In Connecticut's 23-year women's basketball history, just two players have averaged 20 or more points in a season.

Kerry Bascom did it three consecutive seasons from 1988 to 1991. Nykesha Sales averaged 20.9 points in 1997-98.

		UConn vs. Tennessee Connecticut, which hasn't lost and is ranked second and third in the national polls, is young and exciting. But Tennessee should win this game. Although they're ranked fifth and have already lost two games, the Lady Vols are more experienced and battle-tested. For UConn to win, Diana Taurasi and freshman Ann Strother need big games. But ultimately, this game isn't that important to either team. It's about bragging rights and adding another chapter to this rivalry. This game is really for the fans.

Diana Taurasi could be next in line. The Husky junior, the only returning starter from last season's 39-0 squad that won the program's third NCAA title, is averaging 19.3 points, almost 23 percent of UConn's offense.

Taurasi's history gives us every reason to think her scoring average might increase. Taurasi tends to play big in big games, and with archrival Tennessee, No. 1 Duke and two dates with Big East rival Notre Dame remaining on the schedule -- not to mention the Big East and NCAA tournaments -- her best performances of the year might still lie ahead.

Against Tennessee, Taurasi has been incredible, averaging 21.3 points over four games. In six NCAA Tournament games last season, Taurasi averaged 15 points, and in her 11 NCAA Tournament game appearances, she has scored 153 points (13.9 average).

True, that four-point, 1-for-15 shooting performance against Notre Dame in the 2001 Final Four wasn't that long ago. And Taurasi doesn't have the Fab Four -- Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams -- beside her anymore. But that's the very reason Taurasi's scoring average is so high this season: Although UConn has a handful of talented players, Taurasi is shouldering most of the offensive burden.

When Tennessee travels to Hartford, Conn., to play the Huskies on Saturday in one of the biggest games of the year, the Lady Vols will do anything they can to shut her down, anything to avoid a repeat of last year's January faceoff that featured a career-high 32-point performance from Taurasi in Knoxville, Tenn.

"We didn't have an answer for Taurasi. Diana had her way," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said almost exactly a year ago as the Huskies won the first of two games against the Lady Vols in 2001-02.

TAURASI VS. TENNESSEE
GAME	MIN	FG	3FG	FT	REB	AST	TO	BLK	STL	PF	PTS
1	22	5-11	2-6	0-0	4	1	3	0	1	4	12
2	27	9-16	6-9	0-0	2	1	3	0	0	5	24
3	38	11-16	3-6	7-8	5	2	3	1	0	2	32*
4	31	7-16	3-7	0-1	10	5	3	0	2	2	17
TOTAL	118	32-59	14-28	7-9	21	9	12	1	3	13	85
AVG	29.5	54.2	50.0	77.8	5.3	2.3	3.0	0.25	0.75	4.3	21.3
* Career high
Game 1: UConn's 81-76 win on Dec. 30, 2000, at the Hartford Civic Center; Game 2: Tennessee's 92-88 win on Feb. 1, 2001, in Knoxville, Tenn.; Game 3: UConn's 86-72 win on Jan. 5, 2002, in Knoxville, Tenn.; Game 4: UConn's 79-56 win in the national semifinals on March 29, 2002, in San Antonio.