In Sunday’s 63-46 victory over South Florida, UConn senior Katie Lou Samuelson reached a plateau only a handful of Huskies have climbed: the 2,000-point barrier. A third quarter layup put the Huntington Beach, CA native past the mark, and barring an injury she has a good chance to climb to fourth all-time in scoring. If she plays exceptionally well and UConn advances deep into March, third place is doable.
Either way, 2,000 points is nothing to scoff at; it places Samuelson in the upper-echelon of UConn history. Including Lou, here is the complete list of 2,000-point scorers in Husky history:
10) Katie Lou Samuelson (2,006 points):
The two-time American Conference Player of the Year and first-team All-American came to Storrs as the nation’s top recruit, and she’s lived up to the billing. She’s second all-time at UConn in made threes, one of four Huskies with more than 300. She was part of the national championship team in 2016, been to three Final Fours, and will look to add another ring in her senior season in 2019.
9) Rebecca Lobo (2,133 points):
She’s been passed on the scoring, rebounding and blocks list, but arguably no one made more of an impact in Storrs than Lobo, who helped make UConn a phenomenon. The 1995 National Player of the Year led the Huskies to a 35-0 record and its first national title, and became the first UConn player (male or female) to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
8) Kara Wolters (2,141 points):
A sophomore on the ’95 title team, Wolters went on to win National Player of the Year honors in 1997 and won Big East regular season and tournament titles all four years. She’s ranked in the top-10 in program history in both rebounding and blocks.
7) Diana Taurasi (2,156 points):
Perhaps the best women’s basketball player not only at UConn, but ever, Taurasi was a two-time National Player of the Year and was on teams that won three straight NCAA titles (2002-04). The last of those teams wasn’t nearly as decorated as the 39-0 squad in 2002, but as Geno Auriemma famously quoted “We have Diana, and you don’t”. Aside from being top-10 in scoring, she’s also second in school history in assists, and will be in Springfield one day.
6) Kerry Bascom (2,177 points):
The first 2,000-point scorer in UConn history, Bascom was Geno Auriemma’s first true star. As a sophomore she helped lead the Huskies to the program’s first Big East regular season and tournament championships (1989), the same year UConn reached its first NCAA Tournament. The next year, they won their first Tournament game, then in 1991, the program’s first Final Four. The three-time Big East Player of the Year was also the team’s first All-American.
5) Nykesha Sales (2,178 points):
The first truly big in-state recruit to commit to UConn, the Bloomfield native was a two-time All-American and a Big East Player of the Year. Her 20.9 points per game in 1998 is the third-highest single-season scoring average in school history.
In her senior season she was one point shy of breaking Bascom’s school record for points when she ruptured her Achilles on Senior Night. It sparked controversy when, three days later, Auriemma set up the chance for Sales to score one final, uncontested layup to give her the record against Villanova. It received the okay from Bascom, the Big East and Villanova, but still caused a bit of a raucous.
4) Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (2,178 points):
It takes a certain confidence to walk in to Storrs as a freshman and ask for No. 23, worn just months earlier by Maya Moore. Alas, KML did, and four years later she left as the most decorated three-point shooter in NCAA history. Her 398 made threes is over 60 more than second-place Samuelson, and her .447 success rate is second in school history, as is her .874 career free throw percentage.
3) Tina Charles (2,346 points):
She graduated in 2010 as the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, the latter of which stands today. In fact, she broke both records on the same night – March 1, 2010 against Notre Dame. An All-American and the Most Outstanding Player in the 2010 Final Four, Charles is the only Husky to be top-five all-time in points, rebounds and blocks.
2) Breanna Stewart (2,676 points):
The most decorated winner in UConn history, Stewie made headlines her freshman season when she said she wanted to win four national titles. Not only did she and Moriah Jefferson go 4-for-4, but Stewart was also the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player each time, the only player (male or female) in NCAA history to do so. The three-time National Player of the Year went 151-5 at UConn, and is the only player in NCAA history to have both 300 assists and 300 blocks in her career, aside from all the other accolades.
1) Maya Moore (3,036 points):
Only 13 women have ever scored 3,000 points in a college career, and Moore became the seventh in her senior season of 2011. In a career that saw her named First-Team All-American all four years and win two national titles, Moore did it all. Aside from scoring, she had a versatility only Breanna Stewart can match, still sitting in the top-10 all-time in rebounding (2nd), scoring average (1st), threes made (3rd), assists (8th), steals (4th) and blocks (7th).