The first two seasons Geno Auriemma was at the helm of the UConn women's basketball program, the Huskies won a combined 26 games.

Fast forwarding to Saturday, the Huskies win over Prairie View A&M was UConn's 17th 30-win season in the last 19 seasons and the seven straight 30-win seasons matches the NCAA Division I women's record set by Duke from 2000-01 to 2006-07.

“It is amazing,” Auriemma said. “We always used to joke that 20 is the magic number. We always used to joke in the obituary that he won 20 games or she won 20 games 'x' number of times. Now, 20 wins at UConn gets you fired. Looking back, the way we have done things and the way we play there is a certain consistency to what we do. I'd like to think if people see us play they see similarities year after year and the kids that we have. I have to be honest, 30 wins is a big deal for us. That kind of sets you apart from other teams if you can do that and the fact that we have been so consistent is quite remarkable.”

Had the Huskies defeated Iowa State in the 1999 NCAA regional semifinals, the Huskies would have set the record with 11 consecutive 30-win campaigns beginning with the 1993-94 season.

HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN?
Of all the numbers to crunch during the first day of play at the Bridgeport subregional, none caught my eye more than 4,563 as in the attendance at the doubleheader.

UConn used to draw more than that for open practices when the NCAA used to allow such a thing.


With the Bridgeport subregional charging the highest prices of any first and second-round sites and parking going for $15, the poor attendance was a topic conversation.

Auriemma took some heat after being critical of fans for not coming out when the Huskies played their first two NCAA tournament games at Gampel Pavilion last year so he chose his words carefully when asked about the topic on Saturday.

“I had some comments last year at Gampel and everybody told me shut up, you make a lot of money and you don't know what it's like to be us who have to pay all that money to go to games,” Auriemma said. “What do we do? We move it to a venue where it costs even more than it cost last year. What do you want me to say? I am sure it is disappointing on a lot of (levels). I am not sure what the people thought who bid on this and said 'OK, let's bid on this and if we get 4,500 on Saturday that would be a good day.' I am sure everybody is disappointed.”