Although Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale didn't get the better of UConn's Geno Auriemma in Sunday's nationally-televised game, she is ahead of him in the fundraising department.

Coale and Auriemma, the president and vice president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, teamed up to raise money for the Kay Yow Foundation for cancer research. Coale has a handbag and Auriemma a tie which are currently up for auction on the www.wbca.org and www.genoscancerteam.com sites.

Nine bidders have placed 16 bids, the highest being $182.50 for Coale's item. Six people have put down 11 bids, the highest being $150 for the tie. The items remain up for bid until Saturday night.

"There's no way that my tie could go for more than the bag," Auriemma said. "No way it could ever happen. Guys may buy a tie or two or three and but they don't want to spend a lot of money on a tie, I don't care whose it is. Women, there are probably 15, 20, 25 of those women who already have three of those bags and they want that one so I have no shot to make more money than Sherri Coale."

NEW FACES ON COURT
Jessica McCormack, who is sitting out the season after transferring from Washington, went through her first practice on Tuesday. McCormack has been sidelined with a tender Achilles tendon but was able to go on Tuesday. At one point, she hit a mid-range jumper and her teammates roared their approval.

Heather Buck, sidelined with mononucleosis, was in uniform. She was cleared to being light activity over the weekend. She spent a little time on the stationary bike and caught a few passes but it is too early for her to take part in practice. That is still another week or two away.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit that while in high school I received a "D" in zoology sophomore year. Why is this pertinent? Well, not only did it prevent me from graduating from high school with honors but changed my career path as it was clear that my dream of being a physical therapist wasn't going to pan out so I changed gears and got involved in journalism. My poor performance in zoology precludes me from offering medical time tables. I have seen speculation that Buck could make her game debut in the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico later this month or maybe even in the New Year's eve game against Hartford. Since I am clearly underqualified to offer an accurate estimation as to Buck's target date for a return, I do not plan on partaking in this particular guessing game. I will leave that to the experts (i.e., UConn trainer Rosemary Ragle and the UConn training staff). Now if you want advice on what to do to deal with a sinus infection, my suggestion would be to buy some saline spray, chicken soup and sleep for about a month straight.

DIALING LONG DISTANCE
Last time, I did some research last night to put UConn's impressive start shooting the ball into perspective. In the last 10 seasons, the most 3-pointers UConn had after five games was 33. This year's squad already has 44. If UConn continues it torrid pace, the Huskies would shatter the single-season record for 3-pointers of 256 set in the 2000-01 season.

The 24 3-pointers in back to back games is the most UConn has hit in consecutive games. Twice in a three-game stretch in February of 2001 the Huskies had 23 3-pointers over a two-game stretch but never 24.

Renee Montgomery, if she keeps up her current pace, would finish with a UConn season record 109 3-pointers, two better than Wendy Davis' mark set in the 1991-92 season. Sue Bird's record for 3-point percentage (49.7) has stood since 2000 but freshmen Caroline Doty and Tiffany Hayes are currently shooting 54.5 and 53.3 respectively and Montgomery is hitting 48.3 percent of her 3-pointers so that mark could be challenged as well.