UConn’s Katie Lou Samuelson uncertain for Monday with back injury

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Katie Lou Samuelson #33 of the Connecticut Huskies drives to the basket against Arike Ogunbowale #24 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the semifinal game of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four at Nationwide Arena on March 30, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. Notre Dame defeated Connecticut 91-89 to advance to the National Championship. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Katie Lou Samuelson #33 of the Connecticut Huskies drives to the basket against Arike Ogunbowale #24 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the semifinal game of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four at Nationwide Arena on March 30, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. Notre Dame defeated Connecticut 91-89 to advance to the National Championship. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /
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UConn retires Lobo’s number at halftime

Not only did Samuelson’s injury occur on her senior day, but it also happened on the same day UConn heralded another of its great players. During halftime, the Huskies retired Rebecca Lobo’s number, the first time the 11-time NCAA champions have given such an honor.

On top of all that, NBA legend Kobe Bryant showed up to the game with his daughter.

"“The kids obviously were excited,” Auriemma said. “Maybe that led to the cheering and stuff. It is a lot to process in one day and it started early. You know it’s senior day so you have the emotions that goes with that. You know the game will be emotional whether it shows or not. Kobe was a little bit of a distraction. We were hoping he would just send his daughter. He has gotten to know these guys so they were looking forward to coming up. It was a big deal. The Rebecca thing was once in a lifetime… to then have that actually happen has got to be the most unbelievable thing. It is a lot going on and for Rebecca to have her teammates here and to share that with them it had to have been a magical day for her.”"

The Huskies (27-2, 15-0) have already wrapped up their sixth-straight AAC regular season title, winning all 101 games since the conference started in the 2013-14 season. UConn starts play in the conference tournament, held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Saturday.

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