Perfection, Once Again

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team won the NCAA national championship tonight over Louisville, 76-54, completing the program's third perfect season.

The Huskies finished the '08-'09 season with a record of 39-0, matching the championship teams of '95 and '02.

To those of us in Connecticut, especially northeastern CT, and especially those of us who attended the U, and especially especially those of us (me) who sat next to school-legend point guard Sue Bird --- the #1 overall pick in the 2002 WNBA draft --- in a gen-ed French class (almost the whole team was enrolled in it), the success that the women's basketball program has had over the years is inspiring. Let's not kid ourselves, the women's game doesn't prove much of a match to the men's in viewership ratings, but it's something to be proud of nonetheless. There are many, too, who hold that the women's game is a purer version of basketball, relying on teamwork, passing, and shooting accuracy as opposed to the men's Me!Me!Me!, slam dunks and rough'n'tumble points "in the paint." Each has its own idiom, I suppose.

But what I wanted to mention most of all tonight is a family friend who isn't here to share in the celebration. Last January, Marilyn DelGrasso, a neighbor down the road a short ways passed away after a long battle with cancer, among other ailments (this was just a few days before my niece, Madeline, was born, as my brother and his wife live just a little further down the road). She had worked for the state for about 30 years before she retired, and she was a huge fan of the lady Huskies. Even late in life, she went to some games, had all kinds of paraphernalia, T-shirts and such, and always watched on CPTV or ESPN. My mum would often go down to visit and watch (and get knitting help). Seemed that a bit of the spirit was gone this year without her saying, "C'mon, girls!" in her hoarse voice. She was such a kind woman, contributed much time and effort to our lake community, always made sure you took an iced tea or soda 'for the road' (~600 feet) and kept her spirits up, through thick and thin, to the last. We miss Marilyn so much, and it's times like this where we miss her more. Go lady Huskies!