One of more noteworthy aspects of last night's win a Florida State was that Lorin Dixon is back in the rotation.

The junior, slated to be UConn's starting point guard, missed the first nine games after straining her left hamstring in in Nov. 9 exhibition game against Vanguard University.

Dixon played less than a minute in a win over second-ranked Stanford, getting the quick hook after giving up an uncontested 3-pointer and the fact that UConn coach Geno Auriemma said he didn't like Dixon's body language.

Dixon gave Auriemma no such reasons to sit her on Monday. Along with Kelly Faris, Dixon was the first reserve to get into the game as she entered 6:03 into the game. She needed just 44 seconds to assist on a Tina Charles basket. Dixon had two assists and two rebounds in 11 minutes.

Speaking of returning to the court, Notre Dame got some good news over the holidays as Devereaux Peters, an athletic 6-foot-2 junior forward, made her season debut. Peters suffered season-ending knee injuries in each of the last two seasons.

Peters, who underwent three knee surgeries in a span of 13 months, adds some size and athleticism to Notre Dame's front court. Peters had two points, two rebounds, one steal and two blocks in nine minutes in Tuesday's 85-52 win over Central Florida.

Third-ranked Notre Dame plays at UConn on Jan. 16 and the team will meet again on Mar. 1 in South Bend, Ind.

Back on the subject of UConn, Connecticut signee Lauren Engeln is closing in on a milestone as she is 21 rebounds shy of 1,000 in her career. What's most impressive is that the 5-foot-11 guard could hit the mark in just 100 games. She will play in career game No. 99 tonight against Mira Costa. By my math, Engeln has 1,703 points, 979 rebounds, 223 assists and 277 steals in 98 career games at Laguna Hills (Calif.) High. This season she is averaging 19.8 points and 12.5 rebounds for 10-2 Laguna Hills.