"It brings more media coverage to the sport, ups the ante a little bit," said Stanford center Jayne Appel. "I'm in full support."

Appel doesn't mind returning to UConn, where she had an unfortunate recruiting experience while visiting during her senior year in high school for a game against Tennessee. Outside the arena before the game, Appel's father fell on an icy patch, had to be taken to a hospital and needed an operation requiring screws to be inserted.

"We showed that we have good doctors," Auriemma said.

Appel, from the San Francisco Bay area, said playing in front of family and friends made Stanford a natural choice: "Stanford was the perfect fit," she said.

WNIT:

South Florida beat host Kansas 75-71 Saturday in front of a Big 12 women's basketball record crowd of 16,113. "I told our kids to just embrace the atmosphere," USF coach Jose Fernandez said. "I (said) 'Everything is handled between 94 feet. The crowd can't score. The crowd's not going to defend you.' "

Pat buys Geno's tie:

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt outbid others to purchase one of Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma's ties for $1,000 at a Friday auction to benefit the Kay Yow cancer research fund.

"She's going home and put voodoo pins in it," joked Auriemma, playing on their testy relationship.

During the bidding, host Debbie Antonelli showed pictures she had had taken of prominent players and coaches with the tie. When a shot of Summitt holding the tie while Tennessee assistant Holly Warlick swung at it with a baseball bat was shown, Auriemma commented from the stage: "That's probably the only thing they hit all year."

Prep star:

Brittney Griner, the consensus prep player of the year and Baylor recruit, led the Blue team to a 79-77 victory vs. the White in Saturday's High School All-American game in St. Louis. The 6-8 center from Houston had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight blocks.

After she graduates from Nimitz High, she plans to attend summer school at Baylor. Asked if she'd consider trying out for the U.S. 19-and-under basketball team, she said she'd have to consult with her parents and Baylor coaches. The team would be playing during part of the Baylor summer terms.

Griner said she's interested in starting classes and a conditioning program: "I feel we can go all the way (next season). With the girls coming in and Danielle (Wilson) coming back from her (knee) injury, we're going to be stacked."

Griner did not get a chance to dunk in the game but she did dunk in warmups and at halftime.