UConn Women’s Basketball Notebook: Injury Updates on Katie Lou Samuelson, Mikayla Coombs

UConn Huskies women’s basketball associate head coach Chris Dailey spoke to the media before the Traveler’s Championship Pro-Am on Wednesday and provided updates to a pair of injured Huskies.

Katie Lou Samuelson underwent left ankle surgery in April after dealing with the injury all season long. Despite still winning AAC Player of the Year and being named WBCA All-American, Samuelson’s ankle hampered her for much of the season and the procedure will hopefully prevent it from being an issue in the future.

So far, it appears the rising senior’s recovery is going well.

“She looks great. Her range of motion is improving,” Dailey said. “She’s working really hard in the weight room.”

Meanwhile, sophomore Mikayla Coombs continues to work back from a deep vein thrombosis that ended her season in March. Dailey said that while Coombs is still on medication and isn’t cleared for contact yet, she’s still participating in team activities.

“She’s working on her shooting, she’s doing all the running, but she’s not able to play at this point,” Dailey said.

Former UConn star Diana Taurasi received the WNBA Cares Community Award for her support of single mothers and their families as well as the LGBTQ community.

Taurasi frequently uses her platform as one of the most well-known women’s basketball players to promote inclusion and equality. With teammate Brittney Griner, they spoke at an event called Off the Record Live: Out in Sports where they discussed being openly out professional athletes.

She also helped a single mother family go on a $500 shopping spree at a local grocery store to help them purchase food, toiletries and other household necessities. Taurasi also joined forces with local non-profits to host over 50 single mothers and their families in which they received grocery store gift cards, flowers and breakfast while hanging out with the Phoenix Mercury.

The WNBA and State Farm donated $5,000 the Moms Demand Action and Florence Project in recognition of Taurasi’s work in the community.

Last October, Breanna Stewart joined the #MeToo movement when she revealed that she was molested for years as a child. Recently, ESPN announced that Stewart would be one of the athletes featured in their annual “Body Issue” magazine.

On Sunday (6/24) at 9am, Stewart will tell her story on ESPN’s E:60 program.