Storrs - Perhaps as they are standing on the same Gampel Pavilion floor that has been the scene of some of their most memorable moments, UConn seniors Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Kiah Stokes will recall images of those nervous early meetings that must seem like ages ago.

Before either Mosqueda-Lewis, a sweet-shooting Californian, or Stokes, a shot-blocking dynamo from Iowa, decided to join Geno Auriemma's national powerhouse, they were just a pair of talented youngsters looking to open eyes at USA Basketball junior national tryouts.

"I didn't know too many people there, but I heard great things about her," Stokes said. "I didn't know we were going to be teammates one day but she was very friendly, nice and we kind of hung out."

It wasn't until they played in the McDonald's and WBCA All-American games months after they signed their national letters of intent that a strong bond began to form.

"That was the first time we spent a lot of time together," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "Me, her and (Stanford's) Taylor Greenfield were attached through the whole McDonald's All-American, WBCA (experience). It was really cool and once we got here for summer school we were close."

Now they get to share in the always-emotional Senior Day festivities together. Before UConn hosts Memphis today (2 p.m., CBS Sports Network), they will walk onto the court accompanied by their parents to greet Auriemma before their final regular-season game at Gampel.

There's going to be plenty going on for both players. Mosqueda-Lewis, by virtue of earning first-team All-America honors as a sophomore, will be inducted into the Huskies of Honor. She also needs just four points to become the eighth UConn player to score 2,000. Two years ago, she reached the 1,000-point plateau during the Senior Day game.

Stokes needs one more block to become the fourth player in program history with 300 in her career. With two blocks she will move into second place on the single-season list. Oh, and there's the other thing where the Huskies can clinch the AAC regular-season title with a victory.

It figures to be a day the duo won't soon forget on so many levels. It is extra special that they get to go it side by side.

"Kiah probably knows me the best out of everyone and vice versa," said Mosqueda-Lewis, UConn's all-time leader with 362 career 3-pointers. "Both of us have sarcastic personalities. It is hard for us to open up a lot, but we have with each other over the last four years. Just being able to share this experience with somebody you trust and somebody who knows you is special. It has been a great four years together."

Their careers have taken different trajectories.

Mosqueda-Lewis scored 25 points in her second career game and followed it up with 25 more in her third. Stokes averaged just 12 minutes a game in her first two seasons. Under some major prodding from Auriemma, associate head coach Chris Dailey and the rest of the staff, she has become one of the best defensive post players to ever play at UConn.

Nobody has helped Stokes deal with the ups and downs more than her classmate.

"She is always in my corner," said Stokes, who blocked a program-record 10 shots in a game against East Carolina last month. "She is going to tell it to me straight that you are not doing this right or you need to do this. She is really honest and I know she wants what is best for me. I will do the same thing, if I see her not taking a shot or not trying to get open I am going to say, K, get open and get your shot. I think that is how we have become so close because we know how to help us on and off the court.

"When she got the record for 3s I was like, when you make a 3, I make a 3, so I had the record, too. She said, when you block a shot, I block a shot, so I have that record, too."