UA guard Shaina Pellington grew up in Canada playing with UConn’s Aalliyah Edwards. Last year, the duo helped the Canadian national team qualify for the Olympics. The Pellington connection is one of many between the Wildcats and Huskies, who play in the Final Four on Friday.

 Josh Galemore / Arizona Daily Star

Morgan Valley started a new routine when the NCAA Tournament kicked off a few weeks ago.

Valley, the head coach at Hartford, wears a UConn sweatshirt and shorts … with an Arizona T-shirt.

That’s what it’s like these days for Valley, a UConn grad and former UA assistant coach under Adia Barnes. She says Friday’s Final Four matchup in San Antonio will be, in a word, “weird.”

Hear what the Arizona Wildcats had to say as they head into the program's first-ever Final Four. The No. 3-seed UA will face top-seeded UConn Huskies on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in San Antonio.

“It’s just a fluky thing,” Valley said from her home in Connecticut Wednesday morning. “I am cheering for UConn, but I want individuals to do well on the other team.”

Morgan Valley, a UConn graduate, spent two seasons as a UA assistant before behing named head coach at Hartford.

That “other team” is Arizona, which is playing in its first-ever Final Four. UConn, meanwhile, is playing in its 13th in a row and 21st overall.

Valley was in Tucson from 2017-19, and coached two of the leaders on this year’s squad — seniors Aari McDonald and Sam Thomas. She called McDonald, who scored 33 points in Monday’s Elite Eight win, “the best player in this tournament.”

“She just got 33 of their 66 points. She’s doing something you can’t teach,” Valley said. “She has the biggest heart and is like the little engine that could. She plays hard, never stops. Here’s a kid from Fresno who plays basketball because she loves it. To end her career this way is remarkable.”

Valley is one of many connections between the Wildcats and Huskies.

Tee Tee Starks, a foundational piece in the Wildcats’ turnaround, is now a graduate assistant at UConn. Starks transferred to the UA alongside McDonald and Dominique McBryde four years ago after buying into Barnes’ vision for the program.

“Having Tee Tee on the other side after playing with her is crazy,” McDonald said. “… She’s my friend, my sister, but on Friday, she might be my enemy for like 40 minutes or however long it takes.”

Coach Geno Auriemma said he’s not seeking a UA scouting report from Starks. There are no “secret war plans that we just have access to that are going to put us over the hump,” he said. This year’s UA team is different from past ones, anyway, boasting different players and a defense that’s now considered elite.

Arizona’s Bendu Yeaney and UConn’s Evina Westbrook have known each other since junior high; they played on the same teams and as opponents for years before coming to college.

“We were double trouble when we use to play together,” Yeaney said. “Not many teams could beat us. We’ve (been) close ever since. But she’s an amazing competitor and she’s always pushed me to be as great as I can be.”

There’s even a Canadian Arizona-UConn connection. UA’s Shaina Pellington and UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards are both members of the Canadian National Team. Last year, they helped their country qualify for the Olympics. Edwards, the Big East Conference’s Sixth Woman of the Year, has known Pellington since they were youngsters.

“I would love to play with her, but obviously we’re on opposing sides,” Pellington said.

More? Barnes and UConn legend Sue Bird were teammates on the Seattle Storm’s first WNBA championship team in 2004 and remain close.

Bird said this week that she knew Barnes would be successful as Arizona’s coach.

“If you are around Adia for five seconds, she’s got charisma,” Bird said. “She makes you feel like you’ve known her forever.”

Barnes also played against UConn assistant Shea Ralph in the Sweet 16 in 1998 — the last time the two programs met in the NCAA Tournament. Ralph guarded Barnes win in the Huskies’ win.

Arizona’s Adia Barnes was guarded by UConn’s Shea Ralph, now a Huskies assistant, when the teams met in 1998.

No one — not even Barnes herself — could have predicted that Arizona’s road to their first national championship would go through women’s basketball’s premier powerhouse.

“It’s a good story,” Valley said.

“I almost think Arizona has somewhat of an advantage. They don’t know. If you don’t know, you aren’t scared; you just play. It’s the second-to-last game of the year. It may sound cliché, but it’s one possession at a time.”

Valley said that Arizona’s run has been magical so far. While she is cheering on her alma mater, she said she would be “100% happy” if the Wildcats pulled the upset.

“The best players are playing big,” Valley said. “I don’t think anyone thinks (Arizona) should be there, and you just hope the basketball gods shine down on you …”

Added Bird: “It’s really fun to see someone get to the Final Four for the first time. It’s also fun to watch a program get to its, what, … 13th straight?”

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