Team for the Ages
The most dominant college athletic program in the country has galvanized the state of Connecticut for two decades.
This is a project that I recently finished up for Yankee Magazine.
Photos by Steven G. Smith
Story by Mike Stanton
The Long Blue Line, UConn Women's Basketball Dynasty
From cradle to grave, Connecticut is mad about its Huskies. Girls grow up in Connecticut with the same basketball fever as boys in Indiana. They dream of being Diana Taurasi or Maya Moore or Breanna Stewart or Katie Lou Samuelson, the current junior All-American whose hair bun and three-point shot little girls try to emulate. Before the rise of regional sports television networks, and UConn's move to the SNY network that reaches 14 million viewers in the Northeast, the Huskies were the top-rated show on Connecticut Public Television. Rebecca Lobo, UConn's first superstar, visited Sesame Street during her subsequent professional career to teaching kids about the alphabet "“ "The ball I play with is shaped like the letter "˜O' and the basket I try to put it in looks like an "˜O' too." (She also went one-on-one with Big Bird, who wore a Larry Bird jersey.)
The obituaries in Connecticut newspapers are filled with references to the dearly departed's devotion to the Long Blue Line. "My late mother, a devout Catholic and by no means a sports fan, relished the experiences of the women's team," one man wrote the Hartford Courant last winter, as the team was in the midst of a mind-boggling and record-setting 111 game-winning streak. "In her later years, her entertainment was confined to television: the nightly news, EWTN (a Catholic television network) and UConn women's basketball. Her comfort came from the religious network, but her joy was manifest in the accomplishments of these gifted women, not only in athletics but academics, public service and good deeds." Hanging from the ceiling of UConn's Gampel Pavilion is a row of the women's 11 national championship banners: 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. For the rest of Mike's story please see Yankee Magazine. https://newengland.com/yankee-magazine/living/new-england-environment/team-for-the-ages-uconn-basketball/
01 The University of Connecticut students pour onto the plaza area at the Storrs campus after watching their teams win two NCAA national championships. In 2014, UConn won both the men and women's national championships.
02 Marilyn Bell and a dedicated group of UConn women's basketball fans gather for a UConn women's basketball event at Covenant Village in Cromwell, Connecticut. Covenant Village is a retirement community; the club is called Chris' Kids and is named after UConn's Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey.03 Die-hard fan (center) Carol McKenzie of Simsbury, Connecticut leads a cheer before a March tournament game. McKenzie carries her custom-made Jonathan Jr. puppet; Jonathan is the name of the husky mascot.
04 Leading the Cheer, UConn cheerleaders bring the team on the floor for the Elite Eight final game against the Oregon Ducks. UConn won the game 90-52.
03 An inspiration for the next generation, a group of young basketball players from a Stamford, Connecticut travel team watch the warm-ups for the final game at the Bridgeport Regional.
04 Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey shares a fun moment with Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams behind the scenes at the 2017 tournament. Dailey plays a complex role with the group of young women on the team.
05 UConn's Gabby Williams, far left, ï¬ghts for a loose ball during the women's regional playoffs in March 2017; poised to jump in is All-American forward Napheesa Collier (#24). The Huskies went on to beat UCLA 86"“71, winning their 110th game in a row.
06 Williams celebrates with intensity after making a crucial basket in a game against UCLA. Huskies beat UCLA 86-71 to move onto the regional final. The win marked the 110th straight victory for the Huskies.
07 The UConn fans are on their feet after Huskies guard Kia Nurse hit one of her nine three-pointers"tying an NCAA tournament record"to help her team beat Syracuse 94"“64 in the second round of the 2017 national tournament.
08 Head coach Geno Auriemma and assistant coach Marisa Moseley keep the energy high during the Huskies' tournament run. In 2016, with national championship number 11, Auriemma surpassed the ten titles won by John Wooden's UCLA men's basketball teams in the 1960s and 1970s. The Huskies have had six unbeaten seasons and gone to 18 Final Fours, including 10 in a row through 2017.
09 Team members celebrate after winning the regional final against Oregon and qualifying for the final four in Dallas. UConn team members become extremely close throughout the season the team eats regular dinners together to help with bonding.
10 Katie Lou Samuelson and Head Coach Geno Auriemma leave the court signaling a victory after defeating Syracuse 94-64 in March 2017 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. This win marked the women's team 109 straight win; their last loss came in November 2014 against Stanford.
In 2017 the Huskies inevitably yet surprisingly lost, shocked by Mississippi State on the verge of their fifth straight unbeaten season, their fans were disappointed but philosophical. There 111 game winning streak broke the record of 90 games, set by another group of UConn women basketball players.
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