The 2012–13 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2012–13 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies, coached by Geno Auriemma, played their home games at two different venues—the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. Connecticut was a member of the Big East Conference in the league's final season before its split along football lines into the football-sponsoring American Athletic Conference (The American) and the new, non-football Big East. Connecticut, as an FBS football school, became a member of The American, which retained the charter of the original Big East.
The Huskies won their 30th game of the season on March 23, 2013, representing the eighth consecutive year the team has won thirty or more games. This consecutive streak of eight seasons is the longest in NCAA history for basketball.
Connecticut's season ended with a win in the championship game of the NCAA tournament, giving the Huskies and Auriemma their eighth title overall. Per tradition, the team was invited to the White House for a meeting with the President. In his remarks, President Obama described the team as "one of the great sports dynasties of our time."
Off-season
USA Basketball Connecticut basketball players, current, past and incoming, were active in USA basketball events during 2012.
Olympics The premier event was the Olympics where the 12-member Olympic squad included six former Huskies:
Sue Bird Swin Cash Tina Charles Asjha Jones Maya Moore Diana Taurasi
The USA team made it easily to the medal rounds, but was challenged in the semi-finals, when Australia started out strong and held a four-point lead at halftime. The USA team emphasized defense in the second half, and held on to win 86–76. In the next game, Team USA asserted itself earlier, and won the gold medal 86–50 over France.
USA U18
Three incoming freshmen were on the ten-player team representing the US in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship: Breanna Stewart Moriah Jefferson Morgan Tuck
The three players helped Team USA win all five games at the championship event and win the gold medal. Tuck was the leading scorer, not just on the USA team, but among all participants, scoring almost 18 points per game. Her 54.2% field goal shooting percentage just edged out Stewart's 54.0% to lead the international field. Jefferson was second in the assists category, and the assists to turnover ratio. Stewart was awarded the Tournament Most Valuable Player award.
USA 3x3 Two UConn players, one current, one a former player, were on the four-player squad representing the US in the Women's 3x3 World Championship: Ann Strother Bria Hartley
The USA Basketball organization held a competition to determine which team would represent the US in Greece. Hartley was on the team which won the overall event. Strother also competed at the event, but the team she was on came in third. However, one member of the winning team, Alyssa Thomas, had a medical issue that prevented her from continuing with the team. Strother was asked to fill in for Thomas.
The USA team won many of the early games easily. In the 3x3 rules, the game ends after 10 minutes, or until one team reaches 21 or more points. The USA team reached 21 or more points in each of the first seven games. The semi-final and final games were much closer. In the semi-final game, the USA prevailed over Australia 19–18. In the final game against France, the USA team fell behind 7–2, but again won by a single point, 17–16.
Roster changes The single senior, Tiffany Hayes graduated, and was selected as the second pick in the second round of the 2012 WNBA draft (14th overall) by the Atlanta Dream.
Two players decided to transfer. Michala Johnson decided to play closer to home, and transferred to Wisconsin, where her younger sister was set to join the team in 2013. Lauren Engeln decided to transfer to Boston College.
Connecticut's incoming class of freshman included three players: Breanna Stewart, Morgan Tuck, and Moriah Jefferson. The incoming class was rated the number one recruiting class, by ESPN.
Stewart is a 6'4" (1.93 m) forward who can also play guard positions. She is from North Syracuse, New York, where she played for Cicero – North Syracuse High School. Stewart has extensive basketball experience in addition to her high school experience. She played with her high school team in national tournaments such as the Tournament of Champions, held in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Hoophall Classic, held in Springfield, Massachusetts. She has also played for a number of USA basketball teams, including U16, U17, U18, and U19 teams. She was invited to the Pan American team while still in high school, only the second player, other than Nancy Lieberman, to earn an invitation as a high school player. Stewart was named the girl's high school basketball player of the year by both Gatorade and Naismith for 2012. She was honored to be named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 2011, an award rarely awarded to high school players.
Tuck is a 6'2" (1.88 m) forward. She is from Bolingbrook, Illinois where she played for the Bolingbrook Raiders, coached by Tony Smith, where she helped the team to a four-year record of 110–9 with three state titles. Tuck was named the Gatorade player of the year for Illinois in 2012. She scored 2,460 points during her four years in high school, and recorded 992 rebounds. Tuck also has National Tournament and USA basketball experience. Her team competed in the Tournament of Champions, losing only to Stewart's team. She played on the 2010 gold-medal-winning U17 team, as well as the 2011 gold-medal-winning U19 team.
Jefferson is a 5'7" (1.70 m) guard from Glenn Heights, Texas. She is home-schooled, but played in the Texas Home Educators Sports Association. She was considered by ESPN as "highest rated point guard in the class of 2012". She is both a McDonald's and WBCA All-American, and competed in the WBCA All-American all-star game. She earned a position on the USA Basketball U18 team, where she started all five games, helping the US to a gold medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Roster
Games
Pre-season Connecticut opened against the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks. Two players, Hartley and Doty were nursing injuries, and did not play. IUP scored the first two points, but their initial 2–0 lead did not last long. Everyone on the UConn team who played, scored, with six players reaching double figures. Each of the three freshman on the team scored in double figures. The final score was 105–28.
Regular season UConn opened the regular season with a home game against the College of Charleston. Charleston scored the first two points, but the Huskies responded with a 19–0 run to take command of the game. Every UConn player scored, with freshman Breanna Stewart scoring 21 to tie Maya Moore for most points scored in an initial game as a Husky. UConn went on to win 103–39.
UConn faced their first ranked team of the season with an away game against Texas A&M, the 2011 national champion. The Huskies opened up with an 11-2 run, prompting Gary Blair to call a timeout ahead of the scheduled media timeout. The Aggies responded by cutting the lead to four points, but Connecticut then scored nine straight. The lead was twelve points at halftime, but ballooned to 31 by the end of the game. Stefanie Dolson led all scorers with 24 points on 11-15 shooting. Kiah Stokes led the team with seven rebounds, and recorded three of the team's five blocks. The final score favored the Huskies 81-50.
Paradise Jam The team flew from Texas to St. Thomas on Monday, arriving in time to watch the men's championship game between Connecticut and New Mexico. Although the Huskies men's team managed to take a late lead, New Mexico responded to win the championship. The women's team had some time on the beach and in the sun before playing their first game on Thanksgiving Day. They faced Wake Forest, but the game was never close. The Huskies scored the first twelve points, and extended the margin to a 45-12 halftime score. All players saw action, and the final score was 95-34 in favor of Connecticut, with the Huskies shooting almost 69% from the floor. Dolson hit her first career three point attempt, while Stewart led all scorers with 20 points.
In the second game of the Paradise Jam Tournament, UConn met Marist. UConn opened in full court pressure, which helped to open up a 22-9 early lead. Then the Huskies went on an 18-0 run to extend the lead. Breanna Stewart scored 20 points and recorded 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Connecticut went on to win 81-39. The win represented the 48th consecutive in-season tournament win, a streak extending back to 1992.
Connecticut faced 14th ranked Purdue in the finals of the Paradise Jam Tournament. Each team entered the final game with a 2-0 record. Purdue was successful beyond the arc, hitting 59% of their three-point attempts (13 of 22), but hit only six two point shots. UConn started out with an 11-0 run, and never trailed. UConn went on to win 91-57. Breanna Stewart was named the Tournament most valuable player, the only freshman to earn MVP honors in the thirteen-year history of the Paradise Jam other than Maya Moore in 2007. Kaleena Lewis was also named to the All-tournament team.
Regular season continued UConn returned to regular season play with a game against Colgate. Before the game started the President of UConn, Susan Herbst, and her brother Jeffrey, the President of Colgate, exchanged jerseys at midcourt. The game was never close, as UConn score twelve points before Colgate scored. Briana Banks came off the bench to score 20 points, a career high, while Kelly Faris has 15 points by halftime. The final score in favor of Connecticut was 101–41.
UConn faced Maryland in their next game, the first opponent ranked by the Coaches poll in the top ten. The huskies started out scoring the first six points, and opened up a nine-point lead early but Maryland came back and cut the lead to two points. They never took the lead, and UConn won 63–48. The UConn defense, led by Kelly Faris, held All-American Alyssa Thomas to only six points, while forcing her to commit eight turnovers. Faris hit four of her six field goal attempts, and added seven rebounds, eight steals and seven assists.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was nursing a quad injury, and cleared to play in the game again Penn State shortly before the game. he UConn team had been behind all of seventeen seconds in the first seven games, but the Lady Lions took a lead in the first half. Penn State was within three points well into the second half, but Lewis scored 25 points to lead all scorers, and help ensure that UConn would go on to win their eighth game of the year 67–52.
After a long break for exams, the UConn team faced Oakland, a 5-5 team that would have a challenge against second ranked Connecticut under the best of circumstances, but the Grizzlies had two of their best players out with injuries. The Huskies scored the first 14 points of the game, and allowed only two baskets in the first half, reaching a season best 61 points by halftime. The Oakland team did start off the second half with five consecutive points, but couldn't get close. UConn's Bria Hartley had her best game of the year, following early season injuries and a slow return, but scored 19 points in the first half, and ended up with 21 points. The final score in favor of the Huskies was 97–25, the fewest points allowed by Connecticut so far this season.