UConn eager for more challenges
It must be driving Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma crazy that his team has to play 18 of its 29 regular season games against American Athletic Conference teams.
No offense, but Tulsa, Houston, SMU, Tulane, East Carolina … not exactly competition that is suited for the nation's premier women's college basketball team.
The Huskies, perhaps the biggest losers in the dissolution of the old Big East, which was one of the best women's basketball leagues in the nation just a few years ago, are winning AAC league games by an average of 49 points. They destroyed poor Tulane by 58 points earlier this month.
In 12 conference games so far, Connecticut has allowed 50 or fewer points 10 times.
How refreshing it must have been for the powerhouse Huskies to be unleashed to play a team that belongs in their stratosphere. No. 1 Connecticut (23-0) took on No. 2 South Carolina (22-1) on Monday, and won by a relatively modest 12 points, 66-54.
"These games are a lot of fun," said Breanna Stewart, the reigning national player of the year. She had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks against South Carolina. "They are exciting for us."
Connecticut, sleepwalking through conference play over the last six weeks, was desperate for a challenge more at its level.
They got one in the Gamecocks, who had won 22 straight games and drew a sold-out crowd of 18,000 for the game.
"The fun part is the look in their eyes," Auriemma said of his players' anticipation of the marquee matchup.
Back in:
Speaking of ranked teams, DePaul re-entered The Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The Blue Demons checked back in at No. 23 this week after falling in and out of the poll in mid-January.
DePaul (19-7) is the only ranked team in the Big East and has one of the toughest schedules in the country. The Blue Demons are in control in the Big East standings and are set to host the conference tournament in Lincoln Park in early March.
Big day for Banham:
The Northwestern women's basketball team got a front-row seat for one of the greatest individual performances in the history of the game last weekend.
Minnesota guard Rachel Banham lit up Northwestern for a school-record 60 points in a 112-106 double-overtime victory.
The 60 points by Banham ties her for first place in the NCAA record book for most points in a game. Cindy Brown of Long Beach State also had 60 points in a game in the 1986-87 season.
Banham has always been a big-time scorer, but what makes this particular feat even more impressive is that Banham is playing this season after sitting out last year with a knee injury (torn ACL).
Still in:
It's been a rough season for Tennessee, usually one of the biggest powerhouses in the women's game.
But at 14-9, the Lady Vols have seen their footing on the national scene slip, to the point where they are in danger of slipping out of The Associated Press Top 25.
That would be monumental.
Tennessee is ranked No. 25 in this week's poll, which just barely extends its 30-year run in the poll to 564 consecutive weeks.
564 weeks. Incredible.
The No. 25 ranking is the lowest in program history for Tennessee. During the 2012-13 season, the Lady Vols fell to as low as No. 24.
New boss:
Congratulations to Lisa Borders, who was named the new president of the WNBA this week.
Borders most recently served as chairwoman of the Coca-Cola Foundation and was also vice president of global community affairs for Coca-Cola.
Borders, who will take over on March 21, replaces Laurel Richie, who was president of the WNBA for the last five years. Richie left her post to pursue other interests.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com
Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw