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As the USA Olympic Women's Basketball team prepares for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, they'll make a stop at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT to ready themselves. For five former UConn Huskies on Team USA and its head coach, it will be a homecoming of sorts.
Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart all return to the Constitution State on Friday night when they'll take on current Husky Kia Nurse and Team Canada. Of the five, only Sue Bird did not play in Bridgeport while she was a member of the UConn women's basketball team. She has however played there as a member of USA Basketball.
Of that group, only Auriemma has lost a game at Webster Bank Arena (formerly The Arena at Harbor Yard). That came back in 2006 when UConn lost to Duke, 63-61 in overtime in the Elite Eight that year.
You can catch the five former Huskies, Auriemma and Nurse live on NBA TV tonight at 7 p.m. or on the USA Basketball Facebook page where a live stream of the game will be available.
NOTES:
Stewart and Charles have been dominating the WNBA as of late.
In May, Stewart won Rookie of the Month and Charles won Player of the Month in the Eastern Conference. In June, Stewart won Rookie of the Month and Charles won Player of the Month in the Eastern Conference. Now, in July, Stewart won Rookie of the Month and Charles won Player of the Month in the Eastern Conference.
Stewart led rookies with 20.0 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game, 4.0 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. Out of all players, she was fifth in scoring, second in rebounding and fourth in blocks. She also led the league in minutes per game with 35.6. Stewart hit the 20-point plateau in five out of eight games in July.
Charles led the Eastern Conference in rebounding and was tied for second in the WNBA, tied with Stewart. In 10 games, Charles had four double-doubles.
This is Charles' eighth Player of the Month award, passing former Husky Maya Moore for most all-time since the award was introduced in 2010.
The Huskies and former Huskies succeed on the court and in the classroom.
On Wednesday, the American Athletic Conference announced the teams in each sponsored sport that had the best collective GPA. UConn women's basketball pulled down the award for women's basketball.
They were the only UConn team to win an award this year, winning for the second year in a row.
Memphis had five teams win one of the 21 awards up for grabs, the most in the American. Houston and Tulane were the two full members in the conference that did not win any awards this year.