WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY

Tulsa at No. 4 UConn

When: Sunday, noon

Where: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs

Records: Tulsa 5-12, 0-4 AAC; UConn 15-1, 6-0 AAC

TV: SNY/ESPN3

Radio: UConn/IMG Sports Network, 97.9 FM-ESPN Hartford, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WICC-Bridgeport (600 AM), WINE-Danbury (940 AM), WGCH-Greenwich (1490 AM)

KEEP AN EYE ON

History lesson: As part of a celebration for the 30th anniversary of the opening of Gampel Pavilion, several members of the 1989-90 team will be recognized at halftime.

That season, UConn went 25-6 and won the Big East regular season championship before losing in the NCAA tournament to Clemson.

After playing next door at Greer Field House, the Huskies moved into Gampel on Jan. 31, 1990. UConn beat Georgetown 76-54, but its not the game itself that coach Geno Auriemma remembers most vividly.

“It was so bright because where we used to play was so dark,” Auriemma recalled Saturday. “It was so bright. The ceiling panels were so white, and everything was so brand new that from the outside, it actually looked like a spaceship had landed in the middle of campus and just sat here. And what I remember is coming out here for the game … the concourse was full of people just leaning over the railing, thinking, ‘What the (heck) is going on here?’ ”

Auriemma shared his appreciation for Gampel, saying it helped the Huskies become what they are now.

“We would be like a pretty decent team that would play in obscurity, win some games, and nobody would take seriously,” he said. “This building made it possible for us to be considered more of a regional team.”

The Huskies made their first Final Four the next season behind All-American Kerry Bascom, losing to Virginia.

“If we had stayed where we where, we would’ve stayed what we were. And I would’ve left,” Auriemma said. “I would’ve left as soon as I could’ve. … We probably wouldn’t have gone to the Final Four, and (Chris Dailey) and I would’ve been long gone by the time 1995 came around.”

Same person, new attitude: Anna Makurat went home to Poland for Christmas and came back with renewed confidence.

“She’s way better,” Auriemma said. “The period right before Christmas was a real struggle for her because she has this pride that she wants to be a really, really good player. She puts a lot of pressure on herself. When she wasn’t playing well, shooting well, whatever, it really took its toll on her.”

In the six games since the holiday break, the freshman guard is averaging 7.0 points and shooting 41 percent off the bench. Against UCF, she matched her career-high with 10 points but also committed six turnovers.

While her numbers are up, Makurat said she still tends to overthink herself at times.

“I’m always looking for the best shot, but maybe it’s not always the right shot,” she said. “Maybe I should be more confident in my shooting abilities at times.”