Beginning with the program-changing win over Tennessee in 1995, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the UConn women's basketball team would play in a high-profile game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

For 19 straight years the Huskies had games scheduled on that day but the last time the Huskies had a game scheduled on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was on Jan. 21, 2013 when the Huskies dispatched No. 4 Duke  79-49. That will change on Monday when UConn plays at No. 7 Texas.

Obviously facing a top 10 team that is very capable of punching a ticket to the 2018 Final Four and doing so on the road makes for a special evening but add in the added significance of the date the game is being played on and it should make for an emergy-charged and emotional event.

"It is exciting that we have the opportunity to do that," UConn senior forward Gabby Williams said. "(Fans) are going to get the day off so they can come see us and celebrate the holiday with us."

UConn coach Geno Auriemma has said in the past that Williams is probably his team's most socially aware player. She's involved with organizations on campus and has said being a strong, black woman is of paramount importance to her so I asked her after Saturday's Houston game if playing on that day had added significance to her.

"Definitely, he paved the way so we have the opportunity to have fans even go to college and be an inspiration for a lot of youth," Williams said.

TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANEWhen it came time to request players to be interviewed after the Houston game, I didn't hesitate in naming Crystal Dangerfield and Gabby Williams since they had four steals each to lead UConn to a season high 21 steals in the 60-point victory. There was one more person I requested to interview and that was associate head coach Chris Dailey who just a couple days earlier was one of the 10 finalists for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2018.

Dailey has made her share of trips to Knoxville, Tennessee where the WBHOF is located as the Huskies played seven road games against Tennessee 1996-2006 posting a 4-3 record. Auriemma as well as Rebecca Lobo, Jen Rizzotti and Kara Wolters were all inducted into the Hall of Fame. Dailey will find out next month if her next trip to Knoxville will be so she can be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

"Always great trips," Dailey said. "The environment was always a lot of fun down there, I was down there last year for Kara's induction so I hadn't there for a long time but I love Calhoun's the restaurant right there.

"I am speechless which is hard to believe, I know. There are so many people who are qualified and should be recognized that I don't know how they could actually limit them. It says more about our program, the people I work with and the players than it does about me."

Dailey and former Tennessee assistant coach Mickie DeMoss are both finalists. Certainly if you ask any of the players who were at Tennessee when DeMoss was a trusted assistant coach for iconic Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt they will tell you the honor is well deserved and perhaps long overdue. The UConn players feel the same way about Dailey.

"I think everybody is really excited and really enjoying it. Of course we all feel like she deserves it so it is another moment we all get to smile at," Williams said.

SWEET HOMECOMINGFreshman Lexi Gordon is the second player from the state of Texas to suit up for UConn so perhaps it was fitting that her first career 3-pointer at UConn came in her first game in her native state.
Gordon missed on 3-point tries against California, Duquesne, Memphis and was 0 for 2 against East Carolina before she connected from long distance with 50 seconds remaining in Saturday's 95-35 win.

"We were excited," Williams said. "It is another moment where everyone gets to contribute, we get excited. She gets so excited for us every time one of us hits a 3 so it is cool to return it."

LEARNING CONTINUES FOR FRESHMANAuriemma said he was encouraged by what he saw from sophomore Kyla Irwin (a career-high eight points as well as two rebounds in 11 minutes) and Gordon (three points, two rebounds in five minutes). It was more of a struggle for freshmen Mikayla Coombs and Megan Walker, who combined to miss all three of their field-goal attempts although they combined for four rebounds, two assists and four steals in 28 minutes.

Coombs was the first freshman off the bench and she led all the freshmen with 17 minutes played. If she can continue to play with a confident mindset, minutes are there for her.

"That has never really been a part of my game," Coombs said of her tentative style of play earlier in the season. "When I catch the ball I usually attack at all times but when I came in, should I attack, should I pass? That constant thinking led me to make more mistakes. Now that I have been here, Coach has said you have to get confident in yourself. I feel more confident so when I catch it, I am (aggressive) so it just feels right.

"He is constantly pushing you, he doesn't put you in a box he is constantly telling you to spread out and use your talents and he hear him yelling all the time attack, attack, attack I am finally gaining that confidence. I feel like if I don't attack, he is going to get (upset) so you might as well do it."


Walker is also dealing with growing pains. Other than the two games she missed due to illness, the three minutes she played against UCF was a season low. She didn't get into the game against Houston until the third quarter.

It should be noted that some of her best play has come against ranked opponents and especially top five teams as she combined for 16 points and nine rebounds in wins over UCLA and Notre Dame.

Texas was very much involved in Walker's recruitment right up to the point when she committed to UConn. Aston was one of the coaches at ESPN headquarters for NCAA women's basketball media day and I asked her then about her thoughts on Walker.

"She is a winner, you can start with that, she wins and I think that goes back to the mentality," Aston said. "You have to get people who are used to winning and you get back to that X factor, the extra push you get when you win championships whether it is high school, club, whatever, there is the extra mile you go when you win championships so I would start with that Megan is a winner and second  One of the things you look at when you see those programs recruit is can you match their offensive production and their versatility. She is a very versatile player who can play multiple positions and that seems to be where you struggle with playing against UConn in particular is that he can move his players around and mmismatch them whenever he feels like mismatching them because they are so versatile."