ONE SATURDAY AFTERNOON last April, a group of UConn women's basketball players texted back and forth about that evening's party: what time they were leaving, what to wear, what the feel of the night would be. There was a spirited discussion about shoes. Few of them had ever been to a bat mitzvah before.
Dressed and ready, they caravaned out of campus with Paige Bueckers' car leading the way. When they arrived at the Jewish Community Center of West Hartford, Connecticut, about 40 minutes down the road, the festivities were in full swing. The Mexican food station was delectable.