UConn coach Geno Auriemma will have a pretty good excuse is he is late for his team's practice on Friday in Washington, D.C.

Auriemma is planning to attend the wake for former North Carolina State coach Kay Yow, who died on Saturday after a two-decade long fight against breast cancer before heading to D.C. for UConn's practice later on Friday.

"I am not sure what Friday is going to be like," Auriemma said after Thursday's practice at Gampel Pavilion. "There is such a limited amount of time that people can get in there and pay their respects. I hope it is something that everybody can do what they have to do between practices, games. It is going to be a madhouse logistically. I just want to make sure that I do what I need to do when I am down there, spend some time with those closest to Kay and take a couple minutes to kind of reflect on my relationship with her, try to hustle and get to practice.

"From a personal standpoint, it is very important (to pay his respects). I wish I could take my whole staff and they want to go but I can't do it. I think it is important to a lot of people to be down there. I kind of started to identify with her in the last couple of years with what she was going through."

Auriemma scoffed at the possibility that a game between UConn and Tennessee could be played in Yow's honor.

"I haven't had any discussions with anybody, I haven't given it one moment of thought," Auriemma said. "I don't intend to, I don't anticipate anybody bringing it up who would have any relevance or significance to me. There are a lot of things that we can do that I know we plan on doing down the road from a WBCA standpoint and from the Jimmy V Foundation that will involve Kay. Us playing Tennessee as far as I am concerned won't be one of them."

Personally, I am not certain how a game between UConn and Tennessee would help honor Kay Yow's memory any more than it would honor the memory of the late Maggie Dixon, who coached Army to a berth in the NCAA tournament.

So I asked Auriemma the following question on Thursday
"Do you find it strange that every time somebody dies, they turn it into a reason for you and Tennessee to play each other?"

"I think it would cheapen it," Auriemma said. "When Kay was alive she never called me and said 'hey you should play Tennessee and we should make a fundraiser out of it.' So my guess is when she is up in heaven, she is not sitting up there saying 'I should have told Geno and Pat to play each other.'"

Auriemma did say that donations spiked on his site www.genoscancerteam.com since news of Yow's death became public.

"There were an awful lot of e-mails and calls, people wanting to know how to get involved," Auriemma said. "There were something like 200 the very first day that it was announced that Kay passed away. It is ironic that one school has had these two individuals (men's coach Jim Valvano and Yow), practicing on the same court, offices in the same building (both dying of cancer). It is a strange twist of fate."

As far as Saturday's game, both UConn junior forward/center Kaili McLaren and senior guard Renee Montgomery said the game was sold out. McLaren, a native of Washington, D.C., said some friends had attempted to buy tickets in addition to the 30 her mother purchased and they were told no tickets were available. Montgomery, who has relatives in Maryland, also heard from her family members that no tickets were available.

McLaren practiced without restriction on Thursday and appears good to go for Saturday.

Lastly, with the UConn men playing Providence at 4 p.m., the women's game will be carried only on WTIC 96.5 FM.