The Daily Campus

Issue date: 3/17/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ryan Sayers Tiffany Hayes puts up a layup over Seton Hall's Ebonie Williams in UConn's 81-50 win over the Pirates at the XL Center on Feb. 28. Hayes was inserted into the starting lineup after fellow freshman Caroline Doty tore her ACL against Syracuse.

It was no surprise when the announcement was made Monday night that the No. 1 women's basketball team is the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Nor was it a shock that the Huskies would play at Gampel Pavilion for the first two rounds in the Trenton (N.J.) Regional.

All that remained unknown was the opponent. That team is No. 16 seed Vermont, the America East tournament champion. The two teams will play at noon Sunday on ESPN2.

It is the 21st time the Huskies have made the Tournament in as many seasons. They are 40-5 in Tournament play since 2000; the berth is the first for the Catamounts in that same amount of time.

"Every night, just give it all on the court … the most effort we can give," said UConn guard Maya Moore. "If we do that, we really feel like we can really accomplish our goal this year."

Their goal? Something that they were unable to do last year: win in the Final Four.

"I think we're just going into the tournament with a different frame of mind, just a different feeling," Moore said. "More confident, just more ready."

Behind closed locker-room doors, the team watched the selection show, as ESPN revealed the bracket game by game, saving the Trenton regional for last. Only on occasion were applause and yells heard - when a Big East team popped up on the screen as one of the 64 teams in the bracket.

At no time were those yells louder than when Rutgers grabbed the No. 7 seed in the Oklahoma City regional. When the Huskies were announced, the players' cheers could be heard from the hall.

At 33-0, the team has a target on its back, one that coach Geno Auriemma believes comes from such intense media coverage. Yet, he said it comes with the territory and that it "never bothered me when you have the record that we have."

Continued...

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