the UConn roster. Head coach Auriemma was not convinced she could be "counted on to contribute on a meaningful level". However, Cardoza shared her assessment with the head coach, "You're looking at our starting point guard next year". Conlon would go on to be the starting point guard for the next two seasons, and helped lead the Huskies to a National Championships in 2004, dishing out six assist and recording zero turnovers in 39 minutes of the championship game. Temple In 2008 Dawn Staley, a Virginia teammate of Cardoza, left the Temple head coaching position to take the head coaching position at the University of South Carolina. Cardoza was named to replace Staley as head coach at Temple. Cardoza joked that she was surprised Temple was so good defensively, quipping that Staley hadn't been much of a defensive player in college. But it was a good-natured jab between former teammates. Cardoza and Staley had both played for Virginia in their playing careers. She followed the jab with serious respect, noting that Staley "set the bar". Under Cardoza, the Owls contributed to reach the NCAA tournament for the next three seasons, reaching the second round twice. When Temple joined the American Athletic Conference, that meant games against Cincinnati as part of the conference schedule. These would not simply be another date in the schedule. Cincinnati is coached by Jamelle Elliott, who played for UConn when Cardoza joined the coaching staff, then coached alongside her when both were assistants under Auriemma. Elliott describes Cardoza simply as "my best friend. I have known her over half my life. She coached me, we talk almost everyday, she is someone I would lay down my life for, I can't describe how close we are." Now they square off as opponents. In their first two meetings each team won once, the Owls winning the first and the Bearcats winning the return game, each team winning on the opponents court. Cardoza found that the role of head coach was very different than that of an assistant. When she was an assistant, she did have things to worry about but she felt she could step away. As a head coach, she doesn't have that luxury. When she was an assistant, she prided herself on being a players coach, and thought she could always do that, but she has found that the relationship of a head coach to the