It's been on the schedule for months. The UConn women's basketball team would travel to Europe in mid-August for a 10-day trip to compete in exhibition games in Greece and Italy.
Now because of the ongoing economic crisis in Greece, head coach Geno Auriemma has decided to skip Greece altogether. According to the Hartford Courant's John Altavilla, the Huskies have removed the stop from their schedule and will only travel to Italy.
More via the Courant:
UConn will play four games: Aug. 18 vs. the Dutch National Team in Rome; Aug. 19 vs. Italian Select in Rome; Aug. 22 vs. Saarlouis Royales in Florence; and Aug. 24 vs. the Nigeria National Team in Como.
To prepare, the Huskies, in accordance with NCAA law, are able to hold a 10-day practice period and that is scheduled to begin this weekend. A UConn spokesman said Wednesday the Huskies have scheduled two-hour practice blocks at Gampel prior to their departure for Italy on the 16th.
We mentioned in early July that guard Caroline Doty, who had just been cleared to play after missing the 2010-11 season with a knee injury, suffered a setback while working out. The extent of the injury was unknown at the time, and there was no indication if Doty would be healthy enough to travel with the team to Europe later this month.
Altavilla wrote Wednesday that there's still no word on Doty's status. As for Huskies teammates Bria Hartley, Stefanie Dolson and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, they return to Storrs fresh off a World Championship title as part of the United States' Under-19 Team.
