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STORRS, CT (September 10, 2001) -- National powerhouses Tennessee and Louisiana Tech along with 2001 NCAA Champion Notre Dame, all nationally-televised contests, highlight the University of Connecticut women’s basketball 2001-2002 schedule released Monday by the UConn Director of Athletics, Lew Perkins. Once again, UConn’s schedule is stacked with difficult opposition as ten 2001 NCAA Tournament participants made the schedule. Potential matchups with four other NCAA participants (Vanderbilt, Colorado, Stephen F. Austin and Oral Roberts) loom in the preseason WNIT.

In total, the Huskies, who finished the 2001 season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll and No. 3 in the USA Today/ESPN poll, play 30 regular season games, including 16 contests against BIG EAST opponents. UConn will play 18 home contests, six of which will be in the Hartford Civic Center. This is the first time Hartford has ever hosted six women’s basketball games. The remaining 12 Husky home contests will be at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, located in Storrs, CT. UConn also will play in two exhibition games before the start of the regular season on November 9.

"Our 2001-02 women’s basketball schedule is an exciting combination of games which includes an impressive BIG EAST schedule along with numerous non-conference match-ups against many of the top collegiate programs. We always attempt to construct a challenging schedule and I am pleased with this season’s results. I believe we have a terrific balance of games in Storrs and Hartford, including an all-time high six games at the Civic Center, and our road games will be against some outstanding competition, " states head coach Geno Auriemma.

UConn begins the season at home on Friday, November 9, in the preseason WNIT against in-state foe Fairfield, marking the earliest season start in Connecticut women’s basketball history. Following the preseason WNIT, Rhode Island (November 24) is the first contest of the year at the Hartford Civic Center. URI represents one of ten nonconference opponents the Huskies will face at home in 2001-2002.

Louisiana Tech, who finished the 2001 season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll, visits the Hartford Civic Center for a nationally-televised match on espn2 on December 9. UConn upended the Lady Techsters 71-55 in Ruston, LA, last season. UConn will also face Big 12 opponent Oklahoma in a nationally-televised contest on espn2 on December 22 at the Hartford Civic Center. The Sooners earned the No. 2 seed in the West Region in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Other home nonconference contests include Ball State (November 30), Holy Cross (December 6) and California State-Northridge (December 27).

A November 26 contest against Wake Forest is the first of four nonconference away matches for the Huskies. Connecticut will also travel to Old Dominion on December 29 and Wright State on December 31 before visiting Knoxville, TN, for a January 5 contest against rival Tennessee, who finished 2001 ranked third in the AP poll. The UConn/Tennessee match will be nationally broadcast on CBS.

UConn begins BIG EAST play with a home contest against St. John’s on December 4. The Huskies will host BIG EAST foes Pittsburgh, Miami, Notre Dame, Boston College, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech and Providence in 2001-2002. The January 21 contest against the Fighting Irish, who eliminated the Huskies in the Final Four en route to the school’s first national title, marks UConn’s only regular season appearance on ESPN.Connecticut will play St. John’s, Virginia Tech and Providence in a home-away format in 2001-2002 and will also travel to Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse, Rutgers and West Virginia to round out its 16-game BIG EAST schedule.