|
Written by Bob Phillips
|
|
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 |
 UNCASVILLE – If you don’t think that Connecticut has become the epicenter of women’s basketball, well, maybe you should reconsider. The Connecticut Huskies, which ran the table last year in winning their sixth national championship and who stand at a perfect 20-0 this season, are in the process of building a program that will one day be compared to the UCLA dynasty of the 1960s and ‘70s. And on the professional side of the coin, the Connecticut Sun, while not nearly as dominant as UConn, have two WNBA Finals appearances in their portfolio and have made the playoffs in every season they’ve been in the Nutmeg State except for the most recent season in which a young, talented team lost its floor leader (Asjha Jones) and faded down the stretch.
In addition, the Sun have hosted the WNBA All-Star Game twice (including last season) in their seven years in the league. And this afternoon, league president Donna Orender announced that Uncasville will once again be the center of the women’s basketball universe when WNBA All-Star 2010 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The 2010 WNBA All-Star Game will feature a new, unique format in which the USA Basketball Women’s National Team will compete against a team of WNBA all-stars. Team USA will be coached by UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, who has helmed the Huskies to all six of their national championships.
“On behalf of USA Basketball, I want to thank the WNBA for providing us with this extraordinary—and important—opportunity to gather the USA Women’s National Team together in advance of the 2010 World Championship,” said Auriemma, already a Hall-of-Famer. “As we prepare to face teams from around the world, there is no better competition we could face than to tip off against a team of WNBA all-stars.”
WNBA All-Star 2010 will be played on Sat., July 10. The game will be televised on ESPN with tip-off set for 3:30 p.m. |
