page_title: 2008–09 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team
section_title: Pre-season
hierarchical_section_title: 2008–09 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team / Regular season / Pre-season
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture of the UConn 2009 National Championship team with Barack Obama at the White House, taken by the White House photographer, provided by Randy Press (Assistant Director/Athletic Communications (Women's Basketball, Field Hockey))
context_page_description: The 2008–09 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2008–2009 NCAA Division I basketball season. Coached by Geno Auriemma, the Huskies played their home games at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, and are a member of the Big East Conference. They enjoyed an undefeated season and won their sixth NCAA championship by defeating the Louisville Cardinals, 76–54.
context_section_description: Both major pre-season polls ranked the Huskies number 1, each just one vote shy of unanimous. The AP Top 25 poll included all but one vote for Connecticut, with a single vote for Stanford, and the ESPN/USA Today Poll had all but one vote for Connecticut, with a single vote for Tennessee. The team returned much of the previous year's team. Of the departing seniors, only Brittany Hunter started more than half the team's game, although Mel Thomas failed to reach that mark due to a career-ending injury.
  The Huskies started with a pair of triple digit scoring pre-season games. The first game was against Division II Stonehill College in nearby North Easton, Massachusetts. It was the first chance for fans to see freshman Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, and Heather Buck in action. Caroline and Tiffany both scored in double digits, and Heather had three rebounds and a blocked shot. The final score was in favor of UConn, 100–49. The second pre-season game was even more lopsided, with UConn prevailing over Team SRP 103-37.
caption: The players, coaches, and other staff of the 2008–2009 UConn Huskies, winners of the 2009 national championship, are honored at the White House by President Barack Obama on April 27, 2009.
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