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UConn women notebook: Huskies find new date for DePaul

carl adamec, journal inquirer, manchester, conn.
·4 min read

Jan. 11—STORRS — It took having one of its games postponed due to not having enough healthy players available, but the UConn women's basketball team will play back-to-back home games.

The Big East announced Tuesday that the Huskies' conference game with DePaul that was called off Sunday will be played on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion.

In a corresponding move, UConn's Big East game at Seton Hall, scheduled for Jan. 19, has been moved up two days to Tuesday at 7 p.m. at historic Walsh Gymnasium to alleviate the tight turnaround caused by the new date of the game against DePaul.

The game at Seton Hall and the home game with DePaul will be shown by SNY.

The Huskies were forced to postpone their game with DePaul because they did not meet the conference minimum requirement of seven available players following injuries to Aaliyah Edwards and Ayanna Patterson last Thursday at Xavier. UConn began the game with the Musketeers with eight players.

Fans who had tickets and parking passes for Jan. 8 will be able to use the same tickets and passes on Jan. 23.

Fourth-ranked UConn (13-2 overall, 6-0 Big East) is back in action tonight against St. John's at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, and hosts Georgetown at the XL Center in Hartford Sunday before heading to Seton Hall.

From Jan. 21 to Feb. 1, the Huskies will play five games in 11 days.

After entertaining Butler on Jan. 21 and DePaul on Jan. 23 at Gampel Pavilion — marking the last time they will play consecutive regular season home games this season, they will travel to Knoxville for a matchup with archrival Tennessee on Jan. 26. They return home to take on Villanova on Jan. 29 at the XL Center before wrapping up the busy stretch with a ride to Providence on Feb. 1.

Fan-tastic

UConn announced Tuesday that its game against reigning national champion and No. 1 South Carolina on Feb. 5 at the XL Center is sold out. The game will tip off at noon and be televised by FOX.

Capacity at the XL Center is 15,564.

It's the first sellout in Hartford for the Huskies since Dec. 3, 2017, when they hosted Notre Dame.

UConn has played two games at the XL Center this season against North Carolina State on Nov. 19 and versus Seton Hall on Dec. 21 with an average attendance of 9,742.

The Huskies lead the series with the Gamecocks 9-3 including 5-0 at home (four wins at Gampel Pavilion, one at the XL Center). But South Carolina has won three of the last four including two a year ago. The Gamecocks defeated UConn 73-57 in the final of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 22, 2021, then knocked off the Huskies 64-59 in the national championship game at the Target Center in Minneapolis last April 3.

South Carolina (16-0) is led by reigning national Player of the Year and 2022 Final Four Most Outstanding Player Aliyah Boston. The Gamecocks have the top active winning streak in the country at 22. They have no opponents currently in the Associated Press Top 25 on their schedule before they come to Hartford.

GameDay experience

ESPN's College GameDay will be in Knoxville for the Jan. 26 game between UConn and Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena, the network announced Tuesday.

The one-hour program will air at 7 p.m. with the tip for the Huskies and Lady Vols set for 8 p.m. The game is part of ESPN's annual "We Back Pat" initiative honoring late Tennessee coach Pat Summitt.

Elle Duncan will host the show and be joined by Tennessee graduate Andraya Carter, UConn graduate Rebecca Lobo, Carolyn Peck, and Holly Rowe. Lobo and Rowe will join play-by-play voice Ryan Ruocco on the call of the game.

The inaugural women's GameDay was broadcast on Jan. 16, 2010 from Gampel Pavilion when UConn hosted Notre Dame.

For coverage of all sports in the JI's 18-town coverage area, plus updates on the UConn women's basketball team and head coach Geno Auriemma, follow Carl Adamec on Twitter: @CarlAdamec, Facebook: Carl Adamec, and Instagram: @CarlAdamec.