UConn Basketball Site

INDIANA, PA – The IUP women's basketball team has announced that it will open its upcoming 2012-13 season with an exhibition game against the University of Connecticut on Friday, November 2.

The game against the seven-time NCAA Division I national champions will be held at either the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on UConn's campus or at the XL Center, which is located in nearby Hartford and is considered the 'second home” for the Huskies' basketball programs.

"We're obviously excited about the opportunity to play UConn again in a preseason exhibition game,” said IUP head coach Jeff Dow. “It was a tremendous environment when we played them two years ago with nearly 8,000 fans and when we were recently contacted by the UConn administration about playing again, we didn't hesitate to accept.”

UConn is coming off of a 33-5 season, winning its fifth straight Big East Conference title and advanced to the Final Four for the 13th time in program history. The Huskies are coached by Geno Auriemma, who has won 803 games at UConn, guiding the Huskies to each of their seven national titles. UConn will return four starters next year, led by All-American guard Bria Hartley.

IUP finished its memorable season with a 23-7 record, advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Atlantic Regional. The Crimson Hawks return four starters from a year ago, including current junior Sarah Pastorek (Johnstown/Bishop McCort), who was named honorable mention All-American by two different outlets last season.

In addition to playing UConn prior to the 2010-11 season, Dow has scheduled other Division I teams for exhibitions, including Wake Forest, Penn State, Duquesne, James Madison, Dayton and American.