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UConn’s two-hour practices are designed to prepare the regulars to play 30 or more minutes a
nd to make good decisions when they are tired. CreditTim Clayton for The New York Times
nd to make good decisions when they are tired. CreditTim Clayton for The New York Times
STORRS, Conn. — After losing to Connecticut by 61 points in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament, Albany’s coach suggested that the Huskies were not only the best women’s basketball team in the country but also the fittest.
“I think we’re as in shape a team that you’re going to come across,” said the coach, Joanna Bernabei-McNamee. Yet, she added, “At times they just made us look bad in the way they pushed the ball.”
Robust conditioning is a particular imperative, and a stealth weapon, for a UConn team (34-0) that rotates only seven players — five starters and two reserves — as it seeks a fifth consecutive national championship.
Yet, perhaps surprisingly, UConn has won 109 consecutive games with an approach that is, in some ways, decidedly low-tech. For instance, the Huskies do not use devices like heart-rate monitors, GPS tracking systems or other wearable technology designed to gauge fitness, enhance performance and reduce the risk of injury.
UConn Coach Geno Auriemma has compared his practices to preparing a car for racing. “We’re going to push this car to the limit so that when race day comes, we know what the limit is,” he said. “We do that every day.”
“I’m not a big data guy,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said, adding with a laugh, “I’m not smart enough.”
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