BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -Brittany Hunter came to Duke as a highly-touted freshman in 2003, but tore her lateral meniscus against Purdue in late November in just her third game as a Blue Devil. The 6-foot-3 forward never completely regained her health that season, but still finished the year averaging 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest in 27 games of action.
Unhappy with the treatment she was receiving for her injury and her situation at Duke, the Columbus, Ohio, native decided to transfer to Connecticut. And after sitting out last season due to NCAA regulations, Hunter has become a role player for the Huskies this year, averaging almost 10 minutes of playing time and scoring 5.1 points per game.
"I think the whole thing was, you get hurt, and you don't know if you're going to play again, it's a lot of emotion," Hunter said. "There was not just one thing I was upset about, I was just generally mad."
Since Hunter transferred, Duke and UConn have yet to face each other-and with a trip to the Final Four in Boston on the line, the stakes for tonight's matchup have risen to new heights.
Hunter said if the game came in any other setting, she might have more mixed emotions about the meeting, but she is only focused on getting her new teammates into the Final Four.
"It's been so long now it seems that everything that's happened with my knee, it's happened, it's over with," Hunter said. "I've had surgery and I've recovered and I'm playing now. I think if this were a regular season [game] my feelings may be a little bit different, but the only meaning I have for this game right now is getting to the Final Four."
In Durham, Hunter became very close with some of her Blue Devil teammates, especially junior center Alison Bales, who came to Duke in the same recruiting class. Hunter plans to visit Bales this summer and the two said they talk on the phone on a very regular basis.
"I was disappointed she transferred, but just because we were such close friends and she was the only girl that came in with me-the two of us were the freshman class together," Bales said. "She made a good decision for her."
The UConn forward added that she was very satisfied with her decision to leave Durham for Storrs, but that she still maintains close ties with Bales, Monique Currie and even sophomore Wanisha Smith who was not a teammate of Hunter's at Duke.
Smith, who joined the Blue Devils after the team made its last Final Four in 2003, said she will put her friendship with Hunter aside tonight, and try to earn Duke a trip to Boston, keeping its National Title hopes alive.
"When you go into a basketball game, you don't look at it as a friendship, you look at it like a battle between you and your opponent," Smith said. "After the game we'll be friends and will talk on the phone, but during the game we're going to go head-to-head."
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