STORRS, Conn. (September 3, 2008) – Thirteen games against 2008 NCAA Tournament participants, including key non-conference showdowns with Oklahoma (Nov. 30), LSU (Jan. 3) and North Carolina (Jan. 19), highlight the 2008-09 University of Connecticut women's basketball schedule, which was released today.

Connecticut's non-conference schedule includes games against opponents from the ACC, Big Ten, Big XII and Southeastern conferences.

The Huskies' 17-game home schedule (including exhibitions) will feature eight games at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and nine games at the XL Center in Hartford.

The five-time national champions and defending BIG EAST regular and tournament season titlists will open their exhibition season at Gampel Pavilion on Thursday, Nov. 6 against Stonehill College (Mass.) before closing out the preseason slate on Wednesday, Nov. 12 against Sports Resource Program, in a contest to be played at the XL Center.

Connecticut will begin the regular-season portion of the slate with three consecutive home games against Georgia Tech (Nov. 16), San Diego State (Nov. 20) and Rhode Island (Nov. 22) before taking to the road for the first time with a trip to Provo, Utah to meet BYU on Tuesday, Nov. 25.

The Huskies will play 15 regular-season home games in 2008-09, with the first big test on their home court scheduled for Nov. 30 when Oklahoma pays a visit to Gampel Pavilion.

UConn will also play host to key non-conference opponents Holy Cross (Dec. 3), Hartford (Dec. 31) and LSU (Jan. 3).

Another key point on the non-conference slate is a trip to the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico for a three-game event that will see the Huskies battle Florida State, Washington and Northern Colorado from Dec. 18-21.
Prior to leaving for Cancun, Connecticut will take part in the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City where it will meet Penn State on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Connecticut will open BIG EAST play on Tuesday, Jan. 6, when it faces South Florida on the road. The Huskies will open the home portion of the BIG EAST slate on Tuesday, Jan. 13, when they welcome DePaul to Gampel Pavilion.

The Huskies will face Rutgers twice for the fourth consecutive season in 2008-09 (Feb. 3/home & March 2/away), while UConn will also host BIG EAST contests against Syracuse, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Villanova and Seton Hall.

Connecticut will travel to face BIG EAST members South Florida, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Marquette, St. John's, Providence and Rutgers.

The national television schedule, as well as the local Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) broadcast schedule, will be announced in the near future.

UConn captured both the BIG EAST regular season and tournament titles in 2007-08, marking the first time it has won both in the same season since 2002. The Huskies boast a 331-84 (.798) all-time record in BIG EAST Conference games.

The Huskies will return four starters and 10 letterwinners from last season's squad which finished 36-2 and advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the ninth time in the program's history.

Connecticut has captured either the BIG EAST regular season or tournament title in each of the past 15 seasons.