Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma insists the only streak he really cares about is winning a third straight national championship.
All-American Maya Moore and her two-time defending champion Huskies enter Sunday's season opener against Holy Cross with a record 78-game winning streak - and many fans already have their sights on the 88 consecutive wins by the great UCLA men's teams.
''People think I'm doing the streak a disservice by not building it up and not glamorizing it and promoting it,'' Auriemma said. ''We just focus on the next game and not start to think 11 or 12 games ahead.''
Looking at the Huskies' schedule, they better stay with that approach. UConn will face 11 of The Associated Press preseason Top 25, starting with Brittney Griner and No. 2 Baylor on Tuesday.
''The schedule of games is absolutely ridiculous,'' Auriemma said. ''I think the players are going to be shellshocked after a certain period of time.''
If Connecticut keeps rolling, the record-tying game would be No. 7 Ohio State on Dec. 19. A home contest against No. 18 Florida State two days later would be the record breaker.
But the streak is far down the list of concerns for Auriemma, who is focused on getting the Huskies to Indianapolis for the Final Four and a chance at an eighth national championship. That would tie UConn with Pat Summitt and Tennessee for the most titles.
''I'm certainly more interested in the number eight than 88,'' Auriemma said chuckling.
The Hall of Fame coach already has said he expects his young team will lose games this season as the Huskies try to replace the 3,000 points and 2,000 rebounds lost with the graduation of Tina Charles and Kalana Greene, as well as make up for the loss of guard Caroline Doty, out with a season-ending knee injury.
That first loss could come against the Lady Bears in a national semifinal rematch. They return almost everyone from last season's squad, but Griner is once again the player to watch. The 6-foot-8 phenom, who set the NCAA record for blocks in a season as a freshman, has worked hard in the offseason to improve her game and become an even more dominant player.
''I've only had her for a few weeks, but she's already a better rebounder than last season,'' Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said.
Mulkey will have a pretty good idea of where her team stands by the start of Big 12 season. Besides the UConn game, the Lady Bears host No. 14 Notre Dame and fourth-ranked Tennessee.
Summitt returns virtually everyone from last season's Lady Vols team that won the Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament titles before losing to Baylor in the regional semifinals.
Stanford, last season's national runner-up, graduated center Jayne Appel. The Cardinal still have a talented returning group led by Nnemkadi Ogwumike. She will be joined by her younger sister Chiney.
The Cardinal will try to become the fifth team to reach the Final Four in four straight seasons, joining UConn, LSU, Louisiana Tech, and Tennessee.
Several players are back after missing last season, but North Carolina's Jessica Breland could have the biggest impact. The senior forward sat out last year while battling Hodgkin's lymphoma. She said the disease is in remission and doctors told her she won't be considered fully cancer-free until five years have passed since her final treatment.
''We definitely were missing her last year and it's great to have her back this season,'' North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said.
George Washington's Kye Allums already has made an impact before the season started. The junior guard is the school's first transgendered women's basketball player. Allums, who now wants to be identified as a man, averaged 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds last season.
''I want people, not just athletes, to be comfortable with who they are and not feel like they have to hide who they are,'' Allums said.
The Colonials open their season Saturday against Green Bay in a tournament at Minneapolis, which happens to be a homecoming for Allums, who grew up in the area.
