Elizabeth Dalziel/Associated PressU.S. guard Cappie Pondexter, front, drives into South Dakota native and Russia's guard Becky Hammon during an Olympic warmup game at the Women's Diamond Ball Basketball tournament in Haining, China on Monday.

A few years have passed since Pondexter lit up the Rutgers Athletic Center, carving up defenders off the dribble or draining jumpers from every inch of the court, but she has never forgotten the lessons learned in New Jersey that ultimately helped fulfill an Olympic dream.

Rutgers and Connecticut, the two dominant powers in women's basketball in the Big East Conference, will play a home-and-home series next season.

In announcing its schedule yesterday, the league chose to maintain the same repeat opponents from the 2007-08 season for the upcoming year.

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Kiersten Hickman-Perfetti (1985-2008)

When the wait was over, Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson unfurled matching smiles and hugged just about everyone in the building.

The Rutgers guards were selected within minutes of each other yesterday in the first round of the WNBA Draft at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla. Ajavon, the 5-8 dynamo from Newark, was selected by the tradition-rich Houston Comets with the No. 5 pick and Carson, one of the most versatile players in the draft, was taken by the Liberty with the seventh pick.

"Mat will and 'E' will have fabulous pro careers," said Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer, who was in attendance. "Does anybody in America not know that Matee Ajavon will break you down? Does anyone in America not know that Essence can hit 3-pointers?"

Essence Carson and Matee Ajavon's memorable four-year run at Rutgers might be over, but the New Jersey natives are ready for the next phase of their careers.

Carson and Ajavon, who led the Scarlet Knights to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments -- including an Elite Eight appearance this season -- are each projected first-round picks in today's WNBA Draft in Palm Harbor, Fla.

"They will come in and definitely make an impact to whatever team they go to," said Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper, who will likely take Tennessee's Candace Parker with the top overall pick of the three-round draft. "Again, they are exciting players. Both of those ladies are going to come in and make significant contributions to their teams."

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- When it was over, C. Vivian Stringer sat next to seniors Essence Carson and Matee Ajavon, explaining how Rutgers fell short of its lofty expectations.

"It's unfortunate," Stringer said after the Scarlet Knights' 66-56 loss to top-ranked Connecticut in the Greensboro Regional final Tuesday night. "I'm so sorry for our team to not be able to do what we felt strongly we could do -- and that is to play in a Final Four."

The Scarlet Knights (27-7), who returned all five starters from last season's national runner-up squad, enjoyed a wild and exhausting ride tinged with controversy.

RU's dream ends in loss to UConn

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- When the magic disappeared, they missed jumpers, turned the ball over and searched for a life raft that never arrived.

For 20 minutes, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights looked every bit like world-beaters, cutting down big, bad Connecticut to size with an aggressive defense and surprisingly hot shooting.

Then, the second-seeded Knights unraveled.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- As Rutgers' season ended one game from another Final Four last night, a 6-2 teenager in Miami was text-messaging her future teammates with big plans.

Not one Final Four.

Not two or even three.

"I believe we're going to have four Final Four appearances," Chelsey Lee said. "I want to win a national championship in two of those four years. If we do it four out of four? That'd be great."

NOTEBOOK

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Essence Carson, Matee Ajavon and Epiphanny Prince were named to the all-tournament team for the Greensboro Regional.

Carson, who tied her career-high with 25 points against George Washington in the Sweet 16 win, was white-hot from the perimeter in the Scarlet Knights' four games.

Ajavon, who had a team-high 18 points in the Scarlet Knights' loss to Connecticut last night, orchestrated a Rutgers offense that played much better than it had in the regular season.

Rutgers fell one game short of returning to the Final Four. And even though the Scarlet Knights lose seniors Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson, they have every reason to believe they can compete for a spot in St. Louis for the 2009 Final Four.

With five McDonald's All Americans coming aboard, C. Vivian Stringer likely will tinker with several starting lineups during the non-conference season. But make no mistake: The Hall of Fame coach will hand over the keys to the offense to lightning-quick point guard Nikki Speed from Day One.

"If you love to score, she's going to find you," Stringer said of Speed's pass-first mentality in November. "She can score, but that's not what we were looking for first. We haven't had that (pure) point guard here. We needed that element."

UConn superstar Maya Moore is the daughter of one of Rutgers' all-time greats

The same face, the same eyes, the same instincts.

He cannot look away.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Epiphanny Prince fell into the trap, overanalyzing every possession, hesitating when she knew she should have just let it fly.

Facing a ferocious defense bent on stopping her, Prince looked out of sync in Rutgers' 20-point loss to Connecticut with the Big East regular-season title on the line a month ago.

She is not about to make the same mistake twice.

COMMENTARY

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Her instructional DVD on the vaunted 55 defense is available for $39.95. Her defensive strategy sessions are well-attended at coaching clinics. C. Vivian Stringer is recognized as one of the best defensive minds in college basketball -- this is all well-documented.

Now what about her offense?

This is the relevant question tonight, and really, the question this program needs to eventually answer if it wants to win championships. If Rutgers is going to beat elite teams such as Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament, it has to develop a consistent identity on offense.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Let the record show that before the latest and most important installment in this rivalry had a chance to get ugly, Geno Auriemma delivered a fresh bouquet of flowers.

"I'm rooting for Rutgers," the Connecticut coach said a few minutes after his team wrapped up its predictable Sweet 16 victory yesterday, and a couple hours before his conference rival claimed its. "If (we play them) and they win, one of the Big East teams will go to the Final Four.

"So I hope to see them. I hope they play well. I hope they win."

He paused.

"Today."

He paused again.

"And that is the last nice thing I will say about them."

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Kia Vaughn sat back in the wooden locker without a smile on her face.

Sure, Rutgers was in the Elite Eight. Sure, the Scarlet Knights will have a chance at redemption when they face top-ranked Connecticut Tuesday night with a Final Four berth on the line.

But Vaughn didn't lose sight of the bigger picture.

"It's never really like, 'Oh, I'm excited!'" Vaughn said. "It's about business."

Matee Ajavon admitted that "we're definitely looking forward to" another showdown with the Scarlet Knights' Big East rival. Rutgers, of course, is the only team to beat Connecticut (35-1) this season. The Huskies' exacted some revenge with a 20-point rout in the regular-season finale to win the conference's regular-season title.