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2024–25 UConn Huskies women's basketball team

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2024–25 UConn Huskies women's basketball
Baha Mar Women's Championship champions
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
Record10–2 (1–0 Big East)
Head coach
Associate head coachChris Dailey (40th season)
Assistant coaches
Home arenaHarry A. Gampel Pavilion
XL Center
Seasons
← 2023–24
2025–26 →
2024–25 Big East women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 UConn 1 – 0   1.000 10 – 2   .833
Creighton 1 – 0   1.000 9 – 3   .750
Seton Hall 1 – 0   1.000 9 – 3   .750
Villanova 1 – 0   1.000 7 – 6   .538
DePaul 1 – 0   1.000 6 – 8   .429
Marquette 0 – 0   – 8 – 3   .727
St. John's 0 – 1   .000 10 – 2   .833
Butler 0 – 1   .000 10 – 4   .714
Georgetown 0 – 1   .000 6 – 5   .545
Providence 0 – 1   .000 7 – 7   .500
Xavier 0 – 1   .000 5 – 7   .417
† 2025 Big East tournament winner
As of December 22, 2024
Rankings from AP poll
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, where the Huskies played home games

The 2024–25 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represents the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2024-25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma is in his 40th season at UConn, and will split their home games between Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on their campus in Storrs, Connecticut, and the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. UConn is a member of the Big East Conference, which it rejoined in the 2020-21 season; it had been a member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 through 2013, and one of the original women's basketball teams in that conference in 1982.[a]

After losing two graduates to the WNBA, UConn entered this season ranked #2 in both major polls, returning two-time All American Paige Bueckers and a total of six players previously redshirted for injury, with some still unavailable at the season's start. The Huskies added a solid recruiting class including #1 ranked recruit Sarah Strong to the lineup, also picking up Princeton graduate Kaitlyn Chen from the transfer portal. UConn's non-conference schedule includes games against Ole Miss, North Carolina, Louisville, Tennessee, USC, Iowa State, Notre Dame and at returning national champion South Carolina on February 16, 2025.

Previous season

[edit]
Main article: 2023–24 UConn Huskies women's basketball team

UConn was ranked second in pre-season polls but lost three early non-conference games and several key players to injury by midseason. The Huskies went undefeated in Big East conference play and the post-season conference tournament, anchored by previous All-Americans Aaliyah Edwards and Paige Bueckers. Both players were selected to the 2023–24 All-Big East and All-American teams; point guard Nika Mühl was an All-Big East selection and completed the season as UConn's all-time career assist leader. The Huskies entered the NCAA tournament seeded third in their bracket, but emerged victorious with Bueckers awarded the most outstanding player. The Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Huskies in their Final Four contest, a match watched by a record 14.4 million ESPN college basketball viewers. UConn ended the season 33–6, ranked #3 in both polls. Both Edwards and Mühl were selected in the 2024 WNBA draft.

Offseason

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Departures

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The Huskies graduated senior starters Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Mühl from the 2023–24 roster, and both were drafted into the Women's National Basketball Association. Two undergraduates chose to enter the transfer portal after the NCAA tournament, senior Amari Deberry and sophomore Inês Bettencourt.

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure
Aaliyah Edwards 3 F 6'2" Graduated Kingston, Ontario Drafted by the WNBA's Washington Mystics
Nika Mühl 10 G 5'11" Graduated Zagreb, Croatia Drafted by the WNBA's Seattle Storm
Inês Bettencourt 21 G 5'9" Sophomore São Miguel, Portugal Transferred to Gonzaga
Amari Deberry 42 F 6'6" Senior Williamsville, New York Transferred to Maryland

Incoming transfers

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The Huskies added Kaitlyn Chen, a graduate student who transferred from Princeton University. While at Princeton, Chen was the 2023–24 Ivy League Player of the Year and was two-time All-Ivy First Team. She has one year of eligibility remaining.[1]

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous school
Kaitlyn Chen 20 G 5'9" Graduate student San Marino, California Princeton

Injuries

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Tour of Huskies' team facilities
video icon UCONN Women's Basketball Virtual Tour

Recruiting

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Recruiting class of 2024

[edit]

On December 3, 2022, UConn received a verbal commitment from five-star guard Allie Ziebell.[2] Fellow five-star guard Morgan Cheli committed to UConn soon after. In November 2023, ESPN ranked the Huskies' 2024 class as the sixth-best in the country.[3] On April 6, 2024, the #1 player in the class of 2024, five-star forward Sarah Strong, also committed to UConn.[4]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Sarah Strong
F 		Fuquay-Varina, NC Grace Christian School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 98
Allie Ziebell
G 		Neenah, WI Neenah High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 98
Morgan Cheli
G 		San Jose, CA Archbishop Mitty High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings:   ESPN: 6
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2024 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.

Recruiting class of 2025

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College recruiting information (2025)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kelis Fisher
PG 		Baltimore, MD IMG Academy 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 96
Gandy Malou-Mamel
C 		Limerick, Ireland Gill St. Bernard's School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Recruiting class of 2026

[edit]
College recruiting information (2026)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date

N/A N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Coaching

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Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma and Hall of Fame associate head coach Chris Dailey returned for their 40th season. Assistant coach Jamelle Elliott was a UConn assistant coach from 1998 to 2009 and returned after a nine-year head coaching stint at Cincinnati. Assistant coach Morgan Valley was the head coach of the Hartford Hawks when hired by the Huskies. Elliott and Valley are both former UConn players.[5][6] Tonya Cardoza, another former Huskies assistant, returned to UConn in June after serving as Temple's head coach for 15 years.[7] In June 2023, UConn announced Ben Kantor was promoted to assistant coach from his previous staff position serving as the team's video coordinator since 2015.[7] Auriemma came into the 2024–25 UConn Huskies with 1,206 victories as head coach. The November 20 home victory against Fairleigh Dickinson was his 2017th, making Geno Auriemma the winningest head coach in NCAA history.[8]

Roster

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2024–25 UConn Huskies women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 2 KK Arnold 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Germantown Germantown, WI
G 5 Paige Bueckers 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS Sr Hopkins Hopkins, MN
C 8 Jana El-Alfy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) RS Fr Al Ahly SC Cairo, Egypt
G 10 Qadence Samuels 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Bishop McNamara Forestville, MD
G 11 Allie Ziebell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Neenah Neenah, Wisconsin
G 12 Ashlynn Shade 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So La Lumiere Noblesville, IN
G 20 Kaitlyn Chen 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) GS Princeton San Marino, California
F 21 Sarah Strong 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Grace Christian Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina
G 23 Morgan Cheli 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Archbishop Mitty San Jose, California
F 25 Ice Brady 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) RS So Cathedral Catholic San Diego, CA
G 33 Caroline Ducharme 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS Jr Noble & Greenough Milton, MA
F 34 Ayanna Patterson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS So Homestead Fort Wayne, IN
G 35 Azzi Fudd 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS Jr St. John's College HS Arlington, VA
F 44 Aubrey Griffin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Ossining Ossining, NY
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: April 28, 2024

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 3, 2024*
12:00 p.m., WWAX 		No. 2 Fort Hays State W 89–49 
 27 – Bueckers   9 – Tied   5 – Chen  Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,299)
Storrs, CT
Regular season
November 7, 2024*
7:00 p.m., SNY 		No. 2 Boston University W 86–32  1–0
  17 – Tied   11 – El Alfy   7 – Bueckers  XL Center (13,355)
Hartford, CT
November 10, 2024*
4:30 p.m., SNY 		No. 2 South Florida W 86–49  2–0
  22 – Bueckers   7 – Tied   7 – Chen  Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,299)
Storrs, CT
November 15, 2024*
6:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 2 vs. No. 14 North Carolina W 69–58  3–0
  29 – Bueckers   13 – Strong   6 – Strong  Greensboro Coliseum (10,467)
Greensboro, NC
November 20, 2024*
7:00 p.m., SNY 		No. 2 Fairleigh Dickinson W 85–41  4–0
  20 – Strong   9 – Bueckers   6 – Strong  Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,299)
Storrs, CT
November 25, 2024*
7:30 p.m., FloHoops 		No. 2 vs. Oregon State
Baha Mar Women's Championship semifinals 		W 71–52  5–0
  23 – Bueckers   8 – Strong   6 – Bueckers  Baha Mar Convention Center (567)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 27, 2024*
7:30 p.m., FloHoops 		No. 2 vs. No. 18 Ole Miss
Baha Mar Women's Championship finals 		W 73–60  6–0
  29 – Bueckers   9 – El Alfy   4 – Tied  Baha Mar Convention Center (1,507)
Nassau, Bahamas
December 3, 2024*
7:00 p.m., SNY 		No. 2 Holy Cross W 88–52  7–0
  22 – Strong   7 – Tied   7 – Chen  Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,299)
Storrs, CT
December 7, 2024*
9:00 p.m., FOX 		No. 2 vs. No. 22 Louisville
Women's Champions Classic 		W 85–52  8–0
  21 – Strong   10 – Bueckers   6 – Bueckers  Barclays Center (9,114)
Brooklyn, NY
December 12, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 2 at No. 8 Notre Dame
Rivalry 		L 68–79  8–1
  25 – Bueckers   7 – Strong   2 – Tied  Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
South Bend, IN
December 15, 2024
1:30 p.m., SNY 		No. 2 Georgetown W 79–44  9–1
(1–0) 		 24 – Bueckers   14 – Strong   5 – Strong  XL Center (15,684)
Hartford, CT
December 17, 2024*
8:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 4 vs. Iowa State
Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase 		W 101–68  10–1
  29 – Strong   9 – Tied   8 – Chen  Mohegan Sun Arena (6,812)
Uncasville, CT
December 21, 2024*
8:00 p.m., FOX 		No. 4 No. 7 USC L 70–72  10–2
  22 – Tied   13 – Strong   5 – Strong  XL Center (15,584)
Hartford, CT
December 29, 2024
1:30 p.m., SNY 		No. 7 Providence       XL Center 
Hartford, CT
January 1, 2025
2:00 p.m., SNY 		at Marquette       Al McGuire Center 
Milwaukee, WI
January 5, 2025
1:30 p.m., SNY 		at Villanova       Finneran Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
January 8, 2025
7:30 p.m., SNY 		Xavier       XL Center 
Harford, CT
January 11, 2025
4:00 p.m., SNY 		at Georgetown       McDonough Arena 
Washington, D.C.
January 15, 2025
7:00 p.m., SNY 		at St. John's       Carnesecca Arena 
Queens, NY
January 19, 2025
1:00 p.m., SNY 		Seton Hall       Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
Storrs, CT
January 22, 2025
7:00 p.m., SNY 		Villanova       Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
Storrs, CT
January 25, 2025
5:30 p.m., FOX 		at Creighton       D. J. Sokol Arena 
Omaha, NE
January 29, 2025
7:00 p.m., SNY 		at DePaul       Wintrust Arena 
Chicago, IL
February 2, 2025
1:00 p.m., SNY 		Butler       XL Center 
Hartford, CT
February 6, 2025*
6:30 p.m., ESPN 		at Tennessee
Rivalry 		      Thompson-Boling Arena 
Knoxville, TN
February 9, 2025
12:00 p.m., CBSSN 		at Providence       Alumni Hall 
Providence, RI
February 12, 2025
7:30 p.m., SNY 		St. John's       Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
Storrs, CT
February 16, 2025*
1:00 p.m., ABC 		at South Carolina       Colonial Life Arena 
Columbia, SC
February 19, 2025
7:00 p.m., SNY 		at Seton Hall       Walsh Gymnasium 
South Orange, NJ
February 22, 2025
4:30 p.m., SNY 		at Butler       Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
February 27, 2025
7:00 p.m., CBSSN 		Creighton       XL Center 
Hartford, CT
March 2, 2025
2:30 p.m., FOX 		Marquette       Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
Storrs, CT
Big East tournament
March 7 - 10, 2025
TBA 		vs. 
Big East Tournament 		      Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[9]

Rankings

[edit]
Main article: 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP2 (2)222 (9)2 (7)2 (8)47
Coaches2 (3)2 (1)2 (1)1 (13)2 (14)2 (8)57

Player statistics

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Player Games Played Minutes Field Goals Three Pointers Free Throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points
BueckersPaige Bueckers 12 365 99 25 26 54 46 4 24 249
StrongSarah Strong 12 353 87 24 13 104 45 17 28 212
ShadeAshlynn Shade 12 296 41 20 4 28 21 7 20 106
ChenKaitlyn Chen 12 295 31 9 9 23 49 0 13 80
ArnoldKK Arnold 12 253 23 1 3 27 32 8 15 50
BradyIce Brady 12 240 25 1 9 44 29 6 10 60
El-AlfyJana El-Alfy 12 188 31 0 6 66 9 5 6 68
CheliMorgan Cheli 11 143 14 8 1 21 11 5 1 37
FuddAzzi Fudd 6 105 19 7 5 15 10 3 4 50
ZiebellAllie Ziebell 9 88 10 7 2 8 5 0 2 29
SamuelsQadence Samuels 9 74 4 3 0 7 1 1 1 11
GriffinAubrey Griffin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DucharmeCaroline Ducharme 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PattersonAyanna Patterson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

[10]

Awards and honors

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See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ The settlement of the 2013 split of the Big East Conference resulted in the so-called "Catholic 7" purchasing the "Big East" name and reorganizing as a new conference. The original conference charter was retained by the Division I FBS football schools that now operate as the American Athletic Conference. As part of the settlement, the current Big East recognizes the competitive history of the original conference in all sports that it sponsors.

References

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  1. ^ Philippou, Alexa (28 April 2024). "Former Ivy Player of Year Chen joining UConn". ESPN.com. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  2. ^ Arguello, Ricardo (December 3, 2022). "Neenah girls basketball standout Allie Ziebell commits to UConn". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  3. ^ Laflin, Shane. "2024 women's college basketball recruiting rankings: Updated top 25 classes". espn.com. November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  4. ^ "Top 2024 recruit Sarah Strong commits to UConn". espn.com. April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Bonjour, Doug (2019-02-14). "UConn's Jamelle Elliott happy to be back home". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  6. ^ "Morgan Valley leaves Hartford to become UConn assistant". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  7. ^ a b Eaton-Robb, Pat (June 13, 2023). "Former Temple coach Tonya Cardoza returning to UConn, among two assistant hires". USA Today. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  8. ^ Voepel, Michael (21 November 2024). "The road to the record: Geno Auriemma's 12 biggest coaching wins at UConn". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  9. ^ "2024-2025 Women's Basketball Schedule". UConn Huskies. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  10. ^ "2024-25 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
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