Huskies honor seniors as Faris records 1,000 points

It only made sense for the seniors to shine on the UConn women’s basketball annual senior day festivities, as the Huskies defeated Seton Hall 90-30 on Saturday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion.

Senior guard Kelly Faris was one of UConn’s leading point scorers on the afternoon as she scored 18 total points, including nine points from three-point range. Saturday afternoon was also extra special for Faris as she scored her 1,000 career point as her family watched from the stands at Gampel.

“It’s really special,” Faris said. “I had my whole family here…I’m really blessed to have a family that supports me like they do and are willing to make the trip out here. My dad being one of the people that got me to where I am and it definitely means a lot for them to be here for this moment.”

After suffering a minor setback in the first half, senior guard Caroline Doty finished the afternoon with five points and five rebounds. Doty stepped on a Seton Hall player’s foot and went to the locker room to receive treatment to her left foot and ankle. Doty returned to the game and did not show many signs of slowing down. Head coach Geno Auriemma was cautious about the time Doty saw for the rest of the game but wanted to make sure she got plenty of minutes on senior day.

“If you’re a senior, I think you’re going to play a lot on senior night or as much as you can,” Auriemma said. “Caroline unfortunately stepped on a kid’s foot and I wanted to get her out as fast as I could but still let her play. I wasn’t going to give her the whole game, I wasn’t going to leave her in there for the sake of leaving her in there.”

Senior Heather Buck got her second career start on senior day. Buck finished the game with four points and a defensive rebound. Buck has been a part of this UConn team for five years and through the support of her teammates, Buck can appreciate the time she has spent in a Husky uniform.

“It was really exciting as it was only the second time that I’ve gotten to start in my career and that’s always fun to get out there,” Buck said. “Everyone has been there for me and supported me through these last five years and there’s certainly been a fair share of ups and downs. In the end I’ve had a lot of fun and really enjoyed my experience here.”

Mosqueda-Lewis and Stewart lead underclassmen
UConn’s leading point scorer Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had another stellar performance as she scored 16 points in the first half and finished the day with 18 total points. Lewis shot an impressive 4-5 from behind the arc and shot 6-8 from the floor. Mosqueda-Lewis also joined her teammate Faris in joining the 1,000 point club in the victory over the Pirates.

Saturday’s game also saw a bounce back performance from freshman Breanna Stewart as the 6’4” guard scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Stewart was coming off a dismal performance against Baylor, where she scored zero points in the seven minutes of playing time she saw. Stewart was happy to bounce back and play well for the seniors on the team.

“It felt really good to bounce back but it was senior day and it’s obviously about the seniors but I think it was great we all played really well and we went out and got the win,” Stewart said.

The Quotable Geno Auriemma
“It feels like 399, not much different. You don’t accomplish a lot of things without really good players. We just won a regular season game on senior night,” said Auriemma on winning his 400th game in the Big East Conference.