I have browsed the University of Connecticut website recently and spotted Jonathan the Thirteenth and Jonathan the Fourteenth – two dogs – with Stefanie Dolson, Kiah Stokes and Breanna Stewart. Have you seen Jonathan the First?

It`s a school`s mascot. He lives on campus. When he is too old to show up for public appearances or he passes away – he retire and they bring in another Jonathan. And they name him Jonathan the Twelfth or Fourteenth, depending on how many dogs they have had before.

I don`t remember what Jonathan we had when we were in school but I do know that our Jonathan – he got hit by a car. He died and they have bring in another one. American universities have different dorms for boys and girls – and they are taking care.

You have grown up in Alaska. Have you seen the real huskies?

Yes, the real ones. They are beautiful dogs – Alaskan dogs. They do a lot of dog sled races.

Have you seen the dog sled races because it is one of the things people probably know about Alaska?

I have never been to one. As people think – we get around by dog sleds and we don`t. We have cars like everybody else but there are people that do it for fun. I have never seen it in person.

Actually you are from the town, near the Pacific coast line.

I`m from South Central Alaska. Alaska is huge! Anchorage is our big city and I live like 45 minutes outside it, in a town called Palmer.

Not far from the ocean.

There is a bay of Alaska and there is an inlet. If you go to Anchorage, you see the sea and scenery, while Palmer is located more inside the state. We are a little bit up in the mountains so the weather is better than down the road. It`s beautiful – Alaska is a gorgeous state! It`s fun to grow up there. We do a lot of outdoor activities – hiking on trails, fishing, skiing.

And when you go outside in the morning, you can see the mountains.

Place where I live is surrounded by mountains.

Is it a mountain valley?

It is a valley. It`s called Matanuska river valley. Mountains on all sides – it`s really pretty.

And you studied there?

I`m born and raised in Alaska until the age of 18, when I went to the University of Connecticut for the next five years.

Have you heard anything about Connecticut before you went there?

No. I had never been into the state of Connecticut before my study visit, when I decided to go to the college. It was my first time ever in the North East of America. Usually I travelled up and down the West Coast. You know – Washington, Oregon, California. Only trip to the East Coast was to the Disney World in Florida. That was like completely different for me.

Weather conditions in Connecticut are at least comparable with those in Alaska.

They are awesome! They have four seasons while we have a very short spring, a very short summer and then it`s winter again. You don`t really seen spring and fall like in the North East. Summers are really hot there. The weather is nice in fall and then there`s winter. That was really different for me to see.

Like here, only summers are shorter here as well unlike Connecticut.

Yes, cause you guys are up in the North too.

When the Title IX came into effect in 1973 more girls got opportunities to play sports in their high schools and universities. How many sports you have had in Palmer?

Where I grow up we were really big on sports because there wasn`t a lot of things to do. We are known for farming and stuff like that. All kids played sports. I played three different sports – volleyball, basketball and track. I ran and did it all for my high school.

How did you met the UConn people for the first time?

When you are serious about basketball you play in the summertime in the club league.

AAU.

That was what I did – played in the AAU. And I didn`t played with the Alaska team. I played with the team in the state of Oregon. Portland city area. My team was called Oregon City All Stars. In June, after the high school was over, I went down there to play with them until the end of July or August. And then I came home for the high school but the whole summer I was playing in those different tournaments. And they saw me in the one of those tournaments.

I got offers from a lot of different schools. By the time my senior year came around I cut the list down to five schools – Connecticut, the University of Oregon, Ohio State, UCLA and the University of Rutgers in New Jersey. I went to visit the University of Oregon and then I went to Connecticut. And when I went to Connecticut, I was like – I don`t need to see any other school, I`m going here!

Love from the first sight!

Yes!

People say – eventually you don`t remember most of the games and wins. You remember the people you played and lived with. Which are the most important people you have met in Connecticut?

All my teammates are the most important to me – the ones that I played with. You go through so much and you don`t have a family there or close friends to rely on, except your teammates. We all came from different parts of America. We haven`t been together for 10 years but I know – when we come together it`s like nothing have changed, like no time has gone by. We are still really close friends with the head coach Geno Auriemma, associate coach Chris Dailey. It is like a big family.

Class of 2004 – it`s you and...

I graduated in 2005 because I had a red shirt year in my freshman year so I got an extra year of eligibility. And the other seniors were Diana Taurasi, Maria Conlon and Morgan Valley. That was fun playing with Diana.

She was more crazy then?

When you are young – she has always been a passionate player. Diana is one of my favorite teammates I have ever had. She is such a competitive player. Diana has a winner`s mentality, she`ll do whatever it takes to win. She is very similar to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Their work ethic and mentality is the same.

You said that during your senior year both Connecticut teams – men and women – won the National Championship.

Yes, in 2004.

I guess it was the biggest event in the school history. And for the city of Hartford too.

It was bananas – absolutely crazy. Campus went insane after we won. We don`t have pro-sports in Connecticut. There is no NBA team, except the WNBA play in summer. All we have is Connecticut Basketball and it`s successful. The whole state of Connecticut is behind you and they treat you like gold. They know you, they want to take pictures with you when you go to the mall or movies. It shows how much they love you. Past September we all came back to school to our 10 year anniversary and that was really awesome. It was like nothing had changed. Everybody came onto the court and the people remembers you after so many years.

In Storrs.

Yes, that was in Storrs. Harry A. Gampel pavilion.

Actually, do you prefer to play in the Gampel pavilion or the XL Center in Hartford?

When I played it was called the Hartford Civic Center. I loved both places but there`s something special about the Gampel pavilion. Because it`s on campus and it`s more special to play in. The XL Center is bigger, with 17 000 seats – and Gampel with 10 000. It`s more intimate in Gampel, people are screaming over your heads and I have enjoyed to play there. It`s on campus, you don`t have to travel anywhere from your dorm apartment.

Just walk.

Yes, you can walk.

Do you miss those days?

No (laughs). It`s fine when you are young. Now I`m too old for walking that much.

People say that coach Auriemma is one of the most tough in practices. Is is true?

I think that he always think that the game should be easy. Practice should be tough. If you work hard in practices. When you get in these high pressure games you know – I can do it because I have seen it in practice a million times. Connecticut girls when they play in those high pressure games, in the National Championship – they are going through the same as in practices because Auriemma have prepared them for anything. He is a really good coach in that way and he is really smart.

After those National Championship games everything else is not the same.

It`s really something because you just work for it. So hard, from the beginning of the school year in August. You start preseason and you are just working for that goal until April. And when you get there it`s a surreal kind of experience. However, you don`t appreciate it in a huge way until a few years after the school. And then it`s gone and you realize – wow, I can`t believe it! You see how hard it is to actually win. And the fact that we were able to do it three times in a row. It`s just – amazing! It really is.

Connecticut`s three-peat (2002-2004) was the first in the school history and the second in the whole NCAA after Tennessee (1996-1998).

It was really something.

As far as I remember, you can see pictures every year with the teams going to the White House to meet with the President Obama. Did you went to the White House to meet with the President Bush?

Three times. You can`t help who your President is when you are in the school. We went to the White House, we met the President Bush. It wasnt`t only us, also men`s and women`s ice hockey teams, and men`s lacrosse team were present. For our third year, when our men`s team won, that was really awesome. We were able to fly on in the airplane.

Not the Air Force One.

No, the charter flight. That would be awesome, though. It was really something anyway. And we had a parade in Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. In 2004 we did it together with the men`s team. And there was over 300 000 people (Hartford population is 125 000 and Connecticut population is 3,5 million) lined up for the parade. I have never seen anything like that.

People came from all over Connecticut because Hartford is a pretty small city.

Everybody came. It was a beautiful day. Thousands of people, 300 000 people!

And the memories as big as winning the Championship itself.

That was really, really special. It was like an NBA, like Super Bowl when the winning city hosts the parade for you. And we were just young kids, 19-21 years old, and this all is for you. People are behind you and it`s special.

Is basketball in Connecticut bigger than football?

I think for that state there are three sports everybody is crazy about. It`s Major League Baseball (MLB) – you got the Red Socks from Boston or the New York Yankees. And then there`s the New England Patriots and the New York Mets. And Connecticut Basketball. I think we are right up there. I don`t know about anywhere else but in Connecticut there are almost no other professional sports. People really love basketball.

I think there is also a constant media attention – ESPN headquarters are nearby and the New York City is the media capital of the United States.

When ESPN was founded back in the 1980s, they showed the Connecticut men`s basketball in their first show. They have certain ties with the women`s basketball program. It is easy for them to show Connecticut, because we are right there and we are really good.

I guess you have media training in Connecticut.

When you are coming in as a freshman you have a meeting. And they told you how to approach the media – what to say, what not to say. We go out to the really nice restaurants and they teach you how to sit up straight, how to eat, what forks and knives are for. They do a lot of training for new students. When the skirts are required, they ask you to wear skirts with black stacking. We have to look the same, not individuals. You can`t have nail polished – and I love the nail polished. What is that? (Laughs) That is because they want everybody to look the same, as a team. When looking back, I understand it – everything makes sense.

They prepare you for anything.

They are not just thinking about your basketball career. They are thinking for the rest of your life. It prepares you for your life after basketball.

Coach Auriemma hugs his players after the National Championship games. It`s the case with everyone, right?

Of course. People think like he is a big bad wolf. When you get out of court and be around with him – he is one of the best, kindest people. He is a family man. He treats every single one of us like his girls. And it doesn`t end in the school or after it. He treats you the same way all the time for the rest of your life. And you know if you ever need him for anything, he is always there and he care for everyone of us, players. He wants you to do the best you can possibly do. He just has his ways of bringing it out for you (laughs). But he is an awesome coach. One of the best coaches that I have ever had.

Any other coach on the same level?

My favorite coach in the WNBA was Mike Thibault who has coached the Connecticut Sun and then I was with him in the Washington Mystics. He really does know basketball. Thibault is players coach and he really knows everything. One of my favorite coaches as a professional too.

If I`m not mistaken, you were invited to work for the Washington Mystics.

I did it past summer. I don`t know if I`m doing it this summer or not. Coaching was something I wanted to do beside basketball. It`s definitely something I have been thinking about. I`m getting my Master`s degree and I`m graduating in August – in public relations and communications. I`ll be doing that because I`m thinking about my life after basketball.

I have been in school for two years now. I do it all online. My school is called Kent State and physically it`s in Ohio. You don`t have to be there in person. It`s awesome. I can work, play and go to the school at the same time. I has put my gown and hat already in Connecticut so I don`t even have to be present in my graduation there. They can mail me my diploma and I don`t need the rest of their stuff. I have my own party at my own house. I`m excited anyway.

Many athletes are online most of the time. I think there are many things to like about being offline. Do you like your moments while being offline? Here in Riga and America too.

So much of our lives are on internet but I`m not one of those people who`s constantly on their phones. I like to go out and have fun with my friends. I live in Los Angeles – there are a lot of things to do beside sitting behind your computer. And I`d rather go to the beach!

And it`s better for your body.

For sure!

Few words about Cēsis. It`s your second time here. Except Krišjānis, do you remember any of those girls?

This entire team is new. I came here six years ago and it was unlikely to see the same people. All girls here now are awesome. Great players and many of them have played college basketball in America. And that helps out so much because they are so tough and very, very smart. Everybody knows English – it`s a great situation for me. And they are a great team together. I can just come in and add a little things. When I saw them for the first time, I was like – wow! I`m really happy and fortunate that I`m able to play with awesome Latvian players.

Coach Armands Krauliņš is a legend here. He really knows basketball and is so smart. It`s been a really great experience for me.

He`s been coaching for more than 50 years and he was coaching a women`s team back in 1960s.

Despite his experience and age, he is very sharp. He is still on top of everything. He is a great coach.

And he`s a boss.

He is a boss.

From what I have seen I think he trusts you.

I really like him. I didn`t had a car in the first week. Or two weeks. He was coming to pick me up in my apartment everyday. It was fun. I really like him. He is a sweet guy. And a really awesome coach. I`m really happy that I was able to come back here to Latvia. I have played in a lot of different places. Playing for Cēsis was fun times. When I got the call from Krišjānis, asking whether I want to come back, I didn`t have to think about it. It`s a great program with a great president. The people of Rīga and Cēsis are nice to me.

Nice to hear it.

Yes, I like it here a lot.