Legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma issued a stern warning for anyone questioning the postseason potential of a Breanna Stewart-led team.
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Auriemma → issue → team
“Don’t bet on anybody else other than her,” Auriemma said Thursday at Big East Media Day.
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Auriemma → bet → Day
“It’s been like that since she was 15 years old when I first saw her play.
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her → see → that
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you → get → things
tRY IT NOWWhen the stakes get raised and the lights get brighter, a beast within Stewart awakens.
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beast → try → Stewart
Doubting her team’s capabilities only fuels her.
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Doubting → doubt → her
Stewart said as much Friday when asked about being overlooked by outsiders.
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Stewart → say → outsiders
“Honestly, I know that I’m the best, and I feel that every time I step on the court,” Stewart said.
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Stewart → know → court
“Nobody can do what I do, and just being confident …
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I → do → what
I’m detaching from judgement.”
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I → detach → judgement
The proof is in her trophy case that’s bursting at the seams.
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that → burst → seams
“When you do look at her career, you look back and you realize there’s a regular-season Breanna Stewart and then there’s a postseason Breanna Stewart,” Auriemma said.
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Auriemma → look → career
“And Breanna Stewart probably plays in the playoffs as good as anybody I’ve ever seen, except maybe [Diana Taurasi] in terms of winning when you have to win, winning in knockout games.”
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you → play → games
Auriemma is obviously biased.
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Auriemma → bias → ?
Stewart led UConn during one of the most dominant stretches in college basketball.
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Stewart → lead → basketball
With Stewart, the Huskies posted two undefeated seasons and won four consecutive NCAA Tournament championships.
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Huskies → post → championships
Stewart, one of women’s basketball’s most decorated stars, went a perfect 23-0 in March Madness contests.
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Stewart → go → contests
She’s won three WNBA championships and four World Cup titles.
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She → win → championships
She’s also a three-time EuroLeague champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist.
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She → ’ → ?
She captured an Unrivaled championship in March, a EuroLeague championship in April, WNBA Commissioner’s Cup in June and the FIBA Women’s World Cup title in September.
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She → capture → September
Auriemma shares in the Liberty’s opinion that New York is not a traditional No. 8 seed.
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York → share → opinion
There’s truth in that, of course, because entering the final two games of the regular season, New York had the potential to finish as high as the fourth seed.
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York → ’ → seed
“So when they got the eighth seed, I thought, ‘I don’t think that’s right,’ ” Auriemma said.
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Auriemma → get → seed
“All [of Stewart’s] success has prepared her for what she’s doing now.
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she → prepare → what
And you saw it at the Olympics when everybody started questioning, ‘Well, maybe this is the year France is going to get them.
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France → see → them
And I thought to myself, ‘You can’t question that kid during the playoffs when there’s a medal or there’s a trophy that goes to the winner.’
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that → think → winner
Auriemma believes the Liberty have a legitimate shot at heading to their third WNBA Finals in four years, though he also acknowledged the path there only gets more challenging as the playoffs go on.
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playoffs → believe → years
“Now that they won and it’s going to be three-out-of-five … there’s more opportunities to go,” he said.
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he → win → five
“This past time, it’s just boom, boom.
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it → ’ → ?
But I am definitely going to get a chance to see them play, 100 percent.”
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them → go → chance
Unprompted, Auriemma also offered his ideal finals matchup: “Maybe it’ll be them and Golden State, so maybe I get a chance to see a lot of my guys play.”
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lot → offer → guys
Stewart is the lone Husky on New York’s side, and the Valkyries have Gabby Williams, Kiah Stokes, Tiffany Hayes and Kaitlyn Chen.
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Valkyries → have → Williams
Asked who he thinks would win that series, Auriemma paused and smiled.
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Auriemma → ask → series
“I have to think on that one,” he said.
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he → have → one
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