1. Christina Quaye will win the match-up against Tina Charles.

Connecticut's freshman wunderkind certainly receives more hype than Quaye. But however quiet and understated as Quaye may be, the senior forward has been a consistently prolific contributor on both ends of the floor for the Golden Eagles for four years. Quaye's experience in navigating through the paint will give her the edge.

2. Krystal Ellis will draw lots of attention.

Ellis leads the team in points, assists, steals and media interview requests, and that all will work to Marquette's advantage against the Huskies for a different reason than you might think. With the Connecticut defense zeroed-in on Ellis — and Quaye to a similar extent — the other Golden Eagles on the court likely will get some better looks. Danielle Kamm is the team's best shooter, Efueko Osagie-Landry has played much better of late and Jasmine McCullough has an underrated midrange jump shot. "Yeah, I feel the weight (of expectations), but it doesn't bother me, because I like it," Ellis said before the season. "I know even if I don't have the 20-point games like I was having at the end of the (2005-'06) season, I know someone on my team will."

3. Marquette has good frontcourt players … lots of them.

This is not to pretend that the Huskies do not have a solid frontcourt, as well. Connecticut's Tina Charles pulls down 8.1 rebounds per game. Teammate Charde Houston leads the league in field-goal percentage (59.1 percent). But the Golden Eagles can march out a frontcourt that runs six deep. Off the bench, head coach Terri Mitchell can send in defensive stalwarts Svetlana Kovalenko and Kelly Lam, as well as Marissa Thrower, who has shown flashes of being a dominant rebounder. Individually, Marquette's frontcourt players may not match those of Connecticut, but the collective strength of the Golden Eagles' unit will serve as an advantage.

4. A sold-out crowd will energize the Golden Eagles.

This may be hard to believe, but the Al McGuire Center likely will not rattle the Huskies. Connecticut has played in much more hostile environments many times before. They are used to it, and by now, they are immune to it. The advantage will come in that a packed house will invigorate the Marquette players. The Al never has sold out for a women's game before, and it is likely that the Golden Eagles have never played in front of as many Marquette fans as they will Saturday night. The atmosphere likely will provide a morale boost.

5. The underdog mantra is a powerful, powerful thing.

Just ask the Marquette women's soccer team, or the men's basketball team, for that matter. In fall of 2005, the women's soccer team hosted a highly-touted Notre Dame squad and prevailed 4-1. This past November, the men's basketball team knocked off nationally-renowned Duke in the championship game of the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo. Apparently, if you tell a Marquette team it can't possibly win a game against a seemingly superior opponent, it will proceed to do just that.