Courtesy of Dusty Sloan, Ashland Sports Information Director

ASHLAND, Ohio -- The top women's basketball teams in NCAA Division II and Division I will play each other prior to the start of their respective 2017-18 seasons.

Ashland University's women's basketball team will take on Connecticut on Sunday, Nov. 5, on the road in an exhibition game at a location and game time yet to be determined.

"When you're looking at scheduling, I was trying to schedule an exhibition game, and I had a really hard time getting a game, for a variety of reasons," said Ashland head coach Robyn Fralick. "I kept having people kind of jokingly say, 'Well, you should just ask UConn.' One of my old college teammates worked with one of the current UConn assistants, so that was the connection.

"They had somebody cancel, so it worked out really well that we inquired. We were really excited that we got it."

The Eagles won their second Division II national championship on Friday (March 24), defeating Virginia Union, 93-77, in Columbus. Over the last six seasons (2011-12 to 2016-17), Ashland has two national titles and a national runner-up finish, and the most wins (181) and best winning percentage (.887, 181-23) in D-II in that time frame.

UConn is 36-0 and will play Mississippi State on Friday (March 31) at 10 p.m. in a Final Four matchup. The Huskies have won 111 consecutive games, are two wins away from a fifth straight Division I national championship and over the last six seasons, they are the D-I pacesetter with 220 wins and a .957 (220-10) winning percentage.

"UConn is the best. They've set the standard, not just in women's basketball, but athletics in general," Fralick said. "The opportunity to play the best in an environment where women's basketball is really valued will be an unbelievable opportunity for our team."

Ashland and UConn are two of just three undefeated basketball teams, women or men, at all NCAA levels during the 2016-17 season, along with Division III Amherst women.

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