Shea Ralph has pretty much been a UConn Husky since she arrived on campus as a freshman in the fall of 1996. With the exemption of a stint in Pittsburgh, she's been on the bench as a player, or since the 2008 as one of Geno Auriemma's Assistants...One of the main reasons the Huskies have been consistent as a National Power. But the road as a player wasn't easy....
Shea hails from Fayetteville, NC, where her Mom, Marsha Lake was a legendary player at North Carolina. Shea excelled in hoops, soccer, track and cross country with Basketball being her best by far. Where in her Junior Year of 1995, she averaged 39ppg while shooting an insane 72% ...and scoring over 3,000pts in her high school career. But at 6-1, 145, someone mentioned she looked a little thick...That set off a diet that eventually turned into anorexia nervosa where her weight went dangerously low to 108lbs...Forcing her AAU Coach to take away basketball if she didn't start eating and gaining weight.
After a 63 point AAU Game with College Coach's paying close attention, the thought was Shea was headed to Tennessee, North Carolina, Purdue or NC State...Enter UConn, where Geno Auriemma pretty much told it like it is, "work your butt off, you'll play a lot...if you don't you won't." And a visit to UConn in her Junior Year convinced Storrs was the right place for her.
That freshman year of 1996-97 was a good one, Big East Rookie of the Year & National Freshman of the Year while averaging 11p and 4.5 assists per game for an undefeated team heading into the NCAA Tournament. However in game one of the NCAA Tournament, Shea tore her right ACL and her season was over. The Huskies lost in the Elite 8 to Tennessee. Ralph would tear her ACL again during rehab...And The UConn Training Staff and Coach Auriemma were noticing her eating habits. A Lori Riley article in the Courant in 2011 indicated breakfast was a bagel and two diet cokes in her freshman year where Geno wasn't happy and benched her, it helped, but after the ACL injury with fear of gaining weight, she'd eat once a day. Broccoli, a salad or fat free yogurt. Shea admits proper nutrition would have helped in the healing process and she needed to stop acting selfishly.
After missing the entire 1997-98 season, Shea put some weight on, but once cleared to practice and play, the weight was lost. But she knew things needed to change for the good of the team. That first season back with the 98'-99' Team, playing with Svetlana Abrosimova and a star studded Freshman Class, the Huskies had a solid season where Shea led the team in scoring, averaging just shy of 17ppg and making 41% of her three's...A 503pt season where she made 144 free throws, Ralph led the Huskies to a Big East Tournament Championship scoring 65 points...That included a 19p-6r-10a final against Notre Dame....Her first NCAA Tournament was going well after the first weekend, but the team shot poorly, Ralph included in a loss to Iowa State in the Sweet 16...
The 99-2000 Team was again ready to make a run at the elusive second championship...The season began in Italy in August of 99'. And the Huskies were ready....Just one loss all season (Tennessee at Home), another Big East Regular Season and Tournament Championship. Shea averaged 15ppg and nearly 5 assists a game on a team that played great team basketball. Ralph earning Big East Player of the Year Honors. And she didn't disappoint in the NCAA's either. Double figures in four of the five games and averaging nearly 5 assists a game. Capped by a 15 point, 7 assist effort against Tennessee in the Championship Game in Philadelphia where Shea was Final Four MOP..Along with a unanimous All American Pick with Abrosimova....
The Huskies were loaded in trying to defend their Championship...Tennessee and Purdue were threats...So was a conference Rival in the 2000-01 season, Notre Dame, led by Ruth Riley, Niele Ivy and Kelly Siemone...Ralph scored less as the Huskies' Junior Class of Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asja Jones and Tamika Williams began to flourish. And the team added a freshman phenom in Diana Taurasi to compliment Shea and Svet...Averaging 10ppg and 4 assists per game, the Huskies again a high powered threat...Losing to ND in the regular season, the Huskies hosted the Big East Tournament and Shea, without Svet at her side after season ending foot surgery mid year, was the leader. 16-5-5 in the quarters, 6-7-7 in the Semis to set up a rematch with Notre Dame in the Final. Ralph played a big role in the first half...11 points, 2 boards and 6 assists in the first half...when on a drive to the bucket from the left, Shea tore her ACL again....Season and Career over at UConn. But as UConn beat the Irish in the Famous "Bird at the Buzzer" Game, Ralph was on the All Tourney Team...
Her career numbers at UConn, 1,678 points (18th) a career 81% FT shooter, 473 free throws made (2nd) and 10th in steals with 270...After a year away from the game, she got into coaching, starting at Pittsburgh with Agnus Beranato. Where she helped take a program that had little or no success to becoming a ranked team in a loaded Big East at the end of the 2007-08' season. When Tonya Cardoza left UConn to take the Temple job, Geno's First call was to Pittsburgh to get permission to talk with Shea...Of course she came back to Storrs and has been on the bench with Geno and Chris Dailey since. A Final Four Team every year and six national championships during her stay in Storrs.
Today, she's married and the mom of an infant daughter who occasionally makes road trips with the Huskies...Shea Ralph will eventually be a head coach....Will it be elsewhere or will she wait out Geno and take over at UConn ?? Who knows what will happen. But right now, Shea is in a great spot working with two Hall of Fame Coaches....
Shea Ralph, forever a Husky and a UConn Legend...