Yes I know there are four games remaining for defending champion UConn and am aware of all the cliches about it never being over until it is over, taking one game at a time yada, yada, yada. But I am declaring the race for the Big East regular-season title over.

UConn's 95-42 win over Pittsburgh Sunday gives the Huskies a two-game lead in the loss column over Louisville and Villanova, two teams who just happen to play on Saturday. Of UConn's remaining games, two are against Providence and Seton Hall who currently sit tied for 13th and 16th respectively in the Big East race. Sure, strange things can happen in sports but losing to either Providence or Seton Hall would fall more under the surreal than the surprising category so barring an upset of stunning proportions, UConn would need to lose at home to Villanova and Notre Dame and still would finish no worse than tied for the top spot in the final conference standings.

UConn's 23-3 run to open the game was a showcase of utter dominance as a talented Pittsburgh team had no chance of scoring - or so it seemed. Shavonte Zellous, the Big East's leading scorer, had 16 points (although she needed 16 shots to get the points) in the game but the Panthers' starting center Pepper Wilson and top reserve Taneisha Harrison were a combined 0 for 18 from the floor and outside of Zellous, the rest of the Pitt players were 11 for 52 from the field. That is not a winning formula.

UConn has beaten then No. 4 Oklahoma by 28 points, then No. 2 North Carolina by 30 and then No. 6 Louisville by 28. Now the Huskies dismantled No. 19 Pittsburgh by 53. Wow.

Perhaps the most noteworthy part of the day was the shock on the face of UConn senior guard Renee Montgomery when she realized that the "Huskies of Honor" banner being unveiled before the game was for her.

Montgomery's teammate and roommate Kalana Greene managed to keep it a secret for a couple of weeks, no easy feat considering Montgomery's ability to find out everything that goes on with the UConn program.

"Renee is one of the nosiest people, you can't keep anything from her because she has her nose everywhere so do keep anything from her from that amount of time ...," Greene said with a laugh.

Auriemma said that Maya Moore, eligible to be inducted into the "Huskies of Honor" by being named a first-team All-American last season, will also be honored when she is a senior. If Tina Charles earns first-team All-American honors this season, she would likely receive the same treatment next season, her senior campaign.

The crowd of 9,987 was the largest to see a women's game at Gampel Pavilion this season. Among those in the stands were Laguna Hills (Calif.) junior wing Lauren Engeln and her father Tim, who both certainly seemed to enjoy the show. Engeln, wearing a pink and white UConn t-shirt, had an omnipresent smile on her face pretty much from tip-off until she made it to court level after the game. She seemed especially captivated by the halftime show featuring frisbee-catching dogs. I heard from a recruiting source after the game that the Engelns were very impressed by their unofficial visit. I was surprised to hear that at least by game's end, Engeln had yet to be offered a scholarship considering how impressed the UConn staff is reported to be with her. The Engelns were set to go out to dinner with the UConn coaches after the game but I did not receive any word on whether a scholarship offer was forthcoming. Stay tuned.

Engeln previously visited Cal and Vanderbilt and came away very impressed with those campus visits as well so I am told. She is drawing interest from all over the Pac-10 but doesn't seem adverse to leaving the west coast. While I wouldn't read too much into it, I did find out that talented Manchester High freshman guard Ashley Perez was sitting about two rows behind the Engelns with her mom so perhaps she is a player to keep an eye on in the coming years.

Back to Engeln, the California Interscholastic Federation basketball pairings were announced on Sunday. Engeln's Laguna Hills team is seeded eighth in Division II-A of the CIF's Southern Section. Laguna Hills will host South Torrance Thursday night in the first round. If Laguna Hills wins its first two games and top-seeded Matei Dei of Santa Ana wins its second-round game after receiving a first-round bye, the quarterfinals will feature a showdown of California phenoms who have taken unofficial visits to UConn this season. Matei Dei is led by dynamic sophomore wing Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. If that matchup takes place, it would be played on Feb. 25. UConn would likely not have practice that day since it is the day after the home game against Villanova. You'd have to wonder which member of the UConn staff would be headed for California to check that game out?

One last bit of info even if it is non-UConn related, I heard that Connecticut Sun guard Erin Phillips is recovering nicely from her recent knee surgery. She had a minor procedure to clean out some scar tissue from her previous operation and reportedly said she feels better than she has in about two years. That is good news for Sun fans since Phillips figures to play a prominent role in the Sun's quest for that elusive first WNBA championship.