Columbia, S.C. — Lest you endure another “UConn is bad for women’s basketball” harangues, consider that the top-ranked Huskies are responsible for history at Colonial Life Arena even before Monday night's game begins.

Reason: No. 2 South Carolina, undergoing a program renaissance under coach Dawn Staley, will play to the first sellout crowd in arena history tonight in the most anticipated women’s basketball regular season game of the season, facing UConn.

South Carolina’s ticket office announced the sellout of 18,000 fans last week, the largest crowd ever to watch an NCAA women’s basketball game in the state.

“I’m tremendously excited for our community, our university and our students that the game is sold out,” Staley said. “It’s an atmosphere that will create memories for our players, long-lasting memories. I’m hoping that there is magic in the building for us to play well and keep our home winning streak going.”

Game time is 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

South Carolina already leads the nation in home attendance (14,557) but hadn’t sold out a game until tonight.

There are many other storylines for this game, no less significant than the historical aspect. It is very likely the top three picks in the WNBA Draft will play on the same floor: UConn’s Breanna Stewart, UConn’s Mo Jefferson and South Carolina’s Tiffany Mitchell.

The Connecticut Sun hold the third and fourth picks in the draft, increasing the likelihood they’ll get at least one of them, barring any trades or other circumstances.

Mitchell, a shooting guard, is the second-leading scorer on the team, averaging 14.6 points per game. A’ja Wilson leads the team at 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, giving South Carolina a formidable post game with Alaina Coates, averaging a team-high 10 rebounds per game.

UConn’s post game will be augmented by the return of forward Morgan Tuck, who returned to score seven points in 17 minutes in Saturday’s win over East Carolina at Gampel Pavilion.

"It will be fun. That's why you come to UConn, to play in the big game on the road in front of 18,000 fans, not to mention those watching on television. It will be a good test for us,” Jefferson told reporters after Saturday’s win.