The UConn women’s basketball team enters the 2024-25 season with sky-high expectations, as the favorite to win the Big East and the preseason No. 2 team in the country.
Superstar guard Paige Bueckers is back to use her fifth year of eligibility after she was a unanimous All-American and a finalist for Naismith Player of the Year in 2023-24. Bueckers, who missed the 2022-23 season with an ACL tear, capped her triumphant return last year by leading the Huskies on a miracle run with just six players in rotation during the NCAA Tournament. They reached the Final Four for the 23rd time in program history before falling to Iowa in the national semifinal.
UConn signed the No. 2 recruiting class in the country in 2024, and coach Geno Auriemma added his first transfer signee since 2022, former Princeton point guard Kaitlyn Chen. The Huskies officially tip off the season against Boston University at the XL Center in Hartford on Thursday (7 p.m., SNY).
From ranked opponents to records on watch, these numbers provide a snapshot of what’s ahead for this year’s Huskies:
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Players from last year’s team who were selected in the 2024 WNBA Draft: Aaliyah Edwards at No. 6 by the Washington Mystics, and Nika Muhl at No. 14 by the Seattle Storm.
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Former No. 1 recruits on the 2024-25 roster: Paige Bueckers from the Class of 2020, Azzi Fudd from the Class of 2021 and Sarah Strong from the Class of 2024.
Dom Amore: In Sarah Strong, Geno Auriemma envisions latest game-changer for UConn women
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Wins needed for Geno Auriemma to break the college basketball record for career victories set by recently-retired Stanford coach Tara Vanderveer last year. Auriemma enters this season with 1,213 career wins.
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Players returning from season-ending injuries suffered last year, though redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy (Achilles) is the only one expected to play in the season opener. Redshirt sophomore Ayanna Patterson was active to start preseason after undergoing knee surgery for patellar tendonitis, but she is out with a shoulder injury suffered in practice. Star guard Azzi Fudd and sixth-year senior Aubrey Griffin are both recovering from ACL tears with Fudd on pace to return in the near future and Griffin by January. Redshirt junior Caroline Ducharme is week-to-week with ongoing head and neck issues.
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UConn players earned preseason honors from the Big East. Paige Bueckers was the preseason Big East Player of the Year, and Sarah Strong was named Freshman of the Year. Fudd, KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade were all selected to the All-Big East team, and Kaitlyn Chen earned an honorable mention nod.
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AP Top 25 opponents on UConn’s schedule, headlined by a matchup with reigning national champion and preseason No. 1 South Carolina. The Huskies will also face No. 3 USC, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 8 Iowa State, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 17 Louisville and No. 21 Creighton. They could add an eighth with No. 20 Ole Miss in their bracket for the Baha Mar Women’s Championship tournament.
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Seasons since UConn won its last NCAA Championship in 2016. The 2024-25 Huskies hope to end the drought and bring home a long-awaited 12th national title back to Storrs.
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Games that Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd have played together in three seasons. The longtime friends came to UConn as back-to-back No. 1 recruits, but injuries have often kept one or both off the court. With Fudd set to return soon from an ACL and medial meniscus tear suffered last November, Bueckers’ final year could be the chance they’ve waited for.
Dom Amore: Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, have one last ride to fulfill destiny at UConn
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Games started by Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold as freshmen. The duo stepped into unexpected roles after injuries crippled the roster last year, and they now have more playing experience than the majority of the team as the only returning starters besides Bueckers.
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Years with Geno Auriemma and associate head coach Chris Dailey at the helm of the program. The Huskies are celebrating the anniversary throughout the season, most recently with ice cream flavors named in their honor at the UConn Dairy Bar.
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Shots blocked by Paige Bueckers in 2023-24, which set a career high and led the team. Bueckers played most of last season out of position as a forward and unlocked a new element of her defensive game.
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Points needed for Paige Bueckers to reach 2,000 in her UConn career. She would be the 12th player in program history to hit the milestone and the first Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson from 2016-19.
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Days Jana El Alfy will be enrolled at UConn before playing an official collegiate game. El Alfy came to campus early in the spring of 2023, then ruptured her Achilles tendon representing her home country Egypt at the FIBA U18 World Cup last June. The injury kept her sidelined for the entire 2023-24 season.
