The 2011–12 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2011–2012 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies were coached by Geno Auriemma, and played their home games at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Big East Conference.
Offseason
Italy trip
The UConn team traveled to Italy, for a ten-day trip, combining exhibition basketball, and sightseeing. The team, along with the coaching staff and fans left the US on 16 August 2011, and arrived in Rome the following morning. After landing, everyone boarded a bus, which took them to Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, one of the four great ancient major basilicas of Rome. The bus then continued to some of the other classic sites of Rome, including Circus Maximus and the Colosseum. The next day started with sightseeing; a visit to Vatican City, including St. Peter's Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. In the evening, it was time for basketball, as the UConn team took on the Netherlands national team. The game was close at the half, with the Huskies up only by two points, 34–32, but UConn held the Dutch team scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second half, and won easily, 73–53.
On the third day of the trip, the team started as tourists, visiting the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. In the evening, the team played the Italian Select team, and won easily 98–52. Incoming freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had a stretch where she sank five consecutive three-point attempts, which extended a lead to 32 points by the end of the third quarter. The next day, the team took a bus trip to Villa d'Este, and spent the day touring the grounds of the 16th-century estate outside Rome, used as a retreat by Cardinals and Popes of the Roman Catholic Church.
The fifth day of the trip was all cultural, starting with a bus ride to Florence and a stop to your Accademia Gallery, home of many famous paintings and sculptures, the most famous of which is Michelangelo's David. The group then did a walking tour of central Florence, including a walk around the Duomo of Florence. The next stop was a visit to Galleria degli Uffizi to view the art treasures.
The sixth day featured basketball, a game between UConn and the TDT Slammers from Germany. The game was never close, and UConn ended up with a 112–36 win. Five players scored in double figures, including Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Tiffany Hayes, Bria Hartley, Briana Banks, and Heather Buck. The team appreciated playing indoors; the temperature reached 112 degrees during the day. The next day featured a bus trip to Pisa, to visit the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.
On the eighth day, the team started with a bus trip to Lake Como. The original schedule included a game against the Nigerian National team, but there were difficulties with visas, so the team did not arrive. UConn played the first quarter against the same team, the TDT Slammers, that they had played in Florence, then played the last three quarters against Castellanza Select, a local club team. Tiffany Hayes was one rebound and one assist short of a triple-double in the 116–33 against the over-matched teams. The last full day in Italy featured a boat trip on Lake Como and strolls through Bellagio. The following day, the team returned to the US.
Roster changes Two players graduated, Lorin Dixon and Maya Moore. Although Dixon was not a starter, she averaged almost 22 minutes per game, sixth most among all players, and played a major role in the NCAA semi-final win over Georgetown. The loss of Moore is far more significant, as she was selected as the WNBA number one pick, and went on to help the Minnesota Lynx win their first WNBA championship.
Connecticut's incoming class of freshman included three players: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Brianna Banks, and Kiah Stokes. The incoming class was rated the number two recruiting class, by ESPN. Mosqueda-Lewis, from California, was the 2011 State Farm/WBCA High School Player of the Year. Banks is a left-handed guard from Georgia, with an overall rank of 24 in the 2011 class. Stokes is a 6'3 post player from Iowa, with an overall ranking of 42 within the 2011 class.
Pre-season Connecticut played two exhibition games in the warm up to the regular season. The first was played November 3 against Assumption College, from Worcester, Massachusetts. Five UConn players scored in double digits, including Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis who hit five of nine three-point attempts in her first game wearing a UConn uniform. UConn won the game 89–30. Six days later, UConn played Pace University from New York City. Tiffany Hayes lead all scorers with 24 points, helping the UConn team to an 85–35 win.
Regular season
Non-conference games
UConn opened their season at their campus home court, against Holy Cross. The game featured the return of Caroline Doty, who missed the entire previous season due to injury. Bria Hartley and Tiffany Hayes lead the scoring with 17 and 16 points respectively. The Huskies won the game 87–37. In their next game, UConn tied a record with 68 points in the first half against Pacific. The Huskies hit 71% of their basket attempts in the first half, and opened up a 43-point lead. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis went on to score 25 points on ten for twelve shooting. Four other Huskies scored in double digits, leading to a 112–53 victory over the Pacific team playing their 999th game.
The game against Stanford represented the first major test of the season; the Huskies were ranked #2 in the AP ratings and Stanford #3. The Stanford team ended the Connecticut winning streak at 90 games in the prior-season matchup. UConn won the game 68–58, behind 25 points by freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, and a defensive effort that inspired coach Geno Auriemma to remark, "That's one of the better defensive efforts I’ve seen us have in a long time."
UConn held Fairleigh Dickinson University to five first-half points, the lowest point total ever scored by an opponent in a half, but the game did not earn praise from coach Auriemma, "It was the worst exhibition of basketball I've ever seen by two teams in my 27 years at UConn. They should give everyone a refund." The final score in the first game of the World Vision Classic was 74–28.
Tiffany Hayes completed a double-double, with double digits scoring and double digit rebounds, the first such accomplishment of her career, well timed because Connecticut Sun head coach Mike Thibault and assistant coach Scott Hawk were watching from the sidelines. Hayes 30 points was a career high, helping the Huskies to a 90–34 victory over the Buffalo in the second game of the World Vision Classic.
UConn beat Dayton in the final game of the World Vision Classic by a score of 78–38. The win was also a milestone; the team has now won 89 consecutive home games, an NCAA all division record, snapping the 88 game streak set by Rust College in 1989.
Bria Hartley scored 24 points on nine for twelve shooting to help the Huskies defeat Towson University 92–31 November 30 in a game at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Hartford. Hartley was not the only player shooting well. Heather Buck hit both shots she attempted, while Tiffany Hayes, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Stefanie Dolson each shot better than 70% from the field. The game was never competitive, and UConn would go on to win 92–31. However, the game was not without a potential downside; Caroline Doty suffered a head and neck injury in the first half sufficiently serious to keep her in the locker room for the second half, although she would return to the line-up for the next game.
The game against Texas A&M matched UConn against the second top ten team of the season. The pregame started with Stefanie Dolson leading the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Connecticut held the defending National Champions to just over 32% field goal shooting, leading A&M coach Gary Blair to comment, "We're not ready for this kind of competition". The Huskies won by thirty points, with a final score of 81–51.
The game between Baylor University and UConn matched up the top two ranked teams in the country. Connecticut went to halftime with a six-point lead, and built the lead to eleven in the second half, but Brittney Griner scored 25 points along with nine blocks to bring Baylor back into the lead, and Baylor went on to win the game, 66–61, handing UConn its first loss of the season.
UConn played College of Charleston in Charleston December 21, the last game before Christmas break. Although the Huskies had a 19-point lead at halftime, the 27 points scored was the lowest first half total of the season. The second half featured more scoring by Connecticut, as they scored 45 points in the second half, en route to a 72–24 victory. The win, following the loss to Baylor, represented the 665th game without back-to-back losses. The current streak stretches back to March 1993. By comparison, the second longest streak is held by Duke University, who have won 142 games without consecutive losses.
The Fairfield Stags entered the game against UConn on a four-game winning streak, but lost 93–40, representing the largest margin of defeat in a decade.
After playing five conference games, UConn hosted North Carolina, one of the three remaining non-conference games. The game against North Carolina was held on Martin Luther King day, and has been an annual occurrence for many years. In the first seven match ups between the two teams, the Tarheels won five, but the Huskies have won the last five games. Although the North Carolina team was ranked in the top 25, the UConn team handed them their worst loss in history, defeating them 86–35 for a margin of over 50 points.
Conference games UConn opened conference play against Seton Hall. The UConn team scored the first 20 points of the game. After two free throws by Seton Hall, the huskies reeled off ten more points before giving up their first basket. Although the scoring would be roughly even from that point on, the game result was never in doubt. UConn won by a final score of 70–37.
In the first game of the new year, UConn faced West Virginia in Hartford. The UConn team won 79–60, but the contest featured many fouls—there were a total of 36 fouls called on both teams. At the press conference following the game, coach Auriemma remarked,"I'll take questions, but I sure don't have no answers."
The next game matched the number two and number three ranked teams in the country, with UConn playing at Notre Dame. The game was close throughout, with UConn holding a slim two-point lead in the final minute, but Notre Dame forced overtime, and out scored the Huskies by seven points in the extra period, to win 74–67. It was the first Huskies regular season Big East loss after 57 consecutive victories. The Huskies rebounded from their loss with a win over Providence, in which every one of the eleven players scored. The team was shooting over 70% from the floor in the first half, and went on to win 96–35.
In their next game, against Villanova, the home team had an early lead at 15–11 when the Huskies scored 15 consecutive points as part of a 21–2 run to take a large lead. Villanova got with five points in the second half, but the Huskies responded with a 17–5 run, helping them to a comfortable margin, and a 72–49 victory.
UConn returned to conference play with their match up against Cincinnati, coached by Jamelle Elliott, former long-time assistant at Connecticut. Although the Bearcats had started the season with six straight victories, they were now playing tougher competition, and had lost eight of their last eleven games. Dayeesha Hollins scored the first 13 points for Cincinnati, and was single-handedly keeping the game in reach, but UConn pulled away, and won easily 80–37.