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Women's Basketball Named Preseason No. 1 By Street & Smith's
Bird and Taurasi Selected to Preseason All-America Team
CHARLOTTE, NC (October 9, 2001) - The University of Connecticut women’s
basketball team has been tabbed preseason No. 1 by Street & Smith’s College
Basketball, one of several organizations to name the Huskies as its preseason
top choice in women’s basketball. Perennial powerhouses Tennessee, Texas Tech,
Louisiana Tech and Vanderbilt round out the top five. Oklahoma, Stanford, Duke,
Colorado and NC State comprise the remainder of the top ten.
In total, UConn will face three of Street & Smith’s top ten teams this
season, as Louisiana Tech and Oklahoma journey to the Hartford Civic Center on
Dec. 9 and Dec. 22. Both games will be nationally broadcast on espn2.
Connecticut will also travel to Knoxville, TN, to face the Tennessee Lady Vols
on Jan. 5 in a nationally-televised game on CBS.
UConn senior guard Sue Bird (Syosset, NY), a consensus preseason All-American
and candidate for National Player of the Year, was named to Street & Smith’s
All-America Team along with sophomore teammate Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA). A
two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman-Cline National Point Guard of the Year
Award, Bird led the Huskies in assists last season with 169 (5.0 apg) and
finished tied for fourth on the team in points per game with 10.9. Taurasi, the
2000 Naismith Female Prep National Player of the Year, shined down the stretch
her freshman campaign, garnering Most Outstanding Player accolades in the BIG
EAST Tournament and the NCAA East Regionals. For the season, Taurasi averaged
10.9 points per game and nailed 71 three-pointers, second best in the BIG EAST
Conference.
Connecticut senior forward Swin Cash (McKeesport, PA) rounds out the list of
Husky preseason accolades. Street & Smith’s tabbed Cash a preseason “high
honorable mention” for All-America. Cash is the team’s leading returning scorer
and rebounder from last season with 12.2 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per
game in 2000-2001.
UConn’s regular season begins Nov. 9 when it faces Fairfield in the first
round of the preseason WNIT at 7:30 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion. |
