Her to-do list for Saturday probably looks something like this:

1 p.m.: Put on game face

1:30 p.m.: Senior Day! Talk about Lynne-Ann Kokoski's contributions!! Beat Southern Connecticut!

3:30 p.m.: Wish Max good luck in men's game.

4 p.m.: Go home and change.

5 p.m.: Drive to Hilton Hotel in Providence.

6 p.m.: Relax! Smile! Get inducted into PC Hall of Fame!

Not quite a typical Saturday for Mary Burke, women's basketball coach at Bryant University and one of 14 men and women who will be inducted into the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame.

"When I got the letter, I couldn't believe it," Burke said. "Then I checked the schedule. Am I home or away? We play a lot of away games in New England, but am I in Albany or Syracuse?" Seeing she would be home, she relaxed, but only a little. Her game starts 30 minutes before the PC-Louisville men's game, and when the other inductees are introduced at halftime, she will still be working.

"I won't be there for that, but there's a dinner at night, and I'll be OK for that," she said.

Burke has come a long way since her high school days as a basketball and volleyball star at Toll Gate in Warwick. Nearing the end of her 17th season as head coach of the Bulldogs, Burke will lead her young team against the defending NCAA Division II national champion SCSU Owls, led by Kate Lynch (Rumford/La Salle), Saturday afternoon at Bryant's Chace Athletic Center. Bryant (14-9, 9-9) and Southern Connecticut (14-8, 10-7) are jockeying for playoff position, so Burke will focus her attention on the activity in Smithfield, not Providence.

"It will be hard to fully enjoy the moment," she said of the Hall of Fame festivities. "We're pushing for the postseason, trying to do something down the stretch."

The necessary distraction doesn't diminish the magnitude of the recognition for Burke.

"I was honored, being from Rhode Island and knowing the type of history the Hall of Fame has, especially for men's and women's basketball. For people to think that I was worthy, I feel honored," she said.

Burke arrived at PC 25 years ago, a tall young woman who had worked hard at Toll Gate to earn the academic credentials she needed to complement her athletic ability. Proving all doubters wrong, she played 115 of 116 games during her career, scored 1,672 points, still fourth on the PC career list, and hauled down 740 rebounds, seventh in PC history.

As a senior in 1987 she was a District I All-America, first-team All-Big East and a Big East all-tournament team selection, the first female recipient of the ECAC Award of Valor and the Providence College and Rhode Island female athlete of the year. She helped the 1986 Friars to the NCAA Tournament and the 1987 team to the women's NIT in Amarillo, Texas.

Britt King, another key player on that 1986 team that finished 24-6, is also being inducted Saturday. She is PC's career rebound leader with 1,531 points.

Leaving PC with her degree, Burke joined Ralph Tomasso's staff at Bryant. Four years later, she succeeded him. Her record is 225-227, and her teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times. The 2004 team, 22-9, reached the Division II Northeast Regional final.

But Burke's career is about much more than wins and losses and NCAA appearances. She has guided scores of young women through the choppy waters of college and into the sea of life. She has given girls coming out of Rhode Island high schools a chance to play college ball. She gave Shannon Perry, the great La Salle and Syracuse alum, a second chance at hoops, convincing her to enroll in Bryant's MBA program and encouraging her during her last semester of collegiate eligibility.

And she has taught her players the meaning of commitment, never more so than during the four years she honored her scholarship commitment to Pamela Malcolm, the most dominating player she had ever recruited who was seriously injured in a car crash the summer before she was to enroll. Malcolm was a member of the Bryant team for four years but did not put on a uniform until Senior Night two years ago. In one of the most emotional moments in the history of Rhode Island sports and before a packed gym, Malcolm took the court with the rest of the starters, limped to one end of the floor, and, leaning on her crutch, made a layup on the first and only shot of her career. There wasn't a dry eye as cheers rocked the building.

That dedication, to basketball and to people, is why Burke deserves a place among the greats of Providence College sports.

"I'm most proud of how far I've come as a person," she said yesterday, allowing herself a moment to reflect. "When I walked in as a freshman, I was not self-assured and confident. When I walked away, I was a more well-rounded person, which enabled me to springboard to this wonderful opportunity at Bryant."

Joining her Saturday night will be Olympians Mark Carroll, Amy Rudolph and Cammi Granato; All-America runners Andy Keith and Tina Moloney, All-America field hockey player Cathy Guden and All-America soccer player Seamus Purcell; hockey star Ed Monahan; three-time Big East rebounding champion Michael Smith and coaches Alex Nahigian and John Marchetti.

Someone will no doubt describe the cheers of the big crowd at the Dunk Saturday afternoon. Burke will relate to what it was like trying to beat the defending national champ.

Fine year for Lynch

Kate Lynch and her Southern Connecticut teammates will wear pink uniforms tonight against Pace as part of the American Cancer Society's "Think Pink" campaign to promote awareness of breast cancer.

Lynch is having a great senior season for the Owls. She has started every game and leads the team in scoring (22.2) and minutes (33.7). The Rumford Redhead also leads in rebounding (6.9) and clocked shots (12). She has been SCSU's high scorer in all but three games. Last week she had 25 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and a blocked shot in a 72-57 victory over Merrimack and 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in a 62-59 loss at St. Michael's. She made the Northeast-10 honor roll.

"She's a tremendous player," Burke said. "She has a knee injury, but it hasn't slowed her down. She's a great player. Offensively she does a lot of things on the floor. She's a great leader. When she is on the floor, they are always in a position to win the game."

Lynch and Johannah Leedham of Franklin Pierce are battling for the NE-10 scoring lead. Lynch has the slightest edge, 22.2-22.1.

Bryant sophomore Kelsey O'Keefe also made the NE-10 honor roll. She averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in a loss to No. 23 Franklin Pierce and a double-overtime loss to AIC.

Assumption junior Bethany Plasski (Fall River/Durfee) also made the honor roll for her 19-point effort in a victory over Saint Rose.

Brown thinking pink

Brown (1-19) is struggling to win this season, but the Bears hope to "Think Pink" for Breast Cancer Awareness Week, accept the NCAA "Pack the House Challenge" and "Blitz the Pitz" Saturday night against Princeton. Pink will be the color of the night, and T-shirts will be sold for $10 at the door.

Game time is 7 p.m.