2016–17 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team

2016–17 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball

Conference	American Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
2016–17 record	6–0 (0–0 The American)
Head coach	Geno Auriemma (32nd year)
Associate head coach	Chris Dailey
Assistant coach	Shea Ralph
Assistant coach	Marisa Moseley
Home arena	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion XL Center

2016–17 American Athletic Conference women's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
#2 Connecticut	0	–	0	–	6	–	0	1.000
South Florida	0	–	0	–	6	–	0	1.000
Cincinnati	0	–	0	–	6	–	1	.857
UCF	0	–	0	–	6	–	2	.750
Tulane	0	–	0	–	5	–	2	.714
East Carolina	0	–	0	–	6	–	3	.667
SMU	0	–	0	–	5	–	3	.625
Temple	0	–	0	–	3	–	2	.600
Memphis	0	–	0	–	3	–	4	.429
Tulsa	0	–	0	–	3	–	5	.375
Houston	0	–	0	–	2	–	4	.333


† American Tournament winner As of December 4, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016–17 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team will represent the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma, in his 32nd season at UConn, will play their home games at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center and are fourth year members of the American Athletic Conference.

Media

Every single Connecticut game is expected to be televised. Excluding exhibitions, most Connecticut games air on SNY, an ESPN network, or a CBS network. Exhibition games and games that air on SNY are also streamed on Husky Vision. Every game is expected to be broadcast on the UConn IMG Sports Network with an extra audio broadcast being available online to listen to through Husky Vision.

Off-season

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes
Pulido, BrianaBriana Pulido	2	G	5'7"	Senior	Miami, FL	Graduated
Tuck, MorganMorgan Tuck	3	F	6'2"	RS Junior	Bolingbrook, IL	Graduated/Declared to 2016 WNBA draft
Jefferson, MoriahMoriah Jefferson	4	G	5'7"	Senior	Glenn Heights, TX	Graduated/Declared to 2016 WNBA draft
Ekmark, CourtneyCourtney Ekmark	22	G	6'0"	Sophomore	Phoenix, AZ	Transferred to Arizona State
Stewart, BreannaBreanna Stewart	30	F	6'4"	Senior	North Syracuse, NY	Graduated/Declared to 2016 WNBA draft
Boykin, De'JanaeDe'Janae Boykin	35	F	6'2"	Freshman	Springdale, MD	Transferred to Penn State

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes
Camara, BatoulyBatouly Camara	32	F	6'2"	Sophomore	New York, NY	Transferred from Kentucky. Under NCAA transfer rules, Camara will sit out for one year and be eligible to start at the beginning the 2017–18 season. Camara has three years of remaining eligibility.
Stevens, AzuraAzura Stevens	23	G/F	6'6"	Junior	Raleigh, NC	Transferred from Duke. Under NCAA transfer rules, Stevens will sit out for one year and be eligible to start at the beginning the 2017–18 season. Stevens will have two years of remaining eligibility.

Recruits

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Crystal Dangerfield PG	Murfreesboro, TN	Blackman	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	N/A
Crystal Dangerfield PG	Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98
Molly Bent G	Centerville, MA	Tabor Academy	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	N/A
Molly Bent G	Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 90
Kayla Irwin P	Lemont, PA	State College	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A
Kayla Irwin P	Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 90
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.

Roster

2016–17 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Home town
1.5 !G	5	Dangerfield, CrystalCrystal Dangerfield	65 !5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	1.0 !Fr	Blackman	Murfreesboro, TN
1.5 !G	10	Bent, MollyMolly Bent	69 !5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	1.0 !Fr	Tabor Academy	Centerville, MA
1.5 !G	11	Nurse, KiaKia Nurse	72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	3.0 !Jr	St. Thomas More	Hamilton, ON
1.5 !G	12	Chong, SaniyaSaniya Chong	68 !5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	4.0 !Sr	Ossining	Ossining, NY
1.5 !G	15	Williams, GabbyGabby Williams	71 !5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	3.0 !Jr	Reed	Sparks, NV
1.5 !G	20	Lawlor, TierneyTierney Lawlor	67 !5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	4.0 !Sr	Ansonia	Ansonia, CT
2.5 !G/F	23	Stevens, AzuraAzura Stevens (I)	78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	3.5 !RS Jr	Duke	Raleigh, NC
2.5 !G/F	24	Collier, NapheesaNapheesa Collier	73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	2.0 !So	Incarnate Word Academy	O'Fallon, MO
3.5 !F	25	Irwin, KylaKyla Irwin	74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	1.0 !Fr	State College	Lemont, PA
3.5 !F	32	Camara, BatoulyBatouly Camara (I)	74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	2.5 !RS So	Kentucky	New York, NY
2.5 !G/F	33	Lou Samuelson, KatieKatie Lou Samuelson	75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	2.0 !So	Mater Dei	Huntington Beach, CA
5.0 !C	51	Butler, NatalieNatalie Butler	77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	3.5 !RS Jr	Georgetown	Fairfax Station, VA

Head coach

Geno Auriemma (West Chester)

Assistant coach(es)

Chris Dailey (Rutgers)
Shea Ralph (Connecticut)
Marisa Moseley (Boston)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: 9/21/16

Games

Exhibition

IUP

Connecticut took on the Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks in their initial exhibition game. The Huskies started strong early, opening up a 13–2 lead in the opening minutes. The Crimson Hawks played roughly even over the next few minutes; the Huskies were leading 26–14 late in the first quarter. An 8–0 run to start the second quarter and a 14–0 run to start the second half helped extend the lead and Connecticut ended up with the win, 111–39. Katie Lou Samuelson was the leading scorer with 24 points for UConn while Carolyn Appleby was the leading scorer for IUP with 17 points.^[1]

Pace

The second, and final exhibition game of the season was against the Pace University Setters. The Huskies worked on their full-court press, which was effective against the Division II team, holding Pace to just three points in the first quarter against 35 for the Huskies. Connecticut continued the full-court pressure in the second quarter and led 59–9 at the half. In the third quarter, Connecticut stopped the press and let the Setters play in a half-court offense; Pace kept pace with Connecticut; each team scoring 13 in the third quarter. The final score, in favor of the Huskies 95–32. Pace's Kirsten Dodge was high scorer for the team with nine points. UConn's Gabby Williams had a double double scoring 24 points and securing 10 rebounds.^[2]

Regular Season

Florida State (away)

The opening of the regular-season was a road game against Florida State University. The Seminoles were ranked 12th, but did not have Leticia Romero, who had played on the Olympic team from Spain which won the silver metal. The Huskies brought a 75 game winning streak into the game, although several key players from those teams had graduated. Florida State led by four points at halftime, only the fourth time that Connecticut trailed at the half in their streak. The Seminoles expanded the lead to seven; the largest deficit the Huskies had faced in the second half of the streak was two points, against Maryland the previous year. The Huskies had not had a player foul out the entire previous year but had two players with three fouls each by halftime, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams. In the second half, Gabby Williams hit a three pointer, the first one of her career and Samuelson hit another three-pointer as part of a 14–2 run to give a five-point lead to UConn. The Huskies would extend the margin to eight points, but the Seminoles responded and cut the lead to a single point with under a minute to go. Brittany Brown was fouled attempting a three-pointer and went to the line with a three-point deficit, making two of three to cut the lead to a single point. She missed the third free-throw, which was knocked out of bounds by two players, one from each team. The referees called it Florida State's ball, and affirmed the call after a review. After inbounding, Shakayla Thomas tried to score but she was blocked by Naphessa Collier who then tapped the ball to Crystal Dangerfield. Florida State had one final chance, down by two points, but Imani Wright's three-point attempt missed the basket and Connecticut escaped with a two point win, 78–76. Napheesa Collier had a career-high 28 points, while Saniya Chong added 16 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter.^[3]

Baylor (home)

Connecticut played Baylor in the first home game of the season. Baylor's AP ranking is #2 while Connecticut is #3. It is the first time since February 2015, when Connecticut faced South Carolina, that the Huskies were playing a team ranked ahead of them in a poll. Prior to the tip off, Connecticut unveiled the banner identifying the team as the 2016 NCCA champions. The Lady Bears scored twice before the Huskies first score. UConn responded and took a lead, but the lead changed hands in the teams date close throughout the first half. Baylor missed a three-pointer near the end of the half, allowing UConn to go into halftime with a three-point lead 32–29. Baylor opened the second half with a seven point run to take the lead. However, shortly after, the Huskies led by Chrystal Dangerfield and Gabby Williams went on an 18–4 run to give UConn a 10 point lead. The Lady Bears responded and tied the game up at 54 each with about 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the game. Then UConn "took charge" and went on a 16–2 run to make the score 70–56 with about a minute left in the game. The game ended with UConn leading 72–61. The win extended the UConn winning streak to 77 consecutive games, the second longest streak in women's basketball history, beaten only by UConn's 90 consecutive wins. Baylor's Alexis had 23 points while UConn's Dangerfield came off the bench to score 19 points.^[4]^[5]

LSU (away)

UConn visited Baton Rouge for a game against the LSU. The Lady Tigers Kept the game close early trailing by only two points 16–14. The Huskies open up the game in the second quarter hitting three consecutive three-pointers to extend the lead to 13 points. The Lady Tigers played roughly even in the second half, with UConn only outscoring them by two points but the final score favored Connecticut 76–53. The final margin of 23 points was exactly half of the margin in the prior year's meeting in Connecticut where the Huskies won by 46 points. Katie Lou Samuelson was the leading scorer for the Huskies with 28 points on seven three-pointers.^[6]

Dayton (home)

Connecticut took on Dayton at home, the third time in history the two teams have met. The Huskies won both prior games, including the most recent game played in the Elite Eight game of the 2015 NCAA tournament. In that game, Dayton led at halftime, one of only three times in the last 127 games that UConn has been behind at halftime. The fans may have been thinking back to that game when Dayton was leading 10–5 just over four minutes into the game. Those thoughts dissipated when the Huskies scored the next 15 points. Connecticut expanded the lead until it reached a 20 point margin at halftime. The two teams played roughly even in the third quarter but two three-pointers by Nurse and one by Samuelson opened the fourth quarter to start another 15–0 run. When the final buzzer sounded, Connecticut led 98–65. Samuelson, who would set her career high with 28 points in the prior game, set a new career-high with 29 points. Williams had a double double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Collier scored 22 points.^[7]

Chattanooga (home)

UConn played Chattanooga in the first regular-season game in Hartford. The Mocs led 5–0 and still lead late in the first quarter 14–13 when Gabby Williams stole the ball, and made a layup to put the Huskies ahead. UConn led by just 12 points at halftime, but after giving up the first basket of the second half, they scored 18 consecutive points to give the Huskies a large lead. The Huskies won 80–43 giving them 80 consecutive wins. Chattanooga was unranked, but the upcoming schedule has five ranked teams. When asked about the upcoming schedule, Auriemma said "...cause we need to get our ass beat and soon and bad, so that some of our guys will come to realize that this is not as easy as they think it is".^[8]^[9]

DePaul (home)

Connecticut hosted 15th ranked DePaul at their campus arena. The Huskies hit their first nine shots, but it was the defense that impressed coach Auriemma as the team held the Blue Demons without a basket for almost 6 minutes. The score was 22–1 before the Blue Demons hit their first basket. Kia Nurse exceeded her best scoring output of the season in the first quarter, exceeded her prior career high in the second quarter, and ended with 33 points, a new career-high. Gabby Williams assisted on 10 baskets, a new career high. DePaul, who were leading the nation in made three-pointers, hit only seven of their 40 attempts. The Huskies had a 31 point lead at the end of the first quarter, and went on to win 91–46, to record their 81st consecutive victory.^[10]^[11]

Schedule

^[12]

Date Time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (Attendance) City, State
Exhibition
11/01/2016* 7:00 PM, HuskyVision	No. 3	IUP	W 111–39		24 – Samuelson	9 – Tied	6 – Williams	Gampel Pavilion (4,419) Storrs, CT
11/06/2016* 1:00 PM, HuskyVision	No. 3	Pace	W 95–32		24 – Williams	11 – Collier	6 – Bent	XL Center (5,623) Hartford, CT
Regular season
11/14/2016* 6:00 PM, ESPN2	No. 3	at No. 12 Florida State College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon	W 78–76	1–0	28 – Collier	8 – Collier	6 – Chong	Donald L. Tucker Center (4,753) Tallahassee, FL
11/17/2016* 7:30 PM, SNY	No. 3	No. 2 Baylor	W 72–61	2–0	19 – Dangerfield	11 – Collier	6 – Nurse	Gampel Pavilion (9,049) Storrs, CT
11/20/2016* 5:30 PM, ESPN	No. 3	at LSU	W 76–53	3–0	28 – Samuelson	10 – Williams	8 – Nurse	Maravich Center (3,806) Baton Rouge, LA
11/22/2016* 7:00 PM, SNY	No. 2	Dayton	W 98–65	4–0	29 – Samuelson	11 – Williams	9 – Dangerfield	Gampel Pavilion (6,443) Storrs, CT
11/29/2016* 7:00 PM, SNY	No. 2	Chattanooga	W 80–43	5–0	23 – Collier	10 – Williams	5 – Chong	XL Center (6,090) Hartford, CT
12/01/2016* 7:00 PM, SNY	No. 2	No. 15 DePaul	W 91–46	6–0	33 – Nurse	7 – Tied	10 – Williams	Gampel Pavilion (6,716) Storrs, CT
12/04/2016* 4:00 PM, ESPN	No. 2	vs. No. 14 Texas Jimmy V Classic			–	–	–	Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT
12/07/2016* 7:00 PM, ESPN2		at Notre Dame Rivalry			–	–	–	Edmund P. Joyce Center South Bend, IN
12/11/2016* 2:00 PM, FS1		at Kansas State			–	–	–	Bramlage Coliseum Manhattan, KS
12/19/2016* 7:00 PM, CBSSN		Ohio State			–	–	–	XL Center Hartford, CT
12/21/2016* 9:00 PM, BTN		at Nebraska			–	–	–	Pinnacle Bank Arena Lincoln, NE
12/29/2016* 6:00 PM, ESPN2		at Maryland			–	–	–	Xfinity Center College Park, MD
01/01/2017 1:00 PM, SNY		at UCF			–	–	–	CFE Arena Orlando, FL
01/04/2017 7:00 PM, SNY		East Carolina			–	–	–	XL Center Hartford, CT
01/10/2017 7:00 PM, CBSSN		South Florida			–	–	–	XL Center Hartford, CT
01/14/2017 3:00 PM, SNY		at SMU			–	–	–	Moody Coliseum Dallas, TX
01/17/2017 8:00 PM, SNY		at Tulsa			–	–	–	Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK
01/22/2017 1:00 PM, ESPN2		Tulane			–	–	–	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
01/24/2017 7:00 PM, SNY		at East Carolina			–	–	–	Williams Arena Greenville, NC
01/28/2017 12:00 PM, SNY		Houston			–	–	–	XL Center Hartford, CT
02/01/2017 7:00 PM, SNY		at Temple			–	–	–	Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
02/05/2017 1:00 PM, SNY		Tulsa			–	–	–	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
02/07/2017 7:00 PM, SNY		at Cincinnati			–	–	–	Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, OH
02/11/2017 2:00 PM, SNY		SMU			–	–	–	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
02/13/2017* 9:00 PM, ESPN2		South Carolina			–	–	–	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
02/18/2017 8:00 PM, SNY		at Tulane			–	–	–	Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA
02/22/2017 7:00 PM, SNY		Temple			–	–	–	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
02/25/2017 4:00 PM, SNY		Memphis			–	–	–	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
02/27/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN2		at South Florida			–	–	–	USF Sun Dome Tampa, FL
American Athletic Conference Women's Tournament
03/03–06/2017		vs.			–	–	–	Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in EST.

Rankings

Main article: 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Regular Season Polls
Poll	Pre- Season	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15	Week 16	Week 17	Week 18	Week 19	Final
AP	3	3	2	2																N/A
Coaches	1	2	2	2

**Legend**
		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
(RV)		Received Votes

References

↑ "Appleby's 17 points leads Crimson Hawks in Exhibition loss at UConn". Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
↑ "Pace Women's Basketball Battles with Defending Division I Champion UConn at XL Center". Pace University. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
↑ "Collier, UConn survive 78-76 thriller over Florida State". SNY. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
↑ "No. 2/4 Lady Bears Fall at No. 3/2 UConn, 72-61". Retrieved 2016-11-18.
↑ "No. 3 UConn women pull away from No. 2 Baylor, 72-61". SNY. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
↑ Advocate, BY TED LEWIS | Special to The. "LSU overpowered by UConn; Geno Auriemma says Lady Tigers not what they used to be". The Advocate. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
↑ "Huskies stumble early, but cruise past Dayton, 98-65". SNY. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
↑ "Chattanooga vs. Connecticut - Play-By-Play - November 29, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
↑ The Associated Press (2016-11-29). "No. 2 UConn Routs Chattanooga 80-43 for 80th Straight Win". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
↑ Press, Pat Eaton-Robb The Associated. "No. 2 UConn women dominate No. 15 DePaul, 91-46". The Bulletin. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
↑ DOYLE, PAUL. "Nurse Leads Sprint From Start To Finish As UConn Defeats DePaul, 91-46". courant.com. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
↑ "2016–2017 Schedule". UConnHuskies.com. Retrieved June 14, 2016.

External links

Official site

Connecticut Huskies women's basketball

Venues	Hugh S. Greer Field House (1974–1989) XL Center (1975–present) Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (1990–present)

Rivalries	Notre Dame Tennessee Rutgers

Culture & lore	Jonathan the Husky

People	Head coaches Huskies of Honor

Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

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