N. Babylon's Hartley Heading Back To The Final Four

Bria Hartley and her University of Connecticut teammates are headed back to the Final Four.

On Monday, the Huskies topped the Kentucky Wildcats 83-53 to earn UConn’s sixth consecutive trip to the women’s National Semi-Finals, held this year in New Orleans. Connecticut will face Notre Dame on Sunday, April 7.

The rematch against Notre Dame pits UConn against its Big East rivals and a team responsible for three of the Huskies’ four losses this season.

Hartley, a North Babylon High School graduate, was one of five UConn players to score in double figures. In the win over Kentucky, Hartley had 10 points, 4 rebounds and a team high 4 steals.

Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma had high praise for Hartley’s defensive effort on Monday night.

“I thought Bria did an amazing job on the defensive end,” he told Newsday.

Hartley was responsible for guarding Kentucky’s Jennifer O’Neill in a box-and-one defense after O’Neill scored Kentucky’s first five points.

Not wanting his team to chase O’Neill and open other opportunities for Kentucky’s offense, Auriemma felt Hartley was the perfect choice for the job.

“When we told her, ‘You just guard that kid and follow her everywhere she goes,’ Bria said, ‘Yeah, I can do that.’ She was fabulous tonight. Unbelievable job.”

Following the defensive adjustment, O’Neill finished the game with 13 points.