UConn adds game vs. UMass-Lowell
The UConn women’s basketball team will now open the 2020-21 season against UMass-Lowell. The game, announced Thursday, is scheduled for Dec. 12 at Gampel Pavilion. Tipoff will be 1 p.m. on SNY.
This will be the first meeting between the schools.
UMass-Lowell, interestingly, is coached by former University of Rhode Island star and NBA guard Tom Garrick, who’s married to
UConn assistant Shea Ralph. The River Hawks, members of the America East Conference, are slated to tip off their season on Saturday against Merrimack.
The River Hawks also boast a local talent: Windsor native Denise Solis, a 6-foot-1 forward who started all 31 games as a freshman in 2019-20.
The third-ranked Huskies are currently in a 14day quarantine after a member of the program tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 23. The program has reported one additional positive case since then. Players have been practicing in small groups since Saturday, but the earliest they can resume full-team workouts is Dec.
8.
Because of the initial positive test, the Huskies had to cancel their first three nonconference games and postpone another. Their original Big East opener at Seton Hall has been moved from Dec. 6 to Dec. 17.
The Huskies, back in the Big East for the first time since 2012-13, will also host Butler (Dec. 15) and Xavier (Dec. 19) and visit Villanova (Dec. 22). The rest of the conference schedule is expected to be released shortly.
UMass-Lowell went 16-15 overall and 11-5 in league play last season, finishing third. Like UConn, the River Hawks recently had to pause activities due to a positive coronavirus test.
BIG EAST REACHES AGREEMENT WITH FLOSPORTS
FloSports will be the new digital home for Big East women’s basketball. As part of a one-year agreement announced Thursday, up to 75 regular-season games will be distributed on the subscription streaming site this season.
“The BIG EAST Digital Network has provided unparalleled digital coverage of our women’s basketball programs over the last six years, and our agreement with FloSports will offer even wider distribution of our games and significant additional promotion of our student-athletes and coaches,” Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman said in a release.
As for how this affects UConn — it shouldn’t. SNY is already planning to broadcast up to 18 Huskies games. The rest will likely be divvied up between ESPN and Fox.