WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY KEEP AN EYE ON
No. 3 UCONN vs PROVIDENCE
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs
Records: UConn 6-0 (5-0, Big East); Providence (5-6, 3-3, Big East)
TV: SNY
Radio: UConn Sports Network (97.9 FM-ESPN Hartford, WAVZ 1300 AM, WICC 600 AM, WINE 940 AM, WGCH 1490 AM, WILI 1400 AM)
Streaming: Available in-market via NBC Sports app (http:// stream.nbcsports.com/rsn/sny). Out-of-market available at no additional cost to subscribers who have Fox as TV package. Sign in at https://www.foxsports.com/ or in FOX Sports app.
Geno closing in on another milestone: UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s next win will be the 1,098th of his Hall of Fame career, matching Tennessee legend Pat Summitt for second all-time in women’s basketball. He’s currently seven victories behind Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer, who passed Summitt last month.
Freshman Paige Bueckers chuckled a bit when asked about Auriemma’s long list of accomplishments.
“The stuff he does is pretty crazy. He’s done everything,” Bueckers said. “He’s won 11 (national) championships, obviously the wins — a lot, a lot of wins. Nothing he does really surprises me.
“I knew he was so smart before I got here, but once I got here and saw his mind, the way he thinks, he’s like a genius to me. I don’t want to make his head too big, but I’ll give him credit. He’s a really smart guy.”
Local product: Junior forward and Enfield native Mary Baskerville leads Providence with 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. The 6-foot-3 Baskerville tied a careerhigh with 24 points in a loss to Seton Hall on Jan. 3.
Baskerville was the New Haven Register’s Player of the Year in 2018 and graduated Enfield High with a school-record 1,870 points.
Keeping busy: In a season in which schools are struggling to get in games because of COVID-19, Providence has been rather fortunate. The Friars have played the most games of any Big East team, with 11. Six of those have been in conference play.
History lesson: UConn has won the last 28 meetings and 40 of 61 against Providence. Twelve of those games came before Auriemma’s inaugural season in 1985-86. The teams last played in 2013, a 105-49 Huskies victory.