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All-Americans on their roster this season (Maggie Lucas, Dara Taylor and Candice Agee), but the Huskies have 17 high school All-Americans, any one of whom can light up an opponent on a given night. In their 71-52 victory over Penn State on Nov. 17, it was freshman guard Saniya Chong who seized control of the game in the first half. Chong, Parade Magazine's Player of the Year in 2013, scored 13 points in 13 minutes as Connecticut pulled out to a 37-22 lead at the break. The Lady Lions recently lost a blue-chip prospect to Connecticut when forward Kia Nurse of Hamilton, Ontario, signed with the Huskies in November. Washington had convinced Nurse, considered the best prospect in Canada, to visit Penn State, but Connecticut's allure proved irresistible. That's the risk that coaches assume when they go head-to-head with the Huskies in recruiting, but it's one that programs like Penn State must take if they want to get to an elite level. "It sounds simplistic, but the teams that consistently are competing for Final Fours and competing for national championships are the teams that get the best players, " Auriemma said. "It doesn't matter what sport. So recruiting is a huge component of those teams that year in and year out are playing for the NCAA championship. " But players aren't enough, Auriemma Scoring binge puts PSU's Lucas in elite company With a 30-point outburst Dec. 8 at Georgetown, senior guard Maggie Lucas joined the exclusive 2,000point club at Penn State. Lucas became the fifth Lady Lion player to reach the milestone, joining Kelly Mazzante, Kahadeejah Herbert, Susan Robinson and Tyra Grant. "I couldn't have chosen a better place to play, Lucas said following " said. There's also what he called "the expectation level." "Some schools expect to be in the Final Four, they expect to win championships, " he said. "Others are happy if they get there. Eventually you attain that mindset, but it takes a while. You've got to be really, really successful for a while, and then you start to expect it. I think that's where we are now. "I think the thing that's always been a key for us is that we try to approach every game the same way, regardless of who we're playing or where we're playing. If we keep getting better [this season], it's going to be really hard to beat us, either at home or on the road. … But we don't disrespect any teams and we don't go out there thinking that we're going to win every game just by showing up. Contrary to public opinion, we do practice, and we do work really hard. We don't just roll the ball out there. " Auriemma lauded Washington, noting that the former Notre Dame and WNBA point guard is as fierce as a coach as she was as a player. "She coaches to her personality, he said, "which is really, really " good. It's getting harder and harder to find those people." Washington didn't just play for Notre Dame; she also was an assistant coach for the Irish from 1999 to 2007 before leaving to take over Penn State's program. She Penn State's 77-68 victory over the Hoyas. "The biggest thing with something like that is all the great players that I've had the opportunity to play with. That's not something that happens on its own. It's not an individual achievement. I've played with some unbelievable point guards every year – Dara [Taylor] and Alex Bentley. My teammates set me up, and they put me in a position to be successful. " Lucas entered the game with 1,978 points and finished with 2,008. She said she didn't know heading into the game that she was approaching the mark, nor, apparently, did Penn State coach Coquese Washington. Told at the start of the postgame news con- was a part of the staff that guided the team to a national championship in 2001, and her former boss, Muffet McGraw, said she is one of the game's rising stars. "I think she's going to be the best coach and that she's the best young coach in the country, McGraw said. "When a cou" ple of people retire, I think she's going to be the one that everyone looks to." Maybe so, and maybe her name will come up when McGraw, now in her 27th season in South Bend, decides to step down. But for now, Washington is focused on building Penn State's program. The schedule is only going to get tougher in the coming years, with perennial powers Maryland and Rutgers set to join the Big Ten. And Washington is hoping to schedule more games against Connecticut to bolster the nonconference slate. Perhaps the Huskies can serve as a model for the Lady Lions as they look to make the same leap that Auriemma made in the 1980s. The respect is certainly mutual. "He's set the standard for all of us in the profession, Washington said. "He's also " been willing to share, with me personally, about coaching and different things. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he's done for the game and what he's done by being willing to schedule us. For him to say positive things about our program, I that means a lot. " ference that Lucas had surpassed the 2,000-point threshold, Washington reached across the table at the front of the press room and shook her hand. "Congratulations," she said. With her 3-point spree – she went 5 of 12 from behind the arc against Georgetown – Lucas moved into fifth place on the Lady Lions' all-time scoring list, passing Tanisha Wright, who finished her career with 1,995 points. She went on to pass Herbert (2,025 points) in a loss at South Dakota State on Dec. 11, and she passed Tyra Grant (2,044) in a victory against Texas A&M four days later. Prior to Alcorn State's visit to the BJC on Dec. 22, Lucas had 2,054 points, third-best in school history. – M.H.

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