UConn just came onto the court to a surprisingly sparse crowd.

No lineups on the board yet but don't expect any surprises on either side. Dee Kantner just walked onto the court along with Angie Lewis, Mark Zentz and Denise Brooks. Not sure which one will be sitting courtside but wouldn't imagine it would be Kantner. UPDATED AT 5:47: It is the normal UConn starting five of Tiffany Hayes-Renee Montgomery-Kalana Greene-Maya Moore-Tina Charles. Laura Kurz, Maria Getty, Lia Karcic, Kyle Dougherty and Shannon Elliott will start for Villanova.

Perhaps the most noteworthy part of today's game is that it is the first meeting between UConn and Villanova in the Big East tournament since Trish Juhline, Katie Davis and the rest of the senior-laden Wildcats stunned the women's basketball world with a 52-48 win in the 2003 Big East final, snapping UConn's NCAA record 70-game winning streak.

Wayne Norman will again be pinch-hitting for an ailing Kara Wolters. Wolters was hoping to be able to make it but the stomach flu she is dealing with had other ideas so she will have to listen to the game at home like so many others (unless ESPNU is available in the Wolters' household)


Tickets for the first and second round NCAA tournament games being held at Gampel Pavilion will go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m.

UConn will host a pair of first round games on Sunday, March 22 beginning at approximately noon and 2:30 p.m. (ET) as well as an NCAA second round contest on Tuesday, March 24, beginning at approximately 7 p.m.

The Huskies are guaranteed to play in Storrs for the opening two rounds of the 2009 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, once the brackets are released on March 16.

Tickets can be purchased online via Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com or by calling 860-525-4500 or 203-624-0033. Single-session tickets are priced at $22 for adults and $15 for youth and senior citizens. All-session tickets, which are good for all three games, still remain on-sale and can also be purchased through Ticketmaster.
All-session prices are $35 for adults and $24 for youth and senior citizens.


Kristen Phillips, who played two games as a freshman at Connecticut in the 2006-07 season, could be making her first trip to the NCAA tournament - as a member of the Richmond team which is currently playing for the Atlantic 10 title as we speak.

Whether Phillips actually gets into a game, that is another story. She has only played in six games for the Spiders. She did not play in the final five games of the regular season or the first two games of the tournament. Crystal Goring, the younger sister of former UConn signee Gillian Goring, is a starting forward for Richmond.