Author Archives: ianbethune

Video: Moriah Jefferson Is The Engine That Pushes UConn Women

When you take a look around the locker room, you see star after star on the UConn women’s basketball team.

You have the best player in America in Breanna Stewart. You have the best shooter in Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.

Part of the reason why both of those players are successful is their point guard Moriah Jefferson.

Of all the players on the team, Jefferson is probably the most improved and one who has taken her game to another level. There’s a pretty good chance she ends up as an All-American this year and possibly win the Nancy Lieberman Award for best point guard.

She’s a big reason why UConn is 32-1 entering the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Watch and/or listen below as USF Bulls head coach Jose Fernandez talks about the UConn women’s basketball team and Jefferson being the “engine” that drive the UConn bus.

Video: UConn Women Pass Test; Win AAC Tournament Title

While they’ve been in the American Athletic Conference, the UConn women’s basketball team has been rarely tested by an opponent. And given how they rolled through conference play and the first two games of the conference tournament, you would have thought it would have been an easy game.

However, the South Florida Bulls had other ideas.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 23 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.

They threw their best punches at the UConn Huskies but unfortunately they didn’t get their Buster Douglas beating Mike Tyson moment on Monday night as they lost 84-70 to the Huskies at Mohegan Sun Arena in the 2015 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship game.

It’s the second straight American Athletic Conference title for the UConn women’s basketball team and the 20th time they’ve won a conference tournament title. It was also the closest game the Huskies have had in their two seasons in the conference.

For the third straight game, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis led UConn in scoring with 23 points and had a team-high six assists. She was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Both Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck added double-doubles for the American champions. Stewart had 22 points and 12 rebounds while Tuck had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Moriah Jefferson chipped in with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Shaleth Stringfield paced the Bulls with 20 points. Tamara Taylor added 17 points while Courtney Williams had 16 points. Alisia Jenkins added 10 points and a team-high four rebounds.

Both teams now await their NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament destination.

The odds are that the UConn women’s basketball team will be the No. 1 overall seed and host a first and second round game. Until that is announced on March 16, UConn will practice and fine tune their well-oiled machine.

UConn Huskies vs South Florida Bulls 2015 American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship box score

Here are the game notes from the American Athletic Conference.

Postgame quotes will be added when they become available.

Video: Why Do Players Want to Play for the UConn Women?

When a recruit thinks about coming to the University of Connecticut to play for the UConn women’s basketball team, they are certainly not thinking about how awesome the weather is in Storrs, CT.

They are thinking about how good the coaching staff is, how good the players are there and what kind of players and people the alumni of the team have become or the bond/sisterhood that is there.

Oh heck, who am I kidding.

It’s all about the nine national championships, 15 Final Fours, five perfect seasons and the 39 conference titles (regular season and tournament). And let us not forget all the in-season tournament titles they’ve won as well. They all come for the bling associated with it (I kid, I kid).

Watch and/or listen below as Kiah Stokes, Breanna Stewart, Kia Nurse and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis talking about winning championships at UConn.

Video: What Sets The UConn Women Apart From Other Teams?

Everyone out there wants to know why the UConn women’s basketball team is so good.

Is it because of the talent they have? That’s a part of it.

Is it because of their head coach and his staff? That’s a part of it.

So why are they so good?

It’s because they play solid basketball for 40 minutes every game. It doesn’t matter which five are on the floor for the UConn Huskies. They are all going to give it their collective all.

It’s something that UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma has ingrained in their minds.

Watch and/or listen below as UConn’s Breanna Stewart, Kiah Stokes and Moriah Jefferson talk about why they work so hard when they are on the court.

American Athletic Conference Weekly Award Winners – March 9

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the league’s weekly men’s basketball honors for the week ending March 8.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Farad Cobb • Jr. • G • Cincinnati

Cobb helped Cincinnati to a pair of wins last week, allowing the Bearcats to earn the No. 3 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and enter the postseason with a five-game winning streak. He averaged 19.0 points per game and shot .619 from the field (13-of-21) and .545 from 3-point range (6-of-11). He scored 22 points in a 56-47 win at Tulsa, which entered the game in first place in The American. He added 16 points, including 10 in a decisive 2:30 spurt in the first half, in a 77-65 win against Memphis.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Troy Holston Jr. • Fr. • G • USF

Holston averaged 20.0 points and 7.0 rebounds as USF split a pair of games in the last week of the regular season. He had 19 points with 10 rebounds in a 74-45 win against UCF and added a game-high 21 points with four boards in a 67-63 setback to Tulane.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

Ryan Boatright • Sr. • G • UConn

Averaged 19.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in two games.

Devonta Pollard • Jr. • F • Houston

Averaged 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in a 2-0 week.

Markus Kennedy • Jr. • F • SMU

Scored 16 points with seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals in a 67-62 win against Tulsa to clinch The American regular-season title.

Will Cummings • Sr. • G • Temple

Averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals in a 2-0 week.

James Woodard • Jr. • G • Tulsa

Averaged 21.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games. Had a conference-record 10 3-point field goals against SMU.

Level Five Play Needed For UConn Men To Win American Tournament

UConn head coach Kevin Ollie will need a maximum effort from his team for four straight days during the American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.

UConn head coach Kevin Ollie will need a maximum effort from his team each game for a chance to advance in the American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The UConn men’s basketball team isn’t exactly coming into Thursday’s opening round matchup of the 2015 American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on the highest of notes.

After winning three straight games to get themselves into contention for a first-round bye, they saw a Shaq Goodwin jumper help the Memphis Tigers beat them. Then they came out flat in the second half against the Temple Owls and lost their halftime lead and the game.

Now if they want any chance of making the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and defending their crown, the UConn Huskies will need to win four straight games in four days to earn the American’s automatic bid.

Is it an impossible task? Can it be done?

For UConn to do it, head coach Kevin Ollie says the players will need to bring their ‘A’ game.

“Everybody has to play at a level 5 for us to win games,” Ollie said on a conference call on Monday. “We’re just not talented enough to have three guys playing at a level 5 and two guys not.”

“We have to have all five playing at a maximum effort each and every minute for us to do that.”

The win over SMU showed that the Huskies can play together and as a team. Then the losses to Memphis and Temple showed anything but that.

It’s the Jekyll and Hyde effect we’ve seen from them all season long. But now that needs to change.

“We’ve got to play together as a group, got to play unselfishly, got to play hard and compete and not just play together but for one another on the basketball court,” said Ollie. “Hopefully everyone understands that.”

UConn will have the advantage of playing on their home court. How many fans show up is another story.

“We have four games to win,” said Ollie. “Hopefully we’ll be able to go out and capture another championship for our great fanbase.”

Field Set For 2015 American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship

From the American Athletic Conference:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After emerging from a winner-take-all game for the American Athletic Conference regular-season title with a 67-62 victory Sunday, SMU has earned the No. 1 seed for the 2015 American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship.

The Mustangs entered the final day of the regular season tied with Tulsa for the top spot in the conference standings, but rode a 16-point, seven rebound effort by forward Markus Kennedy to the five-point win against the Golden Hurricane, giving SMU its first regular-season conference title since 1993.

The American Athletic Conference Championship takes place March 12-15 at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. Tickets are available online at XLCenter.com, in person at the XL Center box office, or by telephone at 877-522-8499.

The tournament will be televised in its entirety on the ESPN Networks, with Sunday’s final scheduled for 3:15 p.m. ET on ESPN. Saturday’s semifinals will be televised on ESPN2, while Friday’s four quarterfinals will be on ESPN2 and ESPNU. ESPNU and ESPNews will provide coverage of Thursday’s three first-round games.

Additionally, all games of the tournament will have national radio distribution by IMG College and will be carried on SiriusXM satellite radio (XM 202, Sirius 218 and 92). Westwood One will have additional national coverage of Sunday’s tournament final. The American Digital Network will provide coverage throughout the week, including postgame press conferences and interviews with coaches and players.

As the No. 1 seed, SMU will play its first game of the tournament March 13 at noon ET, when the Mustangs face the winner of Thursday’s first-round matchup between No. 9-seeded UCF and No. 8-seeded East Carolina.

Tulsa, which fell to SMU in Sunday’s regular-season finale, enters the tournament as the No.2 seed, pairing the Golden Hurricane in a quarterfinal game against the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 10 Houston and No. 7 Tulane.

Cincinnati and Temple finished tied for the third in the conference standings and split their two regular-season meetings. But Cincinnati earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament based on the Bearcats’ two wins against SMU. Cincinnati will face the winner of Thursday’s first-round game between No. 11 USF and No. 6 UConn.

Temple is the No. 4 seed and will face Memphis, the No. 5 seed, in a Friday quarterfinal matchup at 2 p.m. ET.

All 11 American Athletic Conference teams will compete for the league title, including 2014 NCAA champion UConn, which is one of the six conference teams that have reached the NCAA Final Four. The 11 teams that comprise the American Athletic Conference have a combined six NCAA titles, made 22 Final Four appearances, 67 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 173 NCAA tournament appearances.
2015 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
XL CENTER • HARTFORD, CONN.

Thursday, March 12 – First Round (ESPNU/ESPNews)
3:30 p.m. No. 9 UCF (12-17) vs. No. 8 East Carolina (13-18) – ESPNU
6 p.m. No. 10 Houston (11-18) vs. No. 7 Tulane (15-15) – ESPNews
8 p.m. No. 11 USF (9-22) vs. No. 6 UConn (17-13) – ESPNews

Friday, March 13 – Quarterfinals (ESPN2/ESPNU)
Noon UCF/East Carolina winner vs. No. 1 SMU (24-6) – ESPN2
2 p.m. No. 5 Memphis (18-13) vs. No. 4 Temple (22-9) – ESPN2
7 p.m. Houston/Tulane winner vs. No. 2 Tulsa (21-9) – ESPNU
9 p.m. USF/UConn winner vs. No. 3 Cincinnati (22-9) – ESPNU

Saturday, March 14 – Semifinals (ESPN2)
3 p.m. Friday afternoon winners
5 p.m. Friday evening winners

Sunday, March 15 – Final (ESPN)
3:15 p.m. Semifinal winners

all times Eastern

Photos – AAC WBB: UConn Huskies vs East Carolina Pirates – 3/8/15

Here is a photo gallery from the 2015 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinal between the UConn women’s basketball team and the East Carolina Pirates. The UConn Huskies routed East Carolina 106-56.

To see full size picture or slide show, please click on image
(mobile/tablet users: to scroll through photos, you can swipe left or right; to remove caption, tap photo.)

Video: UConn Women Advance To Finals With 50 Point Rout of ECU

There’s many a reason why players choose to play for the UConn women’s basketball team. One of them is to win championships, whether it be a regular season title, in-season tournament title, conference tournament or the big one.

Well, the UConn Huskies will get a chance to play for their second straight American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament title after shellacking the East Carolina Pirates 106-56 in front of 6,531 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT on Sunday night.

UConn (31-1) will play the South Florida Bulls in Monday night’s championship game. The Bulls defeated Tulane in the nightcap. East Carolina (21-10) will not wait until next Monday to find out whether they made the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 19 of her 21 points in the first half to pace the Huskies. Moriah Jefferson, who turned 21 on Sunday, gave herself a nice birthday present with 20 points and six assists. Breanna Stewart just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds while blocking five shots.

Morgan Tuck and Gabby Williams each added 15 and 12 points respectively.

Kiah Stokes became the all-time single season leader in blocks with four in the game. She now has 132 this season which passed Rebecca Lobo’s record of 131.

I’Tiana Taylor led the Pirates with 17 points. Jada Payne added 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds while Abria Trice had 11 points.

UConn Huskies vs East Carolina Pirates 2015 AAC Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinal box score

Here are UConn’s postgame quotes.

Here are East Carolina’s postgame quotes.

Photos – AAC WBB: UConn Huskies vs Cincinnati Bearcats – 3/7/15

Here is a photo gallery from the 2015 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinal between the UConn women’s basketball team and the Cincinnati Bearcats. The UConn Huskies won the game 93-34.