Before Kayla Pedersen made her Connecticut Sun debut in Sunday's 78-77 loss to Atlanta, the newly-acquired forward spent a few minutes speaking with the media. Naturally, I couldn't help but ask the former Stanford All-American about her experiences squaring off against UConn.

Pedersen had some great memories to fall back on. As a freshman she hit a crucial 3-point with 2:18 left in the 2008 national semifinal to give the Cardinal a 74-66 lead in a game they would win 82-73 in the first of three straight meetings in the Final Four between the rivals. Then she had eight points and 11 rebounds in the historic 71-57 victory on Dec. 30, 2010 as Stanford snapped UConn's NCAA Division I basketball record 90-game winning streak.

"The rivalry was one of my favorites," Pedersen said. "We had two really competitive teams that really didn't like each other, I think. We were always playing against each other but I think we had such a respect. It was one of my favorite rivalries, one of my favorite Final Four games and we played them in December every year so those were some really good times."