Women's NCAA Tournament scoreboard

	Related Links: Women's brackets Clay Kallam breaks down the women's tournament Forum: Who will win the women's tourney?
	T O P   N E W S

Possessing the nation's top record and the best chance to win the national championship, Connecticut begins its run towards a second title Friday when the NCAA Women's Tournament gets under way.

Connecticut (30-1) was atop the polls most of the season and heads into its 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Huskies topped Rutgers to win their seventh consecutive Big East Tournament title and their only loss this season was a 72-71 home setback to Tennessee on Feb. 2.

The Huskies captured the top seed in the East Region and put their 11-game winning streak on the line when they host No. 16 seed Hampton.

Connecticut is having its best season since finishing 35-0 in 1995 to capture the national championship and has reached 30 victories for the sixth time in seven campaigns.

The Huskies are looking to complete some unfinished business from last season. Their run of five straight appearances to the Elite Eight ended with a stunning setback to Iowa State in the regional semifinals.

Most of that team is back this season, including Big East Player of the Year Shea Ralph. The 6-foot junior guard is averaging 14.4 points per contest and appears to have recovered from a pair of knee injuries that kept her out two seasons ago.

Forward Svetlana Abrosimova leads the frontcourt attack with 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. The 6-1 junior is believed by many to be the most valuable player on the team and an intimidating presence on defense.

Connecticut has proven all season it is a dominant team on both sides of the floor. It scores 85.1 points per game while shooting 54 percent from the floor and allows just 54.6 points per contest and 33 percent shooting.

The Huskies have won 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament games at Gampel Pavilion and the winner plays either Clemson or Drake on Sunday.

Rutgers (23-6) has perhaps its best shot of advancing to the Final Four for the first time ever. It picked up the No. 2 seed, its highest since 1987, and hosts 15th seed Holy Cross in a West Region battle.

Shawnetta Stewart is the only senior in the Scarlet Knights' starting lineup. The 5-10 guard is averaging 15.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest and was named first-team All-Big East.

The Scarlet Knights made it to the regional finals last season before falling to eventual national champion Purdue. The winner of this game battles either Texas or St. Joesph's on Sunday.

Notre Dame (25-4) has also enjoyed a phenomenal season out of the Big East and looks for its first Final Four appearance since 1997. The Fighting Irish received the No. 2 seed in the Mideast and host San Diego Friday night.

Junior center Ruth Riley led Notre Dame with 16.2 points per game and Niele Ivey is back after missing last year's postseason with a torn ACL. Freshman standout Alicia Ratay averages 14.8 points and shoots 49 percent from 3-point range.

Seventh-seeded George Washington plays No. 10 UCLA in the first game at South Bend, Indiana.

Penn State (26-4) won the Big Ten regular season, but fell to Purdue in the tournament title game. It was given the second seed in the Midwest Region and puts its 13-0 home record on the line against No. 15 seed Youngstown State.

Four starters for the Lady Lions average in double figures, led by the frontcourt duo of Andrea Garner (14.8 ppg) and Maren Walseth (13.9). Helen Darling adds 7.7 assists per contest and is considered one of the nation's best point guards.

Mississippi State (23-7) suffered the worst loss in the tournament so far before a game has been played. The Lady Bulldogs earned the third seed in the West Region, but will not serve as host because the school could not reserve enough hotels in the Starkville area.

Sixth-seeded Oregon will be the host school as it battles UAB while Mississippi State plays St. Peter's.

No. 4 Virginia hosts 13th seed Pepperdine in the Mideast Region and fifth-seeded Boston College plays No. 12 Nebraska.

No. 3 Iowa State is 13-1 at home this season and hosts 14th seed St. Francis (Pa.) in the Midwest Region with sixth-seeded Illinois clashing with No. 11 Utah in the first game.

Third-seeded Louisiana State plays host to No. 14 Liberty in the East Region and No. 6 Xavier battles No. 11 Stephen F. Austin.

The three remaining top seeds play their first-round games Saturday. Tennessee hosts Furman in the Mideast Region, Georgia battles Montana in the West Region and Louisiana Tech entertains Alcorn State in the Midwest.