The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UConn riding wave into AAC tourney
STORRS — UConn has faced a number of busy stretches this season. In January alone, they played 11 games over a span of 29 days, facing the likes of Baylor, Tennessee and the U.S. national team.
The Huskies’ fitness and endurance will be tested once again this weekend, as part of their quest for a seventh straight American Athletic Conference tournament title. They’ll need to win three games in three days, starting Saturday (2 p.m.) against eighth-seeded Temple at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.
“Everybody’s in the same situation,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Friday before practice. “Some people are going to have to play four, if they get that far. You hope you can play three games, and that’s the goal. That’s the goal for everybody going down there. They want to play in the
championship game.”
Besides simply winning, Auriemma wants to see the Huskies (26-3, 16-0 AAC) build on the momentum that’s spurred them of late. They closed the regular season with blowout victories over Cincinnati, Houston and South Florida and have won six straight since falling at No. 1 South Carolina on Feb. 10.
“Just keep taking a step forward,” Auriemma said. “That’s been the mantra for us these last three games, especially. We need to take another step forward to wherever we’re going, whatever this team can get to, whatever that is. Every day we have to take another step toward that.
“We can’t afford to take any steps back. That’s what you’re doing in December and January.”
Inconsistency was an issue earlier in the year, but perhaps no longer. If anything, the Huskies appear to be peaking at the right time, a feeling echoed by Megan Walker after the Huskies’ latest victory.
“We’re doing a lot more back-cutting and a lot more screening. Everyone’s hitting their shots and everyone’s in the right position,” she said.
Walker, the AAC’s leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, is a big reason why the Huskies are where they are. On Friday, she was named the league’s Player of the Year — the eighth Husky to win the top honor in seven seasons.
The Huskies have won 136 straight games in AAC play, most rather comfortably. In fact, all but two of those victories have been by double digits.
“It’s amazing for us to do that,” Walker said. “We’re doing it for Coach (Auriemma), this program and the people who came before us. Just for people to hold up that honor is amazing.”
It’s a remarkable feat, one that defies explanation or logic. Temple will take a crack at ending it after knocking off ninth-seeded East Carolina 67-57 on Friday. Mia Davis, who joined Walker, Crystal Dangerfield and Christyn Williams on the All-AAC First Team, paced the Owls with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
“Everyone wants to be the team that beats them,” said Temple coach Tonya Cardoza, a former UConn assistant.
The Owls (16-14, 8-9) rolled into halftime up 40-25 and led the rest of the way. ECU pulled within 54-49 with 5:35 left, but Temple closed things out with the help of an 8-0 run.
Lashonda Monk paced ECU with 21 points while Hamden native Taniyah Thompson scored 14. Thompson, who earlier in the day was named to the All-AAC Freshman Team, had about 20 family members in attendance to watch her first game at Mohegan Sun.
Thompson doesn’t know any players on UConn personally. She said UConn didn’t recruit her. But she was hoping to play the Huskies.
“I was looking forward to it,” she said. “Never step down from a challenge.”
Preventing the spread: While he understands the concern over the coronavirus, Auriemma said his team isn’t taking any extra precautions at this time to prevent themselves from getting sick.
Auriemma thought it was an overreaction for the UConn-Houston men to forgo shaking hands after Thursday’s game — at the request of the AAC — because of the threat of the illness.
“That’s crazy, right?” he said. “It’s crazy. You just sweated all over each other for two hours and you don’t shake hands after the game. I think everybody’s looking to be like everybody else in the world. Let’s be politically correct. Let’s make sure that we say, ‘Well, we did our part.’ … There’s a lot of bodily fluids flying around for two hours. I don’t think shaking hands is going to be the gamechanger there.”
He added: “I get the precautions that you have to take, I understand. But it’s a contact sport.”
Walker agreed with Auriemma, saying, “It kind of doesn’t make any sense because you’re in each other’s personal space for 40 minutes before that. It’s a step in taking precautions, I guess.
Notable: UConn signees Paige Bueckers (Minnesota) and Mir McLean (Maryland) were named Gatorade Player of the Year for their respective states, it was announced Friday. Both players are also candidates for the national award.