Texas A&M's Courtney Walker, left, attempts to drive the ball against Connecticut defender Stefanie Dolson (31) during the first half of a NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Jon Eilts)
COLLEGE STATION, Texas ? There is no truth to the rumor that when much ballyhooed freshmen Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck stepped foot on campus for the first time this summer that veteran UConn center Stefanie Dolson was organizing a welcome to UConn party.
However, after watching Dolson carve up No. 16 Texas A&M to the tune of a career-high tying 24 points in Sunday?s 81-50 win Sunday before a crowd of 7,657 at Reed Arena, you can bet that nobody is happier to see the two talented freshman forwards on the court than Dolson.
After all-time leading scorer Maya Moore graduated, Dolson became the centerpiece of every opponent?s defensive game plan throughout the 2011-12 season. But with Stewart ? who drew her second straight start ? and Tuck there to take some of the pressure off, Dolson was able to work against single coverage ? something that was rarely the case during her sophomore season.
Dolson had 20 points by halftime, and when the Aggies began paying extra attention to her in the low blocks, it enabled Dolson?s teammates to get involved.
?Being a center, people don?t think you can be a leader. It always has to be a guard, but being a center I am kind of seeing everything. I can help people know where they have to be,? said Dolson, who was 11 of 15 from the field. ?I am there to help my team when they need me, and if the guards can spread the floor it just makes it easier for me in the paint.?
Dolson admitted that it did seem easy at times against the Aggies, who are perennially one of the nation?s best defensive squads. She was not alone.
?What we wanted to do is stop the layups which we didn?t do,? Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said. ?They didn?t miss anything. They share the ball tremendously. When you play as poor of a defensive game, it is easy to make your offense look good.
?The key to their team is not (Bria) Hartley, not (Kaleena Mosqueda)-Lewis, the key to their team is Dolson. When Dolson goes out and plays like Bill Laimbeer and does her job ? She is not going to score 20 something in every ball game, but she was All-American tonight and made our kids look like all-district.?
Continued...
The Huskies opened the game on an 11-2 run with five points from Dolson. With the Aggies hanging around and only down by seven, Dolson went to work again scoring 11 points in the final 6:51 of the first half.
The final two points were a thing of beauty. UConn coach Geno Auriemma called a timeout and drew up a play with Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis flashing to the foul-line area to take a pass from Kelly Faris. Mosqueda-Lewis? first option was to look for Dolson on the baseline. That is exactly how it played out and Dolson beat the first-half buzzer to put the Huskies up 40-28 at the break.
In the second half, Kristi Bellock opened the scoring with a jumper, and the Aggies were only down by 10. However, the Huskies (2-0) turned up the pressure and ripped off an 18-1 run to turn the game into a laugher.
?She was unbelievable,? Auriemma said of Dolson?s first-half performance. ?She was just great, and in the second half everybody else got involved. When points are coming from a lot of different spots we are a hard team to play against. That is usually a sign, when Kelly Faris starts making 3?s that is when the other team starts going ?oh boy.??
The Huskies hit 12 of their first 15 shots after halftime, making their first trip to College Station a memorable one.
Mosqueda-Lewis had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists while Stewart chipped in with 11 points. Kelly Faris added 10 points and six assists.
UConn?s win and No. 1 Baylor?s loss to Stanford means that the Huskies will likely ascend to the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll which will be released on Monday.
Courtney Walker led Texas A&M (0-3) with 16 points.
Hartley closer
UConn junior guard Bria Hartley missed her second straight game with a sprained ankle but has a chance to return to the court when UConn plays in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands beginning Thursday. Continued...
Auriemma said that Hartley took part in practice on a limited basis in the last couple of days and he will see how she looks on Tuesday and feels after that practice before determining whether she can make her season debut in the Paradise Jam later this week.
End of a series
This is the end of a home and home series between the schools and Blair said he was approached about playing UConn as part of a doubleheader in New York on Dec. 22, 2013 but declined.
?I want to keep playing but we have to grow up because it is not good for television, 30-point games,? Blair said. ?We?ve had two straight.?
Blair said he will be playing St. John?s at Madison Square Garden that day and the hope is to have UConn play a team yet to be announced as part of the doubleheader.
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Source: http://nhregister.com/articles/2012/11/18/sports/doc50a95561451fc354882114.txt
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