In sports, the only way to forget the past is to win in the present.
When the schedule for the Rutgers women's basketball team was released in early September, there likely were many games that stuck out when the players and coaches viewed the matchups.
No game, however, probably stood out more than this evening's 7 p.m. matchup against the No. 11 Connecticut Huskies at the Hartford Civic Center.
"Am I ready? Oh yea, that's a big game for us," senior guard Nikki Jett said following the West Virginia game. "We play to win and we plan on taking that game."
The No. 7 Scarlet Knights (15-4, 6-1) are riding high, having won 10 of their last 12 games, including two consecutive dominant performances against Big East foes Boston College and West Virginia.
Rutgers scored 21 of the game's first 23 points against the Mountaineers. Led by junior forward Michelle Campbell's 20-point, 11-rebound performance, the Knights shot 46 percent from the field and dominated nearly every category.
In recent games, the Knights have also been aided by the re-emergence of senior guard Cappie Pondexter. The All-American earned the Big East Co-Player of the Week award after pouring in 27 points against BC and then 16 points against WVU. In last week's games, the senior also averaged 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per contest.
"They're very deep and can score at all positions," West Virginia head coach Mike Carey said following his team's loss to Rutgers. "They're very athletic and are as good as I have seen in my four years in the conference."
The Knights defense - which is ranked in the top five in the country in numerous categories - forced WVU to commit 29 turnovers (18 coming in the first half) and forced 11 steals.
Rutgers will need its defense to shine tonight with the Huskies, who enter the game scoring nearly 70 points and shooting over 47 percent from the field each time they step on the court.
"Our defense was good, especially in the first 10 minutes of play," Campbell said after her double-double performance. "That's what our defense does right and has to do each time we are out there."
The Knights will have to step up their play to an entirely different level tonight if they plan on leaving in first place in the Big East.
A pair of guards averaging double-figures in scoring will lead the 13-5 (6-1) Huskies into battle.
Junior Ann Strother leads the team in scoring with 12.8 points per game and is coming off seven made three pointers and a career-high 25 points in the squad's loss to the Irish. Strother was one of the lone bright spots in the Huskies first Big East home loss in their last 112 games.
Junior Barbara Turner enters this evening's game tallying 11.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest.
This game will also feature two of the top freshmen in the country: RU guard Matee Ajavon and UConn guard Charde Houston.
Ajavon leads the Knights in scoring with 13 points per game and is contributing 3.2 assists and rebounds per contest.
On the other side, Houston enters tallying 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Combined, the standout guards have captured the Big East Rookie of the Week award six times this season.
The Huskies have owned Rutgers, winning eleven straight games against the Knights. In the all-time series, Rutgers has won only one time against UConn and has never beaten the Huskies on their home court - losing all 10 matchups
The Knights - who have beaten four-out-of-six top 25 teams they have faced this year - aren't concerned about going up against another high-quality opponent.
"All we have to do is go out there with confidence and we can win," Jett said when asked about traveling to UConn. "We can play with any team there is and expect to win."
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