Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men's basketball and women's basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

As has been par for the course for most of the 2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, there isn't a transcript of the UConn Huskies women's basketball team's postgame press conference after their 80-65 win over the Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite Eight.

With the win, the Huskies advance to the Final Four where they'll face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the fourth time this season.

But there is video:

Head over to NCAA.com to see the Kentucky Wildcats postgame press conference.

UPDATE: There is actually a transcript of the UConn's and Kentucky's postgame press conferences.

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For the better part of the first half, it looked as though the UConn Huskies women's basketball team wouldn't get to the Final Four.

They started out quickly only to see the Kentucky Wildcats battle back. But as we've seen for the entire season, when UConn clamps down on defense and plays UConn basketball, the other teams are in trouble.

That strong second half defensive effort along with the play of Tiffany Hayes turned out to be the difference in UConn's 80-65 win over the Wildcats at The Ryan Center in Kingston, RI on Tuesday night.

It's the fifth straight Final Four for the Huskies (33-4) as they'll face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the fourth time this season. The Wildcats finish up the season at 28-7.

Hayes led five Huskies in double digits with 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had another great game with 18 points and seven rebounds while Stefanie Dolson added 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Bria Hartley added 13 points while Kelly Faris had 11 points, five rebounds and five assists before fouling out late in the game.

Former Husky Samarie Walker led Kentucky with 14 points and had five rebounds. Bria Goss chipped in with 12 points while Connecticut native Kastine Evans had 10. A'Dia Mathies led the Wildcats with eight rebounds to go along with her seven points.

Here are the highlights of the game:

UConn Huskies vs Kentucky Wildcats 2012 Elite Eight box score

UConn Huskies women's basketball Final Four merchandise

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Photo credit: AP Photo

During halftime of Tuesday's night's Elite Eight matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats, UConn Huskies women's basketball associate head coach Chris Dailey was featured at halftime.

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With the West Virginia Mountaineers leaving the Big East Conference, the football schedule for 2012 took a little longer to be released. But the long wait is over as the Big East and UConn released their 2012 football schedule.

Here's the press release from UConn:

STORRS, Conn. -- The 2012 University of Connecticut football schedule will feature games against seven teams that played in bowl games last year and a non-conference schedule with two games against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The complete schedule was announced on Tuesday by the BIG EAST Conference.

Game times and television coverage for most games are still to be announced.

"We have a very exciting and competitive football schedule for the 2012 season," said UConn Director of Athletics Warde Manuel. "Our six home games combine three great BIG EAST Conference contests with three non-conference opponents that will be a tremendous opportunity for our team and fans. We look forward to seeing excited crowds at Rentschler Field this season to support our Huskies."

Season tickets for the 2012 campaign are currently on sale at UConnHuskies.com

"Our entire team is really looking forward to this 2012 football schedule," says second-year head coach Paul Pasqualoni. "Our coaches and players look forward to playing a tough non-conference schedule and then get into the grind of the BIG EAST Conference, which is as competitive league as any in the country."

UConn opens the 2012 campaign with a pair of home games as the tenth season of Rentschler Field beings. The Huskies open with Massachusetts on Thurs., August 30 as the two teams renew a rivalry that dates back to 1897 with 71 games. The two teams have not played since 1999 and UMass is entering its first year as a member of the Mid-American Conference.

The Huskies then face North Carolina State of the ACC on September 8 in a return game from a meeting in Raleigh in 2003. The Wolf Pack won last year's Belk Bowl.

UConn hits the road in 2012 for the first time on September 15 when it takes on Maryland of the ACC for just the second time in school history. Maryland won a previous meeting with the Huskies in 1942 and will return this game in 2013 at Rentschler Field (September 14).

The non-conference portion of the season concludes with a pair of games against teams from the Mid-American Conference - at Western Michigan on September 22 and home against Buffalo on September 29. Western Michigan played in last year's Little Caesar Bowl.

UConn kicks off its ninth season as a football member of the BIG EAST Conference on October 6 as it visits Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights won the New Era Pinstripe Bowl last season.

The Huskies take on BIG EAST newcomer Temple on October 13 for both the conference home opener and UConn's Homecoming game. The Owls won last year's Gildan New Mexico Bowl.

A trip to Syracuse (Fri., October 19) for a primetime game on ESPN at 8:00 p.m. is followed by a game at USF (November 3.) before the Huskies return home against Pittsburgh on Fri., November 9 for an 8:00 p.m. game on ESPN2. The Panthers played in last year's BBVA Compass Bowl.

UConn plays at Louisville on November 24 as the Cardinals participated in the Belk Bowl last year. The regular season concludes on December 1 at Cincinnati with a game that will be televised by ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The Bearcats were the champions of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl last year.

2012 UConn Football Schedule

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men's basketball and women's basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

Since I can't find a transcript of the UConn Huskies women's basketball team's pregame presser before their Elite Eight matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats, I figured the next best thing is the video of it.

Here it is for you to enjoy:

If you would like to watch Kentucky's press conference, head over to NCAA.com.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men's basketball and women's basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

Earlier in the week, it was learned by the Associated Press that the UConn Huskies men's basketball team would learn whether or not it is eligible for the 2013 NCAA Touranment possibly in July. But according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com, the Huskies could learn their fate within the next 7-10 days.

Connecticut should learn whether it's eligible to play in the 2013 NCAA tournament within a week to 10 days, according to NCAA president Mark Emmert.

The deadline for the Huskies to submit their appeal to the NCAA's Committee on Academic Performance is Monday, according to Emmert.

But a UConn official told ESPN.com on Sunday the Huskies sent in the final appeal within the last two weeks, well ahead of the deadline.

As of right now, the Huskies are ineligible for the 2013 Tournament. They've had one appeal already denied and this would be their final appeal.

This could end up being huge for the Huskies in many ways.

We still don't know whether or not Jim Calhoun will return to coach the Huskies next season. Knowing the fate of the 2013 NCAA Touranment might help make his decision even easier.

Alex Oriakhi has already asked for his release from his scholarship but there's been no official word that has actually happened. Plus we are waiting to see if Andre Drummond and Jeremy Lamb will announce their decision(s) to leave UConn early and head to the NBA.

If UConn does in fact become eligible for the 2013 NCAA Tournament, it's not out of the realm of possibility that all three could return which might make the Huskies one of the favorites for next season.

Right now though, let's just hope the Huskies have their fate reversed and become eligible. Then we'll just have to wait and see where the cards fall for them.

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The Penn State Nittany Lions offense had been on fire for the entire 2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. Of course they hadn't played a stifling defense like the UConn Huskies possess.

After a fast start, the Huskies let the Nittany Lions into the game. But tough defense and 11-0 run gave the Huskies control of the game on their way to a 77-59 win at the Ryan Center in Kingston, RI on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the Huskies (32-4) move on to the Elite Eight where they'll face the Kentucky Wildcats. The Nittany Lions finish up the season at 26-7.

Bria Hartley led five Huskies in double figures with 20 points and she also had four assists. Kelly Faris chipped in with 15 points, seven rebounds and a team-high five assists while Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Tiffany Hayes and Stefanie Dolson rounded out the Huskies in double digits with 10 points each.

Mia Nickson paced Penn State with 19 points and pulled down five rebounds. Caroline Doty's best friend from home, Maggie Lucas, had a tough shooting night (4-16) but had with 15 points and three assists. Talia East led the Nittany Lions with 10 rebounds to go along with her six points.

Here are the highlights from the game:

UConn Huskies vs Penn State Nittany Lions 2012 Sweet 16 box score

UConn Huskies postgame press conference video

Penn State Nittany Lions postgame press conference video

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Photo credit: Cloe Poisson - Hartford Courant (No. 25 in gallery)