SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Geno Auriemma first said it when his team left Stanford nursing a shocking loss three weeks ago. He has acknowledged the point again a couple of times since.
Connecticut is not the same without Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley, who have moved on to their professional careers and taken the emotional center of the program with them. The problem seemed to be that the Huskies hadn't moved on yet.
No player had truly, emphatically stepped in to fill that leadership void, the heart-and-soul role. Moreover, there weren't any obvious candidates.
But maybe, after Saturday's impressive 76-58 victory over second-ranked Notre Dame at Purcell Pavilion, that is starting to change.
On a team anchored by All-Americans Breanna Stewart and Kaleena Mosqeuda-Lewis, it was sophomore forward Morgan Tuck and senior center Kiah Stokes who turned around a game that was headed in the wrong direction for the Huskies. Down 28-18 with 10:13 to go in the first half, Tuck's offense and Stokes' efforts in the paint -- combined with a defensive clamp-down on Notre Dame's limited offensive options -- pushed the Huskies to a 22-4 run to end the first half -- and an insurmountable 20-point lead in the second for the Irish (8-1), whose first loss this season also snapped their nation-leading 34-game home winning streak.
On Saturday, against No. 2 Notre Dame, a game arguably without stakes but not without meaning, Tuck might well have earned her spot on the marquee and her stripes as a leader, one the Huskies certainly need.
Tuck turned out the best offensive game of her career, finishing with 25 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
"Morgan didn't do anything I didn't think she could do," Auriemma said. "Morgan might be the best basketball player on our team. Stewie is Stewie, obviously. But because Morgan is a little stronger, she makes a big 3, she drives it to the basket, she makes free throws, she's a pretty good passer, defends, she rebounds and she talks a lot on defense."
Tuck thought she benefitted from the fact that the Irish focused their defense elsewhere.
"I think they were really focusing on Bre and Kaleena," Tuck said, "so I think that kind of made it a little easier and I was open more."
But Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said Tuck's big day was hard-earned, calling her "the difference in the game," even as McGraw's own star, junior Jewell Loyd, scored 31 points.
"We never planned on leaving [Tuck]," McGraw said. "We had always planned on guarding her the whole time and we actually had a body in the vicinity, but we just crumbled when she drove the ball. She was the aggressor and we did not match that."
Stokes, meanwhile, came off the bench and changed the complexion of the game on the defensive end. Stokes came in with 11:18 to go in the half, the Huskies down 25-18. By halftime, she'd pulled down 12 rebounds and Connecticut was leading 40-32. Coincidence? Not hardly. Stokes finished the day with 18 rebounds, matching her career high. She added four blocks and two steals in 24 minutes on the floor.
"This was definitely a confidence booster," said Stokes, whose brother, Darius, was able to make a rare appearance at one of her games. Darius Stokes is a fifth-year senior for Fairleigh-Dickinson, which happened to be in South Bend to face the Notre Dame men's team in a nightcap that followed the women's game on Saturday.
"But it's not the end of the season yet, and we have a long way to go."
Stewart described Stokes' effort as "phenomenal."
"It seemed like when she came into the game, every rebound was ours," Stewart said.
Auriemma said Stokes has suffered from a crisis of confidence, no matter what she says. And that consistency is the biggest thing that has stood in her way.
"There have been doubts in her mind for a long time, not about 'Can I do it?' but 'Can I do it again and again and again?'" Auriemma said. "What she did today, I've seen her do it a lot in practice. Once a week. Now the thing is, a game like today, does that make her want to do this every day in practice and every game here on in? Because if she does, we are a completely different team."
And that's the key. Putting in the time, learning the lessons, remaining confident, and paying their dues.
"These players were on a great ride and Stefanie and Bria paid the tolls for that ride. Because they suffered a lot in their freshman and sophomore years. That was really hard for them," Auriemma said. "They got their butts beat and they lost in the Final Four two years in a row. They paid that price.
"And then their junior and senior years, they won. But they are gone, and now these guys have to pay the tolls, and they are like, 'Huh, what? I don't have any money.' It's their turn to pay up now."
One can argue the significance of a game like this in mid-December and what impact it will have come April. But Stewart saw its meaning in the play of her teammates.
"The most significant outcome of this game is that people have stepped up since the Stanford game," Stewart said. "Look at Kiah's and Morgan's performances tonight. They are capable of doing this every single night, and the fact that proved that, and the fact that we benefited from that, that's what we need as a team."