{"id":13155,"date":"2018-03-08T17:45:38","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T22:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=13155"},"modified":"2018-03-08T17:45:38","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T22:45:38","slug":"the-uconn-womens-basketball-team-inspires-strength-in-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2018\/03\/the-uconn-womens-basketball-team-inspires-strength-in-women.html","title":{"rendered":"The UConn Women\u2019s Basketball Team Inspires Strength in Women"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"800px-20130607_-_France-Canada_-_080\"<\/a>
Pierre-Yves Beaudouin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Women have made incredible achievements in sports over the decades, but one group of women is reaffirming the belief that females can be incredible athletes. Through the rough patches, these girls persevered, worked hard, and stayed dedicated to the team. They didn’t lose their focus and pushed through to make the UConn Women’s Basketball team one to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n

Seniors Kia Nurse and Gabby Williams both have proven to be an all-star athletes for the team. Nurse is in the top 10 on UConn’s career charts in games started and Williams is in the top 10 in rebounds and steals figure to be among the list of their accomplishments. Statistics, while impressive, only scratch the surface of what the women have really contributed to the program.<\/p>\n

The duo has helped UConn set NCAA Division I women\u2019s basketball records for longest overall winning streak, longest regular-season streak and most consecutive true road wins with a relentless style of play at both ends of the court. They\u2019ve also done the work off the court as Nurse is a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and Williams a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award recognizing excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community.<\/p>\n

The pair has also been an inspiration for the girls below them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been on this journey together, they are the ones who really help you because the class above you, it is fresh in their mind,\u201d UConn junior forward Napheesa Collier said. \u201cWhen we were freshmen, they had just gone through that, they talk to us about how to get through the best way and they have been people we have looked up to.<\/p>\n

The Huskies won their fifth consecutive AAC championship Tuesday with a 70-54 victory over South Florida at Mohegan Sun Arena. They will head into the NCAA Tournament with a perfect record for the ninth time, with championships in six of those previous eight seasons. UConn is 140-1 in games Williams has played, so there is a chance she could tie former UConn All-Americans Moriah Jefferson and Maya Moore for the Division I women\u2019s record of 150 victories by a player. The task of being a class to carry on the Huskies\u2019 winning ways following the graduation of All-Americans Jefferson, Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck could be their legacy. They could become just the fourth class in UConn and NCAA Division I women\u2019s basketball history to win 150 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not just you having a good year, it is you not letting down the 30 years before,\u201d said Williams. \u201cYou never want to be that team where that tradition ends, that reign, the empire kind of falls so that is kind of what is on our shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team is taking their success with humility, and understand that they have to continue to work hard to get their desired results. So how do the Huskies continue to have such extended success? Head Coach Geno Auriemma highlighted two key aspects: Putting in extra work and playing selfless basketball. Many coaches will say that but few can extract it from players, and none are doing it with great players like Auriemma and his staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you just want to be average do average work. If you want to be a little bit above average you do a little more work,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you want to get A\u2019s in basketball then you have to do stuff other people aren\u2019t willing to do, especially if you have the talent like we do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Women have made incredible achievements in sports over the decades, but one group of women is reaffirming the belief that females can be incredible athletes. Through the rough patches, these girls persevered, worked hard, and stayed dedicated to the team. They didn’t lose their focus and pushed through to make the UConn Women’s Basketball team…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":600,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1162,3657,3658,3659],"class_list":["post-13155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-television","tag-basketball","tag-kia-nurse","tag-university-of-connecticut","tag-womens-basketball"],"yoast_head":"\nThe UConn Women\u2019s Basketball Team Inspires Strength in Women<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Through their dedication, handwork and perseverance the UConn Women's Basketball Team has inspired women to be their strongest selves.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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