Storrs — When UConn coach Geno Auriemma tries to get a rise out of assistant coach/former Final Four Most Valuable Player Shea Ralph, he issues the following statement:

“'This is the worst group of guards we've had since you played,'” Auriemma said with a laugh from the podium Saturday after top-ranked UConn's 116-55 victory over Albany in the first round of the NCAA tournament. “Shea is very protective of her guards.”

On Saturday, Auriemma gave credit to Ralph and freshman guard Crystal Dangerfield, who was playing in the first NCAA tournament game of her career.

Dangerfield, who is back to being UConn's sixth player after starting the final four games of the regular-season at point guard with Kia Nurse out due to an ankle injury, finished with 16 points, six assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes. She was 4-for-7 from 3-point range.

“Crystal had a really good game today,” Auriemma said. “I thought she did a pretty good job with that kid (Albany's Imani Tate). And Shea said, 'Crystal stinks on defense.' I said, 'I actually thought she did a good job.' I'm sticking up for the kid. We have a coaching staff that's hard to please.”

Dangerfield, averaging 6.7 points per game, became the fifth member of the team to surpass the 100-assist mark for the season (103), joining Gabby Williams (174), Saniya Chong (121), Nurse (114) and Katie Lou Samuelson (107).

Said Williams of Dangerfield: “It's good to have her come off the bench and give us something new.”

Coach Mac

Albany coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee is in her first season coaching the Great Danes, also her first season as a head coach at the Division I level. But McNamee is no newcomer to DI.

She was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Maryland for four seasons, including the Terps' 2006 national championship, and was previously an assistant at West Virginia.

McNamee wasn't sure she would coach again when she took four seasons off to raise her two sons, Luke (9) and Caden (8). She soon found out something about herself, however.

“I would clean house or something and it would be miserable,” she said Friday with a laugh. “My husband (Joe) said, 'I married a basketball coach.' I don't know if there's anything else you can do.'”

McNamee, a former Division II All-American at West Liberty State, took over the head coaching position at NAIA program Pikeville (Kent.), where she led the Lady Bears to 63 wins and back-to-back national tournament berths in three seasons. This season, she led Albany to a sixth straight NCAA tournament berth, replacing Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, who is now at Central Florida.

McNamee praised the Albany administration for hiring her.

“I do think it's a very unique path I took to get here,” she said. “I think it was the right path for me. The decision to leave was, of course, difficult. My job at that time was to raise two boys. … I hope more administrators will follow along that path. What makes it work out is to have an administration willing to hire someone like that.”

A 'good man'

A question was put forth to Albany's players and coaches Saturday, asking whether they thought Auriemma ran up the score.

McNamee, in response, gave an example of a time when the Great Danes only had one second remaining to get the ball past half court and Auriemma called his defenders off the play.

“I think he's a really good man,” McNamee said. “No, he's not trying to run up the score. He's playing for his team to be great. … And he took a picture with my kids.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com