After a dominant 30-point win over No. 19 Tennessee on Sunday, there are just eight Big East games standing between the UConn women’s basketball team and an undefeated regular season.

It’s seems all but inevitable for the No. 1 Huskies, who are cruising through conference play this year and have won 59 straight meetings with Big East opponents dating back to 2023. The program hasn’t entered the NCAA Tournament without a loss since 2017-18, when All-Americans Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson led the team to 36 consecutive victories before falling on a buzzer-beater to Notre Dame in the Final Four.

Though UConn’s total dominance isn’t a shock coming off of last year’s national championship run, the Huskies entered 2025-26 with major questions about who would fill the leadership void left by superstar Paige Bueckers and starting point guard Kaitlyn Chen. But it’s been remarkably smooth sailing behind the duo of All-American sophomore Sarah Strong and redshirt senior sharpshooter Azzi Fudd. The pair rank first and third respectively in the Big East in scoring, and both have been spectacular in UConn’s biggest matchups at both ends of the floor. They combined for 53 of the team’s 96 points against Tennessee, and both rank top 10 in the country in defensive win shares.

“Sarah’s voice is getting louder. Azzi, she doesn’t use her voice a lot, but when she does, it’s pretty impactful,” Auriemma said Sunday after the rout. “But I think leadership is, ‘We really need a bucket right now,’ and you make one. ‘We really need to stop the bleeding, and we need a 3-point play. We need a blocked shot here.’ To me it’s doing those things that really have to be done right now that makes the rest of the team go, ‘That’s why they are who they are.'”

The Huskies return to Big East play on Wednesday for a rematch against DePaul in Chicago, and they’ll look to keep their momentum rolling against the last-place team in the conference. The first time UConn met the Blue Demons on Dec. 7, the team earned its biggest win of the season with a 102-35 rout at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies scored 52 points off of 32 forced turnovers, and they had their second-most steals in any game this year with 23.

Two months later, the Huskies have won 18 consecutive games by at least 25 points — the longest streak by any team in at least the last 25 years. They have yet to allow more than 55 points in a conference matchup, and their average margin of victory in the Big East is more than 43 points. It’s difficult to find a notable flaw in UConn’s game right now: The team currently has the No. 1 scoring defense and No. 2 scoring offense in the country, and it ranks top 5 nationally in assists, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, steals, and turnover margin.

But even as the Huskies run through every team in their path, Fudd said the final scores become irrelevant once they get in the practice gym with Auriemma.

“Oh, we still get a lot of stuff pointed out to us,” Fudd said with a smile. “In film session you would think, ‘You guys played really well, there’s a lot of good clips.’ No, we are definitely humbled every day in practice. From the outside I see how it could look like it’s kind of hard to find those things to work on, but every day in practice it’s a challenge between the coaches and the practice guys and us trying to make each other better.”

Auriemma said this time of year is mostly about cleaning up minor issues that can make or break a game against more challenging opponents. Whether it’s adjusting defensive rotations or getting more active on the boards, he can always find an imperfection to dig into that will keep his team sharp.

“The hardest thing is to keep getting better, because we’re nit-picking at some things,” Auriemma said. “Usually it’s on the defensive end, rebounding, trying to make sure that we do an even better job of spreading shots around … It’s just making sure we’re not easy to defend.”

DePaul also provides another opportunity for UConn to continue challenging some of its less-experienced players who need to be ready to contribute come March. USC transfer Kayleigh Heckel put up a season-high 16 points in the first meeting with the Blue Demons, and sophomore guard Allie Ziebell is coming off of back-to-back double digit scoring performances headlined by her record-tying 10 3-pointers against Xavier last Wednesday. Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams is also finding her footing, scoring at least 10 points in three of the last four games, and the Huskies need her to continue developing especially as freshman forward Blanca Quinonez recovers from a minor shoulder injury that sidelined her for the last two games.

“We’ve tried to make a concerted effort to test some of these guys and find out how they’re going to react,” Auriemma said. “At this time of the year you just want to be playing with a lot of confidence. You want to be you want to be feeling good about yourself … I tell our players this all the time: We could win 90-30, but if you play lousy, you’re happy we won but you’re not really a happy camper going home. The object is to play really well and and have that kind of confidence, and it’ll carry over … The more players that we have that feel like that, I think the harder we’re going to be to play against.”

In Tennessee test, UConn women’s basketball proves it’s prepared for championship chase

How to watch UConn women’s basketball at DePaul

Site: Wintrust Arena, Chicago

Time/date: 8 p.m., Wednesday

Team records: UConn 23-0 (12-0), DePaul 5-19 (2-11)

Series record: UConn leads 26-1

Last meeting: 102-35 UConn, Dec. 7 at Gampel Pavilion

TV: truTV

Streaming: HBO Max

Radio: UConn Sports Network on FOX Sports 97.9

University of Texas Permian Basin President Dr. Sandra Woodley has been elected Chair of the NCAA Division II Executive Board for 2026. She will also serve as a voting member of the NCAA Board of Governors, the Association’s highest governing body.

As chair of the Division II Executive Board, Dr. Woodley will lead the body responsible for setting the strategic direction, policies, and priorities for NCAA Division II athletics nationwide. Her role on the NCAA Board of Governors provides her with direct input on decisions that affect all three NCAA divisions, including governance, finances, championships, and the overall student-athlete experience.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a member-led nonprofit organization founded in 1906 that regulates intercollegiate athletics and supports more than 500,000 student-athletes across approximately 1,100 colleges and universities in Divisions I, II, and III. The NCAA’s mission focuses on ensuring fair and safe competition, promoting academic success, and supporting the well-being of student-athletes.

The NCAA governance structure includes a nine-member Board of Governors with overarching authority for the Association. Each division is represented by its own governing body, with the Division II Executive Board serving as the primary decision-making entity for Division II institutions.

Woodley’s leadership roles provide UTPB with a meaningful voice at the national level during a time of significant change in collegiate athletics. Her involvement offers the University increased access to national conversations, early insight into policy developments, and opportunities to advocate for institutions like UTPB that prioritize academic success, access, and competitive excellence for student-athletes.

“I believe athletics programs provide opportunities for our student-athletes to grow as leaders as they compete in their sport,” Dr. Woodley said in a news release. “Most importantly, these opportunities provide a pathway to an education that, for some, would otherwise be out of reach. With today’s complicated and changing landscape for college athletics, I am honored to have a leadership role that allows me to advocate for the student-athlete experience, particularly at Division II institutions like The University of Texas Permian Basin.”

UTPB competes in NCAA Division II as a member of the Lone Star Conference and continues to strengthen its athletics programs while maintaining a strong focus on academic achievement, affordability, and student success.

The post UTPB President Dr. Sandra Woodley elected chair of NCAA Division II Executive Board appeared first on Odessa American.

Feb. 2—SIOUX CITY, Iowa. — The Dakota Wesleyan University softball program was tabbed to finish sixth out of 12 teams in the Great Plains Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll, the league office announced on Monday.

DWU, which finished fourth in the GPAC regular-season standings last year, garnered 75 vote points in the preseason poll ahead of its first season under new head coach Stephen Oswald Jr. Points were awarded on an 11-through-1 basis, and coaches could not vote for their own team.

The Tigers were tabbed ninth last season but went on to have the best campaign in program history, posting a 34-16 overall record and breaking several program records in the process. Former DWU head coach Tommy Downs was then hired by the University of Sioux Falls.

Midland (Neb.) topped the GPAC preseason poll with 114 points and six of 12 available first-place votes. The Warriors were one of 10 programs to reach the 2025 NAIA Softball World Series, finishing 40-18.

Creating a cluster in the top-three places, Morningside (Iowa) was second with 110 points, and Northwestern (Iowa), the conference's regular season and tournament champions last season, was third with 108 points. The Mustangs and Red Raiders split the remaining top votes, three apiece.

In the NAIA national preseason poll, Midland checked in at No. 11, with Northwestern at No. 17. Morningside received votes but landed outside the top 25.

Dordt (Iowa) and Concordia (Neb.) came in at 83 points and 79 points, respectively, just ahead of DWU in fourth and fifth. There was another dropoff from the Tigers to a seventh-place tie between Hastings (Neb.) and Mount Marty at 54 points each, and ninth-place Doane (Neb.). Rounding out the rankings were the College of Saint Mary (Neb.) in 10th with 26 points, Briar Cliff (Iowa) with 25 points in 11th and Waldorf at the bottom with 12 points.

DWU opens up the 2026 season by playing four total games between Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6-7, in Sioux Center, Iowa. Opposition includes teams from Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and North Dakota. The Tigers' first scheduled home date is a GPAC doubleheader against Northwestern on Wednesday, March 18.

Feb. 2—MITCHELL — Dakota Wesleyan University wrestling has four wrestlers ranked nationally in the most recent NAIA top-25 individual rankings.

DWU has a pair of wrestlers ranked in the top-25 at 174 pounds, both in the top-15. Jagger Tyler leads the way at No. 14, closely followed by teammate Teagan Foreman, who holds the No. 15 spot.

Tyler, a junior from Mitchell, has a record of 19-2 on the season, with only one loss since the season-opening DWU Open in November. Foreman, a sophomore from Miller, has a record of 17-4 this season, including 11-1 since the start of January.

Kipp Cordes, a junior from Wall, represents the Tigers at 133 pounds, holding the No. 20 ranking. Cordes has a record of 12-9 on the season. Meanwhile, at 165 pounds, Jackson Remmers, a sophomore from Howard, also finds himself in the top tier of his division, currently ranked No. 20. Remmers is 9-10 for the season after starting the season 1-6.

In the latest team standings, issued on Jan. 29, the Tigers are featured in the receiving votes category. DWU sits just outside the top-25 and was fourth among receiving votes teams. The Tigers have been in the team receiving votes category all season, which is voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing all eight wrestling conferences.

In the conference standings issued on Jan. 27, DWU was ranked No. 2 in the conference with 157 vote points, only behind Doane with 207 vote points. Concordia was third, and Morningside was fourth.

DWU's next action is at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Duals on Feb. 7 in Crete, Nebraska, and the GPAC Championship and NAIA Qualifier is Feb. 20-21 at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.

The House Committee on Education and Workforce has asked the University of Utah to schedule a briefing to discuss the school’s plans to take money from a New York-based private equity firm.

The committee, which has jurisdiction over federal education policy, is examining the growing trend of schools seeking institutional partners to capitalize their athletic departments. The group is assessing whether legislative action might be needed to address concerns about the downstream impact of these deals.

More from Sportico.com

• Colorado's Dempsey Goes From House Objector to China Scholar
• Sports Tech Mergers Double in Value in 'Landmark Year'
• College Recruiting Costs Shrink as Football Powers Adapt to Portal

In a letter sent to Utah president Taylor Randall on Monday morning, a copy of which was viewed by Sportico, the committee requested that the school share information regarding the details and motives behind its potential partnership with Otro Capital, which its trustees greenlit in December.

“While recognizing the escalating costs in collegiate athletics, including revenue share obligations under the House v. NCAAsettlement, NIL-related expenses and coaching salaries, the committee seeks to better understand the university’s rationale for entering into this arrangement,” committee chair Tim Walberg (R—Mich.) and Burgess Owens (R—Utah), a former NFL and University of Miami player and chairman of the subcommittee on Higher Education Workforce Development, wrote in the letter. “The information and briefing requested will assist the committee in determining whether legislative action may be necessary to protect students, schools and the integrity of college athletics.”

As conversations between schools and institutional funds have grown more public, so too have concerns from lawmakers. Last month, on the verge of the College Football Playoff title game, Reps. Michael Baumgartner (R—Wash.) and Haley Stevens (D—Mich.) wrote a letter to NCAA president Charlie Baker asking him to limit the emergence of PE deals that “threaten the integrity of university governance and the quality of college sports in ways that will have disastrous consequences for athletes, students and fans.”

Local state-level lawmakers in both Utah and Washington have proposed bills that would also make it harder to execute these deals. 

The House Committee on Education and Workforce’s letter to Randall requests that the university share terms of the arrangement and answer three specific questions:

• What factors and considerations led the university to pursue this partnership, and why was this approach selected over other potential financing options?
• What steps is the university taking to maintain institutional control and to protect student-athlete welfare, including compliance with Title IX under this partnership structure?
• How might this partnership affect student costs, particularly with respect to mandatory student fees that subsidize the athletic department, and are any changes to the fee structure anticipated following implementation?

Representatives for Utah and its athletic department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The University of Utah trustees voted during their December meeting to allow Randall, athletic department Mark Harlan and others to finalize a deal with Otro. While it’s unclear if that final arrangement has been signed, the structure of the deal was openly discussed. Utah is spinning the Utes’ athletics revenue streams into a for-profit entity, and plans to sell an equity stake in that business.

Randall played a prominent part in the formal 110-minute pitch to the trustees, helping explain the macro reasons why Utah is seeking the money, and why Otro Capital was the right partner.

Financial specifics, however, have been sparse. The school has declined to share details on a deal that likely tops nine figures. A Sportico open records request for any term sheet between the school and Otro, filed back in September, is yet to be fulfilled following multiple university extensions.

Utah is not alone in seeking institutional money to adapt to the modern economics of college sports. The Big Ten, for example, was recently on the verge of a $2.4 billion partnership with a California pension fund, but those talks are now on hold after pushback from some conference members about the 20-year revenue share commitment that came with the deal.

The Big 12 is in advanced talks on a potential $500 million deal with Collegiate Athletic Solutions (CAS), a fund backed by RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital, that would let schools take upfront money in exchange for revenue sharing on the back end. That deal, unlike the proposals involving Utah and the Big Ten, does not involve any equity changing hands.

Separately, a number of other schools, such as Kentucky and Clemson, have created similar separate commercial entities, but they are yet to take outside institutional investment. Those deals are widely considered necessary step for public schools to take on institutional money for athletics. 

The House Committee on Education and Workforce, which dates back to 1867, has 21 majority members, and 16 minority members. Under House Rule X, the committee is tasked with reviewing and coordinating “laws, programs and government activities relating to domestic educational programs and institutions and programs of student assistance within the jurisdiction of other committees.”

Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WJHL) — The ETSU Buccaneers gave credit to the big men on the court Sunday night in their 86–72 road win over the Wofford Terriers. The victory pushed ETSU back into sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference.

Bucs Forward Cam Morris III led the team with 22 points, seven rebounds and a career-best five steals, while 6-foot-8 sophomore Jordan McCullum added 17 points. Blake Barkley finished with 11 points and six boards as ETSU improved to 16–7 overall and 8–2 in league play.

After a back-and-forth first half, ETSU took control for good early in the second, using efficient offense and steady defense to create separation. The Bucs closed the game at the free-throw line, converting 21 of 22 attempts in the final eight minutes.

Jaylen Smith scored 10 points for his third straight double-figure performance, and Allen Strothers contributed five assists. ETSU shot 48% from the field, won the rebounding battle 35–24 and capitalized on Wofford turnovers.

ETSU returns home Wednesday to face Furman at Freedom Hall.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.

Feb. 1—A stampede waiting at the gables. Then, a mass pileup as the gates swung open.

Pandemonium aptly describes the conclusion of Gonzaga's last conference home game with rival St. Mary's College. Not the contest on the hardwood, but the scene that unfolded in front of the McCarthey Athletic Center after the final buzzer.

As part of a promotion, fans as they left the arena were handed One Piece collectables, including a collector's card that has unexpectedly become highly valuable, fetching several hundred dollars apiece when resold online. Outside, more than two dozen One Piece fans, collectors and scalpers sought to separate those fans from the cards. And because many fans had no idea the value of the cards, some parted with them for $50 or less.

The rivalry game in the Kennel Saturday was the second of three games to feature a partnership between Gonzaga and the nearly 30-year-old Japanese franchise One Piece. Each has featured giveaways, like co-branded T-shirts and posters, as part of Bandai Namco Entertainment's campaign to get more Americans to read the manga, watch the anime, catch up on Netflix's live-adaptation and play the associated One Piece Card Game.

Dubbed the One Piece College Basketball: US Voyage, the promotion partnership spans fifteen games at five American universities: Gonzaga, St. John's University, Rutgers University, the University of Illinois and the University of Houston. It was organized by the marketing and multimedia rights company Learfield, which contracts with more than 280 higher education institutions across the country.

Each school is hosting a halftime show featuring clips from the show, T-shirt tosses and performances of the series theme song by college pep bands and cheer squads. Across the 15 games, three for each school, attendees have or will receive limited edition posters and playing cards associated with the "One Piece" game.

While the T-shirts, posters and halftime show drew some interest, the high value giveaway that caused a ruckus at Saturday's game, as it has at collegiate arenas across the country, is a limited edition trading card.

With more than three minutes left in the game Saturday, crowds had formed on either side of the glass doors at the south entrance of the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Inside, fans were eagerly waiting to be handed one of the cards as they exited. Outside, collectors prepared to make their aggressive pitches more than two dozen One Piece fans, collectors and scalpers sought to separate those fans from the cards.

Nick Goble, 27, and his cousin Jayden Martinez, 18, were were stationed outside. The longtime fans of the series made the trek from Moses Lake with two other friends who sought to get a showpiece for their collections.

Martinez said he loves playing the game, while Goble said he enjoys collecting anything One Piece-related. They had the date circled on the calendar since they first caught wind of the collaboration, but tickets proved too hard to obtain.

"My boss, you know, he's a big sports guy," Goble said. "He said this is the first event he's ever heard of where there's no after-market tickets."

As if it wasn't already hard enough to get tickets in the Kennel, the card giveaway has pushed ticket costs up for college games across the country. For example, the cheapest same-day ticket available for Rutgers' giveaway game and matchup with No. 7 Michigan State last Tuesday hung around $250. By comparison, it would cost just $16 for the cheapest seats when Rutgers hosts the University of Washington on Feb. 24 after the promotion ends, according to Ticket Data.

Unable to get tickets, Goble, Martinez and their friends made a plan. Each armed with posters offering cash for cards, the latter two stationed themselves at the student section exit to the North of the building, while Martinez and Goble hung out front. Each brought around $500, intending to start with offers of $50. They had meager goals compared to some of the others outside the gates: obtain a few cards for their personal collections.

"I want one to keep sealed in the package, and then I want one to put in my binder," Goble said.

"If I see a couple that has some, I might offer them $50 for both of them," he added. "I probably wouldn't go over $200 for one."

Martinez hoped for a set of four, which is how the cards are usually incorporated into decks to play the game. Although, as a collector item, few likely will be playing with them.

"It's a really cool collection piece, and honestly, that'd be something, four with all of this," Martinez said, gesturing to the competition also awaiting the flood of fans exiting the arena.

The final buzzer sounded, the doors opened and chaos ensued. As fans fought to get to their vehicles, collectors and others outside the arena closed in around them, leading to a tangle just outside the front doors.

Goble and Martinez's posters quickly fell by the wayside as they saw the aggressiveness others used as they hounded Zags fans for the cards.

Among the would-be buyers were fans and collectors like themselves, some Gonzaga students and those with seemingly nothing more than an entrepreneurial spirit and fat stacks of cash in hand.

Offers started flying, only to be bested by an eavesdropping competitor.

"I'll give you $20 for the card," a timid would-buyer said to a senior couple decked in Zags gear.

"Here's $100 right now," someone interjected with. The woman quickly pocketed the second offer.

"This is just sleazy," someone in the crowd said.

Every few feet, a similar interaction seemed to play out. Befuddled basketball fans had cash thrown in their faces from seemingly every angle. Some were stopped repeatedly, and lamented the losses they were made aware of only after being offered more for the card they just sold to someone else.

"I don't even know what this is all about," said season-ticket holder Sam Wood. "But someone shoved $100 in my face."

Wood said he was unaware of the One Piece franchise, and he missed the last giveaway, so he was confused by the fervor that awaited him after watching his Bulldogs win. His eyes widened when The Spokesman-Review informed him they were fetching between $400 to $800 online.

"Really?" Wood asked incredulously. "So I shouldn't have just sold it is what you're saying."

The circus carried on for around an hour, and security had to get involved more than a few times. At one point, a middle-aged man wielding a stack of cards in one hand and a ridiculously large sandwich of $100 bills in the other was escorted off the property.

He loudly protested, while trying to show the guard something on his cellphone.

"I'll tell him right now, Adam Morrison, there he is right there, look," he told the guard, waving his phone around, apparently with a picture of the former Zags star on the screen.

"Who do you think you are?" he added.

He hung around the parking lot for a few minutes, only to return a few moments later to carry on aggressively bargaining with departing fans after the guard had to return inside for her duties.

Security also closed the doors for re-entrance as scalpers tried to get in for the giveaway, pleading to use a restroom or fetch an item they claimed to have left inside. Security repeatedly asked the crowd out front to disperse for about an hour after the game.

Gonzaga likely had an inkling some chaos would ensue.

Last week, Learfield's Gonzaga Sports Properties general manager, Mark Livingston, said the college decided to do the giveaway after the game to avoid a scene inside the building as the game got underway. Season ticket holders told The Spokesman-Review that the giveaway at the start of the game against San Francisco last month led to a similar scrum inside the building, as the game was being played.

Gonzaga's peer institutions also participating in the One Piece campaign have had their own headaches as a result of the partnership. In New Jersey, someone broke into Rutgers' Jersey Mike's arena and made off with an untold number of the cards last Tuesday, as reported by New York City broadcast station WABC.

If all of the estimated 8,000 cards in the university's possession were stolen, it'd amount to an estimated $2 million in re-sell value given current market prices.

Goble and Martinez got separated amidst the hustle and bustle of the open-air market. It was rowdier than they anticipated, but each was able to obtain at least one card for their collections. Goble said he paid $200, mostly to get it over with, after he was shoved around and outbid more than a few times.

As longtime fans, he and Martinez said it's a bit disappointing seeing others treat the collectible as nothing more than a business opportunity. The promotional campaign coincides with a sharp rise in the value of all One Piece cards, and an influx of scalpers hoping to capitalize.

"If that wasn't the case, I don't think this card would be that big," Martinez said.

Still, Goble said he was grateful they were able to secure some of the cards, and at a price that's still half of what they would have paid online.

"This was just crazy," Goble said.

The final One Piece giveaway at a Gonzaga home game will be Feb. 10 against Washington State University.

For nearly a decade after the legendary rivalry series began in 1995, UConn and Tennessee were perennially among the best women’s basketball teams in the country.

Both programs were ranked top 10 for each of the first 19 games in the historic rivalry, and they were both in the top 5 for 15 of those matchups. The teams met seven times in the NCAA Tournament from 1995-2004, including four times with a national championship on the line.

The rivalry doesn’t carry the same stakes it once did as the No. 15 Lady Vols come to Hartford on Sunday to face the undefeated No. 1 Huskies, but the history behind the series still matters to the faithful fans who remember when the matchup defined the sport.

“Every great scenario in sports generally involves two teams that manage to create these big moments,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Somebody’s got to have somebody that they respect a lot, and that they’re fighting with all the time, and that’s kind of how it was … It seemed like whoever won that game early in the season … was going to win a national championship. It’s not that anymore. Things have changed. A lot has happened since then, but they’re still a really good team.”

Here are our top 10 moments from the iconic rivalry:

10. Feb. 1, 2001: Tennessee 92, UConn 88

The teams met twice during the regular season in 2000-01, and UConn took the first meeting int in Hartford 81-76. But a month later, just weeks after Tennessee legend Tamika Catchings suffered a season-ending knee injury, the Lady Vols upset the No. 2 Huskies in Knoxville behind 28 points and 14 rebounds from sophomore Gwen Jackson.

9. Jan. 16, 1995: UConn 77, Tennessee 66

The meeting that started it all came in the middle of UConn’s undefeated 1994-95 season. Tennessee was the standard in women’s basketball with three national championships, but the Huskies pulled off the upset of the No. 1 Lady Vols in a nationally-televised game at Gampel Pavilion.

8. Jan. 8, 2005: Tennessee 68, UConn 67

The 2005 regular-season meeting was the lowest-ranked in series history with the Lady Vols No. 10 and UConn No. 15, but the game itself was electric. Tennessee took a two-point lead in the final seconds, and the Huskies missed a pair of free throws to hand the Lady Vols their first win in the rivalry since 2001.

7. April 6, 2004: UConn 70, Tennessee 61

The last time the Huskies and Lady Vols met in a national championship game resulted in UConn’s first three-peat, ending Taurasi’s college career on a victory. The senior superstar was crowned Final Four Most Outstanding Player for the second year in a row after dropping 28 points in the title game.

6. Jan. 21, 2021: UConn 67, Tennessee 61

After Summitt ended the series with UConn in 2008, the programs went 11 years without meeting until it was renewed in 2020. The closest game of the new era was UConn’s six-point win in 2021, highlighted by a clutch fourth quarter 3-pointer from freshman Paige Bueckers after she started 0-for-5 to seal the victory.

5. March 29, 2002: UConn 79, Tennessee 56

UConn earned what remains its biggest win in series history in the 2002 Final Four en rout to its second undefeated NCAA championship. All four members of the Huskies’ iconic senior class— Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams — scored in double digits, as did then-sophomore Taurasi.

4. Feb. 2, 2000: Tennessee 72, UConn 71

After trailing UConn by six at halftime, Tennessee mounted a comeback at Gampel Pavilion that was completed by a game winner from Semeka Randall with four seconds on the clock. It was the Huskies’ only loss of the season, and they went on to beat the Lady Vols in the 2000 national championship.

3. Jan. 4, 2003: UConn 63, Tennessee 62

With seven seconds left in regulation of the 2003 regular-season matchup, UConn legend Diana Taurasi sank a clutch 3-pointer to send the contest into overtime. Taurasi finished with 25 points, leading the Huskies to their 51st consecutive win and third straight over the Lady Vols.

2. March 29, 1996: Tennessee 88, UConn 83

The Lady Vols got revenge after losing in the NCAA title game the previous year, eliminating the Huskies in the 1996 Final Four with a thrilling overtime victory. Tennessee went on to win its first of three consecutive national championships under coach Pat Summitt.

1. April 2, 1995: UConn 77, Tennessee 66

UConn’s first national championship set the tone for what the rivalry would become, also completing the program’s first undefeated season and just the second ever in NCAA women’s basketball. Rebecca Lobo led the Huskies with 17 points and eight rebounds to earn Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

Jan. 31—MORGANTOWN — This was one WVU had to have.

Not just to extend a winning streak inside the Hope Coliseum. Not just to continue to inch its way up college basketball's metrics with the hope of being in the conversation for the NCAA tournament come March.

And certainly not just to be able to say, 'Hey, we're 6-3 at the halfway point in the big, bad Big 12, " which is what the Mountaineers would have been if they hadn't come out on the short end of a 63-53 loss against Baylor on Saturday.

WVU needed this win for all of that combined and so much more.

Baylor, even with two projected first-round NBA picks in guards Cameron Moore (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Tounde Yessoufou (11 points) in its lineup, was struggling this season unlike anything ever seen under Scott Drew.

Baylor's lone conference win — before Saturday — was against Oklahoma State. The Bears — before Saturday — had led at halftime just one time in a conference game this season.

You know Drew is going to have this program headed back in the right direction, just because that's how good of a coach he is. So, this was an absolute terrific opportunity to stomp on the Bears and move on.

"I thought our urgency defensively to start the game wasn't at the level it needed to be, " WVU head coach Ross Hodge said. "Then, you start letting them get into a rhythm and start making threes."

Nothing can be taken for granted in this game, that's been proven time and again, but the conversation today was supposed to be positive. WVU had already taken its lumps against the best in the league and then dished out a few of its own in a win against Kansas.

The next two months were supposed to be about hypothetical scenarios, what-ifs and just maybes. The Iowa States, Houstons and Arizonas of the Big 12 are well in the rear-view mirror of WVU's schedule. You never have to think about those opponents again, outside of a chance encounter in Kansas City, Mo. in the Big 12 tournament.

On the horizon is No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 13 BYU, and both of those games are in Morgantown. Get a few good bounces, a few shots to go in, get the home crowd fired up and who knows, right ?

Two games remain against improving UCF. One of them is in Orlando, Fla. on Valentines Day, which I'm told the state of Florida can be a terrific place to hang out for a couple of days when you're buried in three feet of snow everywhere you look in West Virginia.

There's a game still to come against Jamie Dixon and TCU. There's no other opposing coach in the world WVU fans love to beat than Dixon.

These last two months were supposed to be happy thoughts. You can pretty much forget that now.

In its place is what's going on with leading scorer Honor Huff ? He was 1 of 13 shooting against Baylor and finished with five points. He hasn't shot 50 % or better in a game since Jan. 6.

And what is going with WVU's offense as a whole ? The Mountaineers have consistently been near the bottom of the Big 12 — they are officially dead last right now — in scoring this season, but they've gone three consecutive games now without reaching 60 points.

Two of those games — Kansas State and Baylor — have come against teams who are allowing more than 75 points per game.

"We finally defended at a level where we could win a tough game like this, " Drew said. "I think everyone was locked in and did a great job following the game plan, for the most part."

Maybe that's what happened or maybe WVU's shooters are just terribly off. WVU missed nine lay-ups ... and a dunk attempt against the Bears.

If this season is suddenly going to head south, and we're not exactly ready to say that it is, that eight-minute stretch in the second half in which WVU went scoreless will be the lowlight of the season.

WVU had just clawed back into the game and was down 47-44. It took seven minutes and 39 seconds for the Mountaineers to reach 46 points.

Outside of trying to sneak a sixth player into the game, WVU tried everything during that stretch.

"I think we tried quite a few, " said WVU forward Brenen Lorient, who led WVU with 19 points. "(Hodge) really watches who is out there and who has something going at the moment. That's probably why you saw a fluctuation and so many different plays."

Under the current state of affairs, that road trip to Cincinnati looks quite challenging on Thursday, and then, oh boy, here comes J.T. Toppin and Texas Tech, then UCF. That home game against Utah (Feb. 18) can't get here soon enough.

It's amazing how just one game can change the outlook of a basketball program. Hey, that's life in the Big 12, and that's exactly what happened against Baylor.

Hodge's message to his team following the game: "His overall message was we're not great, we're not terrible. We just have some things we need to clean up. Take care of the ball more, rebound better. We just have to get better these next couple of stretches before the season is over."