STORRS, Conn. — After losing to Connecticut by 61 points in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament, Albany’s coach suggested that the Huskies were not only the best women’s basketball team in the country but also the fittest.
“I think we’re as in shape a team that you’re going to come across,” said the coach, Joanna Bernabei-McNamee. Yet, she added, “At times they just made us look bad in the way they pushed the ball.”
Robust conditioning is a particular imperative, and a stealth weapon, for a UConn team (34-0) that rotates only seven players — five starters and two reserves — as it seeks a fifth consecutive national championship.