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Women's Basketball
1998-99 Preview A Decade of Excellence
The more things change, the more things stay the same. That could
be the Husky mantra as Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma heads
into his 14th season in Storrs. Not only are the Huskies in the
hunt for an unprecedented eighth BIG EAST title, but they are again
key players for the National Championship.
Some things have changed.
• UConn lost three seniors from last year’s 34-3 squad,
including two starters: Nykesha Sales (Two-time All-America and
1998 BIG EAST Player of the Year), Rita Williams (1998 BIG EAST
Tournament Most Outstanding Player).
• A few new faces have joined the club, namely five fabulous
freshmen who have been touted as the best recruiting class in the
nation.
And some things have stayed the same.
• UConn returns four players who started on last year’s
squad, including: Amy Duran (Bethesda, MD); Paige Sauer (Midwest
City, OK); Stacy Hansmeyer (Norman, OK) and Svetlana Abrosimova
(St. Petersburg, Russia).
• The Huskies also return 1997 National Freshman of the Year,
Shea Ralph (Fayetville, NC), who sat out the 1997-98 season while
rehabilitating from her second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
tear.
• Connecticut will again play one of the toughest schedules
in the nation. Last season, UConn was ranked No. 3 in the Women’s
RPI College Basketball Ratings.
• UConn has the nation’s second-longest home winning streak
with 49 consecutive wins.
• The Huskies are celebrating a Decade of Excellence this season.
For each of the past 10 years, UConn has been invited to the NCAA
Women’s Basketball Championship - one of only seven schools
to do so. The Huskies won the National Championship in 1995 and
advanced to the Final Four on two other occasions.
• This year also marks the 25th season of women’s basketball
at Connecticut. In the last 13 seasons, Coach Auriemma has amassed
a 328-89 (.787) career record at the helm for the Huskies. In the
first 11 years of the program, the Huskies posted a 92-162 (.362)
mark.
A New Season
The Huskies start the 1998-99 season after advancing to the 1998
NCAA Elite Eight and winning the program’s seventh BIG EAST
Tournament Championship last year. UConn experienced a few bumps
on the road, including ending the season without two-time All-America
Nykesha Sales. Sales, who became the school’s all-time leading
scorer last season, ruptured her Achilles’ tendon vs. Notre
Dame and underwent surgery on Feb. 25., missing the BIG EAST Tournament
and all NCAA play.
The Seniors
Three seniors will lead UConn this season: Amy Duran, Courtney Gaine
(Bethesda, MD) and Tihana Abrlic (Zagreb, Croatia). Duran has started
at shooting guard the last two seasons and averaged 9.6 points and
3.4 assists a game last year. She led scoring in three games last
season with a high of 22 points vs. Seton Hall and was named to
the 1998 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team. Duran is the top free throw
shooter in UConn history with an .857 (132-154) career percentage.
Courtney Gaine, a guard/forward, has played in 60 games for the
Huskies, including 36 conference contests. She saw action in 16
games last season, scoring 16 points in 4.3 minutes a game. Fellow
senior Tihana Abrlic, a transfer from Central Florida Community
College, played in 28 games last year after missing six games with
reoccurring foot pain. She averaged 9.6 minutes a game, but averaged
10.8 minutes a game in the four NCAA Tournament games.
The Juniors
Starting center Paige Sauer and Stacy Hansmeyer make up the junior
class. The native Oklahomans combined for 19.8 points and 10.9 rebounds
a game. Sauer started 36 games, missing the Georgetown contest after
suffering a mild concussion in the previous game vs. Boston College.
She was named to the East Regional All-Tournament Team after scoring
71 points and totalling 42 rebounds in the last four games. Sauer
tied a career-high with 23 points against Arizona in the regional
semifinal win.
Hansmeyer started 21 games last season, including four BIG EAST
contests. The forward posted 21.4 minutes a game, averaging 31.4
minutes a contest during the BIG EAST Championships. She hit a career-high
21 points vs. Notre Dame in the BIG EAST semifinals and netted 37
points in the NCAA Tournament.
The Sophomores
The sophomore class is led by Svetlana Abrosimova who started 24
games in her rookie year. The forward got a lot of recognition for
her 14.5 points and 5.4 rebounds a game: BIG EAST All-Tournament
Team, All-BIG EAST Second Team, BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on six
occasions, and Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team. She became UConn’s
all-time leading freshman scorer with 538 points in her first season
of play. She also ranks No. 1 in freshman rebounds with 235, No.
2 in freshman steals (90) and No. 3 in freshman assists (114).
Kelly Schumacher (Quyon, Canada) saw action in 35 games, averaging
11.6 minutes, 5.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks a contest.
The forward/centerrecorded career-highs vs. Maine with 19 points
and 12 rebounds. Marci Glenney (Lisbon, CT) also made an impact
last season, playing in 32 games and averaging 8.7 minutes a contest.
The guard averaged 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds and played in all
four NCAA Tournament games. Another Marci, Marci Czel (Guilford,
CT), saw action in 21 games. The guard averaged 2.9 minutes a game
as a walk-on.
The final member of the sophomore class is one that Husky fans will
be glad to see return, 1996-97 National Freshman of the Year, Shea
Ralph. Ralph redshirted last season after reinjuring her right knee
on August 29, and undergoing surgery on Sept. 2. The 1997 BIG EAST
Rookie of the Year and five-time BIG EAST Rookie of the Week collected
11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds a contest, while ending the season
ranked No. 25 nationally in free throw percentage (.833) on 115-of-138.
Ralph missed the last three games of the 1996-97 season after tearing
her ACL vs. Lehigh in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Freshmen
And finally, the freshmen. Five of the top high school seniors in
the nation committed to UConn, including the High School Player
of the Year. Already referred to as the ‘Fab Five’, this
class is the country’s best recruiting class of 1998: Sue Bird
(Syosset, NY), Swintayla Cash (McKeesport, PA), Asjha Jones (Piscataway,
NJ), Keirsten Walters (Littleton, CO), and Tamika Williams (Dayton,
OH).
Sue Bird is a guard from Christ the King High School who averaged
16.3 points, 7.3 assists and 8.5 steals a game. The New York City
Player of the Year was an All-State and First Team Parade All-America
choice.
Swintayla ‘Swin’ Cash is a forward who was also chosen
First Team All-America by Parade and USA Today. Cash averaged a
whopping 30.4 points, 16.9 rebounds and 5.8 blocks a game.
Asjha Jones is also a forward who hit for 22.2 points, 11.1 boards
and 3.6 assists a game on her way to being named First Team All-America
by Parade and USA Today.
Keirsten Walters, a guard, averaged 24.6 points, 7.1 assists and
5.1 steals a game her senior season. She was also named First Team
Parade All-America.
And last, but not least - Tamika Williams. Named Naismith and Parade
National High School Player of the Year, Williams led her team with
19.4 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.4 steals a contest.
The forward was also named USA Today Player of the Year, totalling
2,015 points and 1,179 rebounds at Chaminade-Julienne.
With a team of returning veterans and young talent, the Huskies
will be sure to make another run at the national championship
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