Let's give a tribute to some great Huskies...

[alexrgct]

...who have had a hand in the four winning streaks that are four of the five longest in WCBB history.

Maya Moore and Tina Charles

How can you not love these two? they have been monumentally great. Tina was pushed hard and prodded by Geno, but when it came together for her, she and Maya put together two undefeated NCs and 78 wins in a row. Maya would lead the charge in the final 12 games of the record streak, including 30 points against Baylor and 41 against Florida State for #89.

Oh yeah- we all saw you, Tiffany Hayes...

Diana Taurasi

Oh come on- D doesn't warrant a tribute, does she?

Well, of course she does. She was a WBCA AA and a key starter on that 39-0 team from 2001-02, then led UConn to huge wins over the likes of Duke and Tennessee while the streak extended to 70. All you need to remember was the 3/4 court halftime shot and that booming trey to send the Tennessee game to OT.

D is the GOAT, and she gets our vote...as someone who should be mentioned as a key contributor to a big streak. It was the second-longest streak in WCBB history!

I also won't forget the TASS Force for everything they did to dominate in 2001-02.

Stef Dolson and Bria Hartley

They were great leaders, great defenders, All Americans who helped build team identities. These specific identities helped UConn win the 2013 NC and go 40-0 in 2013-14. They were so good Geno cried at the end of the NC game. Geno crying makes sense; he was losing the pair of kids who accounted for 46 consecutive wins of a 47-game streak, the fifth-longest in WCBB. He was also losing two special human beings.

Breanna Stewart

I love me some Stewie! So do the media and WCBB voters. BS spent 2013-14 and 2014-15 locking up two more NCs, two more F4 MOP awards, and a combined nine of the NPOY awards. Yes, she also helped UConn find sweet redemption in the 2013 Tourney, thereby contributing six of 47 wins in a row. She's been a huge part of the current streak, leading the charge post-Stanford loss in 2014 to match and inevitably surpass Louisiana Tech. UConn has 54 wins in a row and counting, good for the third-longest in WCBB history. In short, Uconn has the third and fifth-longest winning streaks in the sport's history, and Stewie has led the way. Throw in her championships, NPOY awards, and beatdowns of long-time nemesis Notre Dame, and BS is obviously an iconic UConn player. We've been blessed to have her, even if it wasn't a stretch that he would be great when she committed to Geno in January 2011.

Moriah Jefferson was pretty good during this period too.


The past 15 years brought us some great, great players, a continuum of whom wrought four of the sport's five longest win streaks: 90, 70, 54+, and 47. La Tech can keep 54 and the fourth-longest streak. Meanwhile, we happily claim Maya, Tina, Stewie, Stef, Bria, and D, and we keep them in our proud continuum of greatness.
Indeed, we can keep all of it. Happily and joyfully at that...

 

[Hongster]

I like to see Uconn fans erect a statue of Geno surrounded by Lobo, DT, Maya and Stewie.

 

[UcMiami]

Alex - not sure why you include Breanna and Moriah on this list! I admit they contributed to some of the games in the streak, but the constant force in this current streak is Kia - Moriah currently has a 5 game streak, and I think Breanna's has reached eight games - really nothing to write home about. Kia has the main streak of 54 straight.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I would note one more player who was instrumental in both the 47-game steak and the first 37 games of the current streak:

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis

She hit big shot after big shot in many games. She was a human zone defense wrecker. The greatest 3-point shooter in history.

 

[alexrgct]

Alex - not sure why you include Breanna and Moriah on this list! I admit they contributed to some of the games in the streak, but the constant force in this current streak is Kia - Moriah currently has a 5 game streak, and I think Breanna's has reached eight games - really nothing to write home about. Kia has the main streak of 54 straight.

Gee, I don't know. Why would I be writing home about the country's best wcbb player and best PG combining forces to be starters on two-going-on-three NCs and winning 47 (and later 54) games in a row. That's not significant or worthy of commenting on their place in the Uconn continuum of greatness.

 

[msf22b]

Gee, I don't know. Why would I be writing home about the country's best wcbb player and best PG combining forces to be starters on two-going-on-three NCs and winning 47 (and later 54) games in a row. That's not significant or worthy of commenting on their place in the Uconn continuum of greatness.

I thought it was 3 going on 4, am I mistaken?
Have I lost a season?

 

[UcMiami]

I thought it was 3 going on 4, am I mistaken?
Have I lost a season?

I think the 'starters' limits it to two previous seasons, but definitely not mistaken in terms of NC streaks.

Come on Alex - just funning you! And being pedantic. Geno often mentioned toward the end of the 90 game streak, that the freshman and sophomores had no 'ownership' of the streak because they hadn't played in much of it.

I do tend to think streaks of less than about 60 games in WCBB while significant aren't that big a deal - an good NC winning team could conceivably accomplish a 50 game streak without an undefeated season, winning say 30 games in a row for an NC, and then playing a dreadful OOC plus an easy first half of a conference schedule. Once you get to 60, it means you have had a dominant team two years running, even if you don't have two NCs or even two undefeated seasons. It hasn't happened that way in that all the streaks of 40 or more games include at least one undefeated season though some of the streaks did not start with the undefeated season - including Uconn's current streak - game three of 2014-15 , Uconn's 47 game streak - first game NCAA tournament 2013, and TN's 46 game streak - first game of the NCAAs 1996. The other streaks - Uconn 90 started with the first game of 2008-9, 70 game streak started with the first game of 2001-2, La Tech 54 first game of 1980-81, Baylor 42 first game of 2011-2, and Texas 40 first game of 1985-6.

ND has the next longest winning streak at 37 and the first that did not include an NC - losing in the championship game to Uconn.
Purdue is next at 36 which included their NC
And Uconn holds the next two -
35 - which is the only undefeated single season streak - having lost their last game of the 1993-4 season and their first game of the 1995-6 season. The longest streak to end in the first game of a season.
33 - which is the second longest in-season winning streak in 1996-7. Similar to the ND 37 game streak they entered their elite eight game undefeated and lost to eventual champion TN. (That was the 10 loss TN championship team in the middle of their 3pete.)

Only Uconn three times and TN's streaks have included two NC championship seasons. The current streak currently involves only one championship season but we all hope whether the streak continues or not it will include two.

 

[DaddyChoc]

throw Renee in there with Maya & Tina

 

[alexrgct]

I would note one more player who was instrumental in both the 47-game steak and the first 37 games of the current streak: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis She hit bigsand shot after big shot in many games. She cwas a human zone defense wrecker. The greatest 3-point shooter in history.

she was GREAT in the 2013 and 2014 NCAA tournaments,which really represented the front and almost tail end of the 47-game streak (I.e. #5). She rebounded well at the collegiate level and helped UConn rebound from the Stanford loss in 2014 to win another NC and 37 more games oin a row by season's end. During this period, she overcame illness and injury to make WBCA AA twice and finish her career with her name on the HoH wall, 398 threes, and three national championships. And pieces of the third and fifth-longest streaks of all time inWCBB. Not too shabby. KML was a true champion, a warrior, and author of the last seven points of UConn's 2015 NC- winning season.

 

[MilfordHusky]

she was GREAT in the 2013 and 2014 NCAA tournaments,which really represented the front and almost tail end of the 47-game streak (I.e. #5). She rebounded well at the collegiate level and helped UConn rebound from the Stanford loss in 2014 to win another NC and 37 more games oin a row by season's end. During this period, she overcame illness and injury to make WBCA AA twice and finish her career with her name on the HoH wall, 398 threes, and three national championships. And pieces of the third and fifth-longest streaks of all time inWCBB. Not too shabby. KML was a true champion, a warrior, and author of the last seven points of UConn's 2015 NC- winning season.

K was the most consistent player in the 2013 tourney (Stewie missed 1 game), and from the top row at Gampel actually liked like Maya. Then in 2014, she bailed us out in Omaha. And in 2015, she put the nails in the coffin of the leprechauns. The shooter with the perfect ball rotation was a huge key to our offense.

 

[alexrgct]

K was the most consistent player in the 2013 tourney (Stewie missed 1 game), and from the top row at Gampel actually liked like Maya. Then in 2014, she bailed us out in Omaha. And in 2015, she put the nails in the coffin of the leprechauns. The shooter with the perfect ball rotation was a huge key to our offense.

All true and worth celebrating.

Of her 398 career treys, 118 came from 3012-13, and 121 came from 2014-15, aka two of her NC-winning and WBCA AA award-winning seasons.

I cannot extol the virtues of KML enough. However, she was so good, she helped fill a void or two that maya Moore left in 2011. That's a tribute to KML in itself. Of course, this is part of why there is pressure on KLS to do KML stuff with KML's graduation. We'd want Lou to hit 311 or 318 treys for her career like Maya and Diana respectively did. She doesn't have to push 400 lIke KML did. .

 

[MilfordHusky]

All true and worth celebrating.

Of her 398 career treys, 118 came from 3012-13, and 121 came from 2014-15, aka two of her NC-winning and WBCA AA award-winning seasons.

I cannot extol the virtues of KML enough. However, she was so good, she helped fill a void or two that maya Moore left in 2011. That's a tribute to KML in itself. Of course, this is part of why there is pressure on KLS to do KML stuff with KML's graduation. We'd want Lou to hit 311 or 318 treys for her career like Maya and Diana respectively did. She doesn't have to push 400 lIke KML did. .

I'd be perfectly happy with only 350 or so threes.

 

[tony yusef]

I'm not sure why this is but I think the Maya/Tina/Renee M team was as good as any in Huskie lore but seems to get pushed back a peg, I also don't think Tina Charles is put in the pantheon of Husky greats as she should be. In her junior and senior years she was a dominant force and certainly deserves mention in that next level of greatness behind Diana and Maya..

 

[alexrgct]

I'm not sure why this is but I think the Maya/Tina/Renee M team was as good as any in Huskie lore but seems to get pushed back a peg, I also don't think Tina Charles is put in the pantheon of Husky greats as she should be. In her junior and senior years she was a dominant force and certainly deserves mention in that next level of greatness behind Diana and Maya..

Tina is definitely on uconn's all time starting five, along with Maya, D, Sue, and Stewie. And they're all on Team USA, or at least were in 2014. If they are again in Rio, I just hope Geno gets a chance to put them all on the floor together. Just once for five minutes- please???

Btw, I excluded Rebecca from the starting lineup because her symbolic value doesn't stack up to everything Stewie has and/or will accomplish. Lobo has done it all, but Stewie could be a four-time champion, four-time F4 MOP winner, with 15 total NPOY awards. That is staggering.

 

[UcMiami]

I'm not sure why this is but I think the Maya/Tina/Renee M team was as good as any in Huskie lore but seems to get pushed back a peg, I also don't think Tina Charles is put in the pantheon of Husky greats as she should be. In her junior and senior years she was a dominant force and certainly deserves mention in that next level of greatness behind Diana and Maya..

Love Tina and definitely she is up there on the list of greats, but she really struggled for consistency for 2.5 years of her time at Uconn. It wasn't until sometime in January of her Junior year that Geno had that talk with her about her wanting to be an AA and did she really think that putting up the exact same statistics she had put up as a sophomore was going to change the voters minds? The light finally came on, and she was a terror the rest of that year and through her senior season.
She is one of the eight Uconn NPOYs which is pretty select company. DT, Maya, and Stewart have all won more than once which is a more select club.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Love Tina and definitely she is up there on the list of greats, but she really struggled for consistency for 2.5 years of her time at Uconn. It wasn't until sometime in January of her Junior year that Geno had that talk with her about her wanting to be an AA and did she really think that putting up the exact same statistics she had put up as a sophomore was going to change the voters minds? The light finally came on, and she was a terror the rest of that year and through her senior season.
She is one of the eight Uconn NPOYs which is pretty select company. DT, Maya, and Stewart have all won more than once which is a more select club.

I think Tony Y may be saying if you're going to put Lobo as a Top 5 why not Tina... how good was Lobo during for her 1st 2.5yrs at UConn (just asking, no comparing)

 

[j66kicker]

I think Tony Y may be saying if you're going to put Lobo as a Top 5 why not Tina... how good was Lobo during for her 1st 2.5yrs y UConn (just asking, no comparing)

Lobo was good from day 1. She was BE freshman of the year in 1992. In addition to her 2133 career points (#9 all time), she is the all-time UCONN leader in blocks with 396 in 126 games (Stokes #3 with 325 in 146 games), and is #3 all-time in rebounds (1268 in 126 games vs Tina Charles #1 with 1367 in 152 games). In her senior year she won the Naismith and Honda Broderick awards.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Lobo was good from day 1. She was BE freshman of the year in 1992. In addition to her 2133 career points (#9 all time), she is the all-time UCONN leader in blocks with 396 in 126 games (Stokes #3 with 325 in 146 games), and is #3 all-time in rebounds (1268 in 126 games vs Tina Charles #1 with 1367 in 152 games). In her senior year she won the Naismith and Honda Broderick awards.

was Tina BET Freshman of the Year? Tina couldnt win * cause Maya was cobbling up everything (national honors)? Where does Tina rank in UConn blocks?

(edit) Tina won Freshman of the Year

 

[j66kicker]

was Tina BET Freshman of the Year? Tina couldnt win * cause Maya was cobbling up everything (national honors)? Where does Tina rank in UConn blocks?

(edit) Tina won Freshman of the Year

Tina ranks 4th with 304 blocks.

 

[UcMiami]

I think Lobo generally does not get added to the 'big three', but does get a distinction for being the trail blazer, along with the rest of that team and its stars. In terms of honors, Tina and Rebecca are pretty equal. In terms of stats, they are also pretty comparable, but where a small distinction can be made between those 1990s stars and the 2000s stars is in per game and per minute stats. For the NPOY Uconn players the numbers are as follows:
Maya - 154 games, 4683 minutes
Tina - 152 games, 3869 minutes
Diana - 144 games, 4218 minutes
Sue - 118 games, 3321 minutes (freshman year only 8 games)
Kara - 137 games, 3144 minutes
Jen - 135 games, 4133 minutes
Rebecca 126 games, 3572 minutes

Breanna 131 games, 3642 minutes career to date

Jen is the exception to that rule, and of course Sue with her freshman injury stands out as well. In total, Tina played minutes that are the equivalent of about 10 more games than Lobo and 20 more games than Kara. (Kara probably arrived as the least well conditioned of the post players and averaged only 15 minutes per game as a freshman.)

 

[tony yusef]

Lobo was good from day 1. She was BE freshman of the year in 1992. In addition to her 2133 career points (#9 all time), she is the all-time UCONN leader in blocks with 396 in 126 games (Stokes #3 with 325 in 146 games), and is #3 all-time in rebounds (1268 in 126 games vs Tina Charles #1 with 1367 in 152 games). In her senior year she won the Naismith and Honda Broderick awards.

Listen, I love Rebecca Lobo she really got all this "greatness" started, and I love her as announcer I think she does a wonderful job. I think Tina was a better player, and has proven that over time..

 

[tony yusef]

Lobo was good from day 1. She was BE freshman of the year in 1992. In addition to her 2133 career points (#9 all time), she is the all-time UCONN leader in blocks with 396 in 126 games (Stokes #3 with 325 in 146 games), and is #3 all-time in rebounds (1268 in 126 games vs Tina Charles #1 with 1367 in 152 games). In her senior year she won the Naismith and Honda Broderick awards.

Tina is definitely on uconn's all time starting five, along with Maya, D, Sue, and Stewie. And they're all on Team USA, or at least were in 2014. If they are again in Rio, I just hope Geno gets a chance to put them all on the floor together. Just once for five minutes- please???

Btw, I excluded Rebecca from the starting lineup because her symbolic value doesn't stack up to everything Stewie has and/or will accomplish. Lobo has done it all, but Stewie could be a four-time champion, four-time F4 MOP winner, with 15 total NPOY awards. That is staggering.

I think you starting five is spot on and I agree completely. Tina Charles has to be in the all time starting five, IMO..

 

[tony yusef]

I think you starting five is spot on and I agree completely. Tina Charles has to be in the all time starting five, IMO..

The real juicy debate would be who would be UConn's all time 3rd string starting five??

 

[UcMiami]

Listen, I love Rebecca Lobo she really got all this "greatness" started, and I love her as announcer I think she does a wonderful job. I think Tina was a better player, and has proven that over time..

Over time Tina has not had two ACLs which is what stopped Lobo's pro career in its tracks. They definitely played different positions in college, and Tina came along at a time of much greater exposure thanks to Lobo becoming the first 'superstar' midway through her senior season - before that, only diehard junkies knew who she was. She put up pretty amazing stats throughout her four years and per minute and per game those stats all pass Tina's.

 

[hoophuskee]

Love Tina and definitely she is up there on the list of greats, but she really struggled for consistency for 2.5 years of her time at Uconn. It wasn't until sometime in January of her Junior year that Geno had that talk with her about her wanting to be an AA and did she really think that putting up the exact same statistics she had put up as a sophomore was going to change the voters minds? The light finally came on, and she was a terror the rest of that year and through her senior season.
She is one of the eight Uconn NPOYs which is pretty select company. DT, Maya, and Stewart have all won more than once which is a more select club.

I don't agree or maybe we do but maybe a minor point. Geno was over-the-top in her criticism of Tina the 1st two years. Since day one I recall Tina said she wanted to be an a/a and super etc. And in regards to over-the-top - I can recall he used to bench her because she didn't average a double-double at halftime. Who does he ever hold to that standard? Other times he didn't like her "body language." Bench her because of that? Really? One thing to sit for a short time. Another to "bench" for it. Tina was all-big east tourney in her soph year (and wound up being 3rd team all-American) and what does Geno do? He benches her in place of McLaren and the one-legged Hunter just before the NCAA Tourney. Then she doesn't have a good tourney and he wonders why? We hear about "rhythm" all the time- what kind of "rhythm" was that?

Geno is not infallible. Didn't Bird suggest Geno's half-time tirade in NCAA semis vs ND cost them?

I just believe Tina was fine her 1st few years - but Geno got the media all worked up on Tina. In Tina's frosh year she was Honorable Mention All-American. In her soph year she was 3rd team A/A then progressed further. In her junior year in High School - she got crushed by Courtney Paris -- so it's not like she was supposed to be Maya when she came out or like DT. Matter of fact in her sr year her team won TOC - yet it was Maya who got the super-supreme accolades. There is no shame in Tina being just a tier below DT and Maya.

I loved to hear I think last year Geno talking about Tina - kind of in awe saying "She is soooooo good" while he was coaching the super pro team. Geno helped get her there certainly. But his 1st couple of years he was over-the-top publicly and the media over-exaggerated his points. For example- we know last year BS and MT didn't deserve to get the benching before the USC game. IMO many questioned this- back then I don't they did as much. Geno made stuff up to get them fired up. He made up stuff with Tina too in order to fire her up. That's his job and it worked. Tina is super player now -- but Tina was a really good player her 1st two years - she was just young and Geno needed her to be HUGE from day one. She couldn't be. She wasn't "Maya." Is the number one recruit this year - KLS going to be an all-American this year? IS this UCONN team going to have live-and die with her defense on Sylvia Fowles type player like Tina had to do in which her bets help in the paint was Charde?

As Sue Bird says - Geno has a formula. I think he over exaggerated the expectations publicly to the media and the media did a poor job realizing Geno was just "telling everyone" In Geno speak "That he had the worst posts in America." It was never that bad. If you keep sticking a mic in his face that does he really have bad posts - he'll defend what he says. That's what he did with Tina imo- instead of just letting it go- the media kept riding it and he kept responding in kind.