97-54 on Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center. Sylvia Fowles scored a teamhigh 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Breanna Stewart, in just her second game back from a torn Achilles’ tendon, contributed 13 points and six boards.
Meanwhile, Diana Taurasi sat out her second straight game as she recovers from back and hamstring injuries. Taurasi already said she plans to skip the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Serbia, which starts Thursday. The U.S. has clinched a spot in the Tokyo Games by winning the World Cup last year.
UConn stays at No. 4: The top seven spots in the Associated Press Top-25 poll went unchanged this week. South Carolina (26 first-place votes) remained atop Monday’s rankings, followed by Baylor (three first-place votes), Oregon, UConn and Louisville (one first-place vote).
Stanford, N.C. State, Mississippi State, Oregon State and UCLA rounded out the top-10. The Bruins dropped two spots after losing to Arizona.
Injury scare averted: Aliyah Boston limped off in the third quarter of South Carolina’s 69-48 victory over Tennessee on Sunday. The 6-foot-5 freshman, a former UConn target, leads the Gamecocks in scoring (13.0), rebounding (8.7) and blocks (2.6).
Coach Dawn Staley said that Boston, whose injury was to the ankle/foot area, would have returned if it was the national championship.
Local product honored: East Carolina guard and Hamden native Taniyah Thompson was named the American Athletic Conference freshman of the week Monday after averaging 22.5 points against Memphis and Wichita State.