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UConn Legend - WBB 2x All American Bria Hartley

There are times when college freshman athletes are....well, "thrown to the wolves." There were two UConn Women that experienced that for Geno Auriemma's Team....Coming off a pair of undefeated national championships and a all world senior carrying the team in Maya Moore...Stefanie Dolson and Guard Bria Hartley of North Babylon, New York...A two time Parade All American...Bria averaged 21 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals and 5 blocks per game as a Junior...Her Senior Year, 30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals, 5 blocks...that included a 51 point game in the State Finals in which her team lost...A Parade, WBCA and McDonald's All American...And while she got offers from Duke, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgetown, North Carolina and Louisville, Hartley decided on becoming yet another Long Islander to head due north to Storrs and play at UConn....

There are some seasons where Freshman can be brought in slowly and grow...Hartley and post player Dolson were immediately thrown into the fire....In just her second game ...in Hartford against Baylor, Hartley score 8 points in the last 3:56. That included a pair of three's as the Huskies beat the Bears and extended the record win streak to 80 games,,,and on December 21st against Florida State, while Maya went off for 41, Hartley added 21 in the win over the Seminoles for win #89 to break the college basketball record for consecutive wins...She wasn't done yet...24 against Louisville, 29 in the second meeting of the season against Notre Dame in Storrs and another 12 against the Irish in the Big East Championship. In the NCAA's, Bria scored 17 in a crazy come from behind win over Georgetown in the Sweet 16...but in the Final Four, the young Huskies couldn't do enough to help Maya Moore win a third title..as Notre Dame beat the Huskies to end their reign as Champs...In a 36-2 season, Bria averaged 12.4ppg, shot 39.2% from three, 110 assists and 45 steals to earn Big East Freshman of the Year...The 11 Husky to earn that award...2nd Team All Big East and All Tourney Team Honors in the Big East Tournament and Regionals...

Life after Maya Moore would be interesting...But with a nucleus building with Hartley and Dolson...Freshman Three point Threat Kaleena Mosqueda Lewis, Senior Tiffany Hayes and Junior Kelly Faris, the Huskies had more than enough talent to get to another Final Four....Hartley scored 19 in a win over Stanford, 24 against Towson, 25 in tough losses at Baylor and at ND in OT....20 against Oklahoma, and then double figures his her last seven games of 2012. The Huskies would lose to St John's on Senior Day where Hartley missed a potential game winning three at the buzzer and finished third in the league. But Geno get things right and the Huskies gained confidence in beating St John's and Notre Dame to win the Big East Tournament and get Coach Career win #800. Hartley scored double figures in her last seven games of that season. 18 in the Tourney Final against the Irish, 20 in the Sweet 16 win over Penn State and 18 in another epic OT loss to Notre Dame. Final Four Weekend, Hartley got a nice surprise after being named 1st Team All Big East....She was named a WBCA All American. 534 points (14 per game) 33.2% from three, 140 assists and 70 steals as the Huskies went 33-5 and reached a 5th straight Final Four...

In the 2012-13 season, UConn wasn't the favorite...not even the second best team. Baylor was loaded and Notre Dame had their nucleus back that lost in the National Championship Game....Faris now a Senior, Hartley and Dolson were Juniors, Mosqueda Lewis and Kiah Stokes were gaining confidence as Sophomores...and now a talented trio that would take the Huskies to places no one could ever imagine....Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck and Breanna Stewart. As for Hartley, the season would be difficult...starting with an ankle injury to start the campaign..The Huskies got a monster win at #1 Stanford to take over the Top Spot just before New Year's Day....But Hartley wasn't playing large roles in the wins.. Struggling from the field in an inconsistent junior year where the Huskies would lose three heartbreakers to Notre Dame and hard fought loss to Baylor. Hartley's best streak was a three game stretch of 17/28 in wins over Marquette, DePaul and Providence...The Huskies would lose the Big East Regular Season and Tournament Titles to the Irish.as UConn looked for answers. As Stewart was starting to round into form and 5th Year Senior Guard Caroline Doty was trying to add stability to the lineup, Hartley became the first player off the bench for the postseason. Thru three wins, the Huskies started to gain momentum as did Hartley...And when Baylor lost to Louisville in the Sweet 16, it came down to UConn or Notre Dame who would likely win the National Championship. Hartley scored 10 off the bench in the Regional Final win over Kentucky, then against Notre Dame in the Final Four, while Breanna Stewart scored 27, Hartley added 15 off the bench as UConn ended Skylar Diggins career with a win over the hated rival....Then she scored 13 in the title game rout of Louisville for the programs' 8th Championship...

The Huskies lost Faris and Doty, but everyone else back for another loaded team that threatened for repeat. But change was coming as UConn was now a member of the American Athletic Conference. The non conference schedule was still top notch. But it was the season in years Notre Dame wasn't on the slate...It only built up the suspense to what was coming. For Hartley, now a senior it would be a year of redemption...Now healthy, Bria would go off early and often as it was "pick your poison" for Husky Opponents.....The point guard scored 20 and had 6 assists against Stanford, 29 at Penn State after a struggle at Maryland...17 against Oregon, 17 v Ohio State, 25 and 5/5 from 3 against UC-Davis..17 at Baylor, a career high 30 at Rutgers, 20 against Memphis, 26 at USF, 16p-11a at Temple where Stewie scored 37...and 20 + games in wins against USF, Houston, SMU and Rutgers again....the Huskies went 31-0 in regular season play...The Irish in their first year in the ACC was also undefeated...The fun was building...And in her last game at Gampel in the 2nd Round of the NCAA's, Hartley closed her home career with 20 against St Joseph's...The Huskies roarded thru the Regionals in Lincoln and then to Nashville for the Final Four...First a win over Stanford, then the Irish in a battle of unbeatens....The Huskies had great post play with Dolson and Stewart...The Irish had no answers...And with Jefferson in the backcourt to compliment Hartley, UConn was able to pull away and win a second straight title...sending Hartley and Dolson out as National Champions...Meanwhile the Two Seniors and Stewart all named WBCA All Americans....The Seniors a second time, Stewart's first..Bria averaging a career high 16.2 ppg, 173 assists, 67 steals and 36.6% form three

In her four years at UConn, Bria Hartley scored 1,994 points (12th) in 153 games (7th)..she made 259 threes (7th) and dolled out 559 assists (6th)..Bria was the 7th overall pick of the Seattle Storm and was immediately traded to Washington where she was teammates with Dolson for a few years...Then she was traded to the New York Liberty and played for three seasons before joining the Phoenix Mercury for play this season in the bubble in Florida...She's also played internationally in Turkey and Hungary while with dual citizenship in France thanks to her mom, Bria played for the National Team..earning a Silver Medal at EuroBasket 2019...

These days, Bria is a single mom of a handsome little son...For years, she dated former UConn and BC Football player Shakim Phillips, who is the child's father...And like many in the bubble, she's trying hard raising a child during the pandemic..But we're happy she's doing well and still playing.....Bria Hartley...a two time All American and National Champion..and a UConn Legend


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