Caribbean Classic highlights winter action

A bulk of the season will get underway during winter break, as the No. 1 women's basketball team will travel along the East Coast and even into Mexico - 11 games total.

The highlight of the winter break schedule is the Caribbean Classic, which will take place from Dec. 18 through Dec. 21 in Cancun, Mexico. UConn will face the Washington Huskies (3-3), former team of UConn's center Jessica McCormack, in the first day of action at 4:30 p.m.

Due to NCAA transfer rules, McCormack cannot travel with the team nor can play in any of the games; thus she will miss the first game the Huskies face each other since her arrival to Storrs.

McCormack said that she does not feel it is any more frustrating to miss that game than any other one. In fact, she said that she was not quite ready to see her former coach, Tia Jackson.

Head coach Geno Auriemma said that it was unfortunate that she is unable to travel because it makes it difficult for her to feel that she is a part of the team.

The teams have faced each other only two other times. The first came during the 1998-99 season, when UConn defeated Washington at Gampel, 101-81, in late November. The second came in the 2000-01 season when UConn traveled to Washington, winning 100-54. That year, Washington ended the season ranked No. 14 in the country. UConn was No. 3.

UConn will face Northern Colorado (3-2) on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. and Florida State (6-2) on Dec. 21 at 4:30 p.m. to wrap up the Caribbean Classic.

Here is the breakdown of the other games:

A major matchup for the Huskies comes on Jan. 3 at the XL Center, when they face LSU (1-3) for a noon game. The game can be viewed on CBS.

Last year, UConn traveled to Baton Rouge, La., to face Sylvia Fowles and the rest of the Tigers. At that time, Tina Charles said that she had a picture of Fowles up as a reminder of what she wanted to achieve. Maya Moore scored 29 points in the 74-69 UConn win. Fowles, now in the WNBA, scored 26.

The Huskies are one of four teams participating in the Maggie Dixon Classic on Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden. UConn will face Penn State (4-3) at 2:30 p.m. The Nittany Lions are led by Tyra Grant, who was averaging 18.3 points per game as of Nov. 29. The game will be aired on both CPTV and ESPNU.

The event is in honor of Army's former head coach, Maggie Dixon, who died due to cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 28, just a few weeks after leading the team to its first-ever NCAA tournament.

The Huskies will also open up Big East play during the break, playing four games against conference opponents before the spring semester begins.

This year's Big East opener will be on the road for UConn at South Florida (6-1) on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. As of Nov. 23, Shantia Grace led the Bulls on offense, averaging 20.3 points in four games. Last year, UConn won 71-48, improving to 6-0 all-time against South Florida.

The Mountaineers (6-1) will host the Huskies on Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. Their most recent win came on Dec. 2 in a rout of Mercyhurst, 88-38. Sarah Miles scored 27 points in the victory. Takisha Granberry has had three double-doubles this season and scored a career-high 30 points against NJIT.

Both of the Big East road games can be seen on CPTV.

Former UConn standout and Wade Trophy Award winner Jennifer Rizzotti will face her former coach, Auriemma, when the two meet at the XL Center as UConn hosts Hartford (4-4) in a noon game on Dec. 31, closing out 2008. Diana Delva leads the Hawks with 12.8 points per game.

For UConn fans, former player Mel Thomas, who is now playing basketball in Ireland, will be having a book signing after the game.

The Huskies will wrap up the winter break schedule with two home games. UConn's Big East home opener comes against DePaul (5-2), another 2008 NCAA tournament team, at Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. The Blue Demons lost to Tennessee on the road on Nov. 30.

The final game before students arrive back to campus comes Jan. 17 against Syracuse (6-2) in a noontime match. It was against the Orange last year that then-senior Thomas tore her ACL; UConn escaped with a 65-59 win. UConn leads the all-time series, 30-12.