Talented players lead UConn's hopes of Women's Final Four return

Big East Conference women's teams are coming off a banner season when 12 of the 16 teams played in post-season tournaments.

Connecticut went to the NCAA Final Four while Rutgers, Louisville, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and DePaul all made it into the tournament.

Marquette won the WNIT title. St. John's, South Florida and Villanova were also in the 48-team field.

The Big East had nine 20-game winners.

Following is a team breakdown in order of last season's conference finish:

Connecticut (36-2, 15-1)

UConn's hopes of a Final Four return are led by All-Big East players Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles.

Moore (17.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg) was the first freshman in Big East history to receive player and freshman of the year awards. The All-American forward made 42.0 percent of her 3-point shots and blocked 59 shots.

Montgomery is a senior from St. Albans, W.Va., who scored 14.1 points per game. Charles, a 6-foot-4 junior, averaged 14.2 points and 9.2 rebounds.

Rutgers (27-7, 14-2)

Junior guard Epiphanny Prince scored 13.8 points a game. Prince was named as the league's Most Improved Player and made the all-conference first team.

Kia Vaughn, a 6-4 senior, led the league in rebounds (8.3). Senior forward Heather Zurich (4.6 ppg) is a returning starter.

Forward Myia McCurdy and guard Khadjah Rushdan return from knee injuries.

West Virginia (25-8, 12-4)

Coach Mike Carey lost seven graduated seniors and 11 players overall.

Senior point guard Ashley Powell (2.9 ppg) is the lone returning starter. Sophomore guad Liz Repella scored 3.5 points a game.

Senior guard Takisha Granberry is a transfer from Virginia.

Notre Dame (25-9, 11-5)

The Fighting Irish has a significant player, sophomore forward Devereaux Peters, returning from a knee injury. Peters averaged 9.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in a shortened season.

Senior guard Lindsay Schrader bounced back from a knee injury last season to average 10.3 points and 6.2 rebounds.

Ashley Barlow, a junior guard, scored 12.1 points a game.

Louisville (26-10, 10-6

The Cardinals are coming off a season when they were ranked No. 12 in the ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches Poll and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Senior forwards Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham and 6-3 senior center Chauntise Wright form one of the top frontcourt groups in the nation.

McCoughtry led the conference in scoring (23.8) and was a WBCA/State Farm All-American.

Syracuse (22-9, 10-6)

Big East Coach of the Year Quentin Hillsman welcomes back four starters.

Chandrea Jones, a 5-9 senior, averaged 15.1 points while junior forward Nicole Michael scored 12.3 and grabbed 7.4 rebounds per game.

Pittsburgh (24-11, 10-6)

The Panthers were in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time.

Shavonte Zellous is an athletic senior guard, a two-time All-Big East first team selection, who averaged 18.2 points and 5.4 rebounds.

Senior guard Xenia Stewart averaged 10.3 points in conference games.

Depaul (20-12, 8-8)

The Blue Demons are taking aim on their seventh consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

Two of the top three scorers are back with junior Deirdre Naughton averaging 15.1 and senior Natasha Williams averaging 10.0 points. Williams also grabbed 6.5 rebounds a game.

Marquette (21-14, 8-8)

WNIT Most Valuable Player Krystal Ellis (19.4 ppg) leads the Golden Eagles. The senior guard ranked second in the conference in scoring.

Sophomore point guard Angel Robinson averaged 11.4 points and 3.86 assists.

Guard Lauren Thomas-Johnson and forward Breann Hill are transfers who helped Kirkwood Communtiy College in Iowa win two national titles.

St. John's (18-15, 7-9)

Senior guard Monique McLean (14.7) led St. John's in scoring the past two seasons. She also pulled down 5.4 rebounds a game.

Sky Lindsay is a 5-11 sophomore who started every game and averaged 8.5 points.

Joy McCorvey, a 6-0 junior forward, is the top defender and rebounder.

Georgetown (15-14, 5-11)

Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy has a mix of the old and the new.

Junior Jaleesa Butler is the leading returning scorer (7.6 ppg) and shot blocker (29). She was second in rebounds with 5.4 a game.

The freshman class of recruits was ranked sixth nationally by Mike Flynn's Blue Star Report.

Villanova (17-16, 5-11)

Laura Kurz, a 6-1 senior, averaged 14.9 points and 6.4 rebounds for Villanova in her first season as a transfer from Duke.

Six-foot-one senior forward Lisa Karcic (12.2 ppg) is coming back from ACL surgery.

Juniors Maria Getty and Tia Grant are the starting guards.

South Florida (16-16, 5-11)

Senior guards Shantia Grace and Jazmine Sepulveda lead the Bulls from the backcourt. The 5-6 Grace (19.1 ppg) has 1,391 career points and a school-record 435 assists.The 5-9 Sepulveda aveaged 10.5 points and 3.6 assists per game.

Jessica Lawson is a 6-3 senior who averaged 9.4 points and 5.4 rebounds.

Seton Hall (13-15, 3-13)

The Pirates were derailed by injuries and finished last season on a 10-game losing streak.

Sophomore guard Ebonie Williams (11.6 ppg) led the team in scoring. Senior forward Jadis Rhodin (8.4 ppg) had 54 steals.

Cincinnati (12-16, 3-13)

Junior guard Kahla Roudebush (16.5), senior forward Jill Stephens (13.0) and junior forward Michelle Jones (11.2) give the Bearcats four returning players who scored in double figures last season.

Junior guard Shelly Bellman, who was redshirted following a knee injury, averaged 10.0 points and 6.6 rebounds as a sophmore.

Stephens led the conference in minutes played (37.4) and averaged 9.4 rebounds.

Providence (12-17, 2-14)

Senior guard Chelsea Marandola is back after missing all of last season injured. Marandola averaged 17.3 points and 7.1 rebounds in the 2006-07 season.

Catherine Bove, a senior guard who played in only three games last season before bowing out because of an injury, posted 11.7 points and 5.1 rebounds a game in 2006-07.

Shantee Darian, a 6-2 senior, has averaged 9.0 rebounds in her career.

-- Information from www.bigeast.org