Daily dribble

Hey, coaches, have a little extra time on your hands during this exam week? How about making a recruiting trip to New Jersey to check out the world's tallest teenage girl? OK, so she's extremely raw. But you can always teach the fundamentals. You can't teach 6-foot-10.

Meanwhile, back on the Virginia college scene....

Tuesday's action

Liberty (6-1) at Auburn (6-3), 7 p.m.
Auburn won by 11 when these teams met in Lynchburg last season, but that means little as the Lady Flames graduated seven seniors off that team while Auburn bid adieu to four members of its starting five. What does figure to be relevant is Auburn's homecourt advantage, especially against a Liberty team that hasn't played in 10 days and won't play again until Dec. 28. The Lady Flames also must come up with an answer for Auburn's 6-7 center KeKe (Aircraft) Carrier, who is averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds over her last three games. They don't grow 'em like that in the Big South. The Big West or the Big East, either. That said, no one has really been able to solve the Liberty defense so far. We're betting Auburn won't be the first. Liberty 59, Auburn 58.

Norfolk State (1-5) at Savannah State (7-3), 7 p.m.
Both teams struggle to put the ball in the basket; the difference is Savannah State is - statistically at least - the nation's best at preventing opponents from doing so (43.6 points allowed, 30.5 FG percentage allowed). But never mind who's going to win. The big question is which number will be greater: points on the board or fans in the stands? Don't laugh - on Sunday 88 people showed up at Tiger Arena to see Savannah State and Alabama State combine for 81 points. Savannah State 45, Norfolk State 43

VCU (4-2) at Winthrop (4-4), 7 p.m.
Talk about stepping up - D'Andra Moss' 20.3 points-per-game average - 21st in the nation - is more than double her figure in any of her previous three seasons. Winthrop is led by senior Shanice Cole (a team-high 10.3 ppg), a Richmond native and former Highland Springs High star, and coach Bud Childers, who led JMU to the 2001 WNIT semifinals but resigned mid-season in 2003 after a players revolt. VCU 70, Winthrop 61

Campbell (4-2) at Longwood (2-8), 7 p.m.
Sure, the overall record is dismal. But the Lancers can actually move a game over .500 at home with a victory tonight. It's that 0-6 mark away from Farmville that's weighing them down - and things won't get any easier as 11 of their final 16 games will also be on the road. Just one more reason why it's so tough to be a Division I independent. Longwood 58, Campbell 55

We're also keeping an eye on:

#7 Duke (7-1) at #2 Stanford (7-0), 10 p.m.
The transformation of Jasmine Thomas from good player to go-to player bodes well for the Blue Devils, as does their athleticism and ability to disrupt most teams on the perimeter. Stanford's overwhelming low-post game should still carry the day, though, and we wouldn't be surprised if they do it by 20 or more points. Stanford 79, Duke 62