2024–25 UConn Huskies women's basketball team facts for kids

Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, where the Huskies played home games

The 2024–25 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The team had a record of 37–3 and won their 12th NCAA championship. The Huskies were led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 40th season at UConn, and 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.

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.

An early season win against Fairleigh Dickinson was Auriemma's 2017th career victory, making him the winningest head coach in NCAA history. The Huskies won early non-conference victories against Ole Miss, North Carolina, Louisville, and Iowa State, while losing against ranked USC, Notre Dame, and Tennessee. In a much anticipated February game of ranked opponents, UConn shocked home team and returning national champion South Carolina, 87–58. The Huskies continued to dominate Big East conference play, going undefeated for the second consecutive season. In the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, UConn found themselves seeded second in their regional, but won their way to the national title match, defeating opponents by an average of 34 points per game. In the tournament finals, a rematch against South Carolina, the Huskies won their 12th national championship, defeating the Gamecocks 82–59.

Previous season

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

Departures

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 junior Inês Bettencourt.

Incoming transfers

The Huskies added Kaitlyn Chen, a graduate student who transferred from Princeton University. While at Princeton under head coach Carla Berube, Chen was the 2023–24 Ivy League Player of the Year and was two-time All-Ivy First Team.

Recruiting

Recruiting class of 2024

On December 3, 2022, UConn received a verbal commitment from five-star guard Allie Ziebell. 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. On April 6, 2024, the #1 player in the class of 2024, five-star forward Sarah Strong, also committed to UConn.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

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
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 98
Allie Ziebell G	Neenah, WI	Neenah High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	N/A
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 98
Morgan Cheli G	San Jose, CA	Archbishop Mitty High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 97
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:

Recruiting class of 2025

US college sports recruiting information for 2025 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kelis Fisher PG	Baltimore, MD	IMG Academy	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	N/A
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 96
Gandy Malou-Mamel C	Limerick, Ireland	Gill St. Bernard's School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	N/A
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 92
Blanca Quinonez F	Milagro, Ecuador		6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	N/A
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   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

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. Tonya Cardoza, another former Huskies assistant, returned to UConn in 2023 after serving as Temple's head coach for 15 years. In 2023, UConn announced Ben Kantor was promoted to assistant coach from his previous staff position serving as the team's video coordinator since 2015. The November 20 home victory against Fairleigh Dickinson was Auriemma's 2017th, making him the winningest head coach in NCAA history.

Season summary

UConn entered the season ranked #2 in the AP and Coaches polls, returning two-time All-American Paige Bueckers and several other 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, and also picked up Princeton graduate Kaitlyn Chen from the transfer portal.

An early season win against Fairleigh Dickinson was Geno Auriemma's 2017th career victory, making him the winningest head coach in NCAA history. UConn's main starting lineup was set when guard Azzi Fudd returned from a year-long injury hiatus, joining guards Bueckers and Chen, forward Strong, and center Jana El-Alfy. Guards Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold and forward Ice Brady were the primary contributors off the bench.

The Huskies started the season well, winning non-conference games against three ranked opponents: North Carolina, Ole Miss, and Louisville. However, in December, they lost non-conference games to ranked Notre Dame and USC.

UConn then commenced their Big East conference schedule. They had an 11-game winning streak from late December to early February until they lost to ranked non-conference opponent Tennessee. Ten days later, UConn defeated the #4 team in the country, defending national champion South Carolina, 87–58.

UConn finished its regular season with a record of 28–3. They won the Big East regular season title, going undefeated for the second consecutive season, including wins over ranked Creighton. The Huskies then won the Big East tournament. Bueckers and Strong were both named to All-American teams. The media started referring to Bueckers, Strong, and Fudd as UConn's "big three" that was expected to lead the team to a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Going into the tournament, UConn was ranked #3 in both polls but was seeded second in its regional. They defeated Arkansas State and South Dakota State to advance to their 31st consecutive Sweet Sixteen. UConn then defeated Oklahoma and won a rematch with USC to advance to the Final Four. Bueckers, who had already declared for the 2025 WNBA draft, scored over 30 points in three straight games, including a career-high 40 against Oklahoma. UConn won its Final Four game against UCLA by 34 points. The title game was a rematch against South Carolina, and the Huskies defeated the Gamecocks to win their 12th national championship. Fudd was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

UConn had a 37–3 record, ending with a 16-game winning streak. All 37 of their victories were by double digit margins. Strong led the team in rebounds during the season. Bueckers led the team in points and assists, and she finished her UConn career with the third-most points in program history.

Roster

2024–25 UConn Huskies women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 2 Arnold, KKKK Arnold 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Germantown Germantown, WI G 5 Bueckers, PaigePaige Bueckers 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Sr Hopkins Hopkins, MN C 8 El-Alfy, JanaJana El-Alfy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) RS Fr Al Ahly SC Cairo, Egypt G 10 Samuels, QadenceQadence Samuels 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Bishop McNamara Forestville, MD G 11 Ziebell, AllieAllie Ziebell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Neenah Neenah, WI G 12 Shade, AshlynnAshlynn Shade 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So La Lumiere Noblesville, IN G 20 Chen, KaitlynKaitlyn Chen 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) GS Princeton San Marino, CA F 21 Strong, SarahSarah Strong 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Grace Christian Fuquay-Varina, NC G 23 Cheli, MorganMorgan Cheli  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Archbishop Mitty San Jose, CA F 25 Brady, IceIce Brady 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) RS So Cathedral Catholic San Diego, CA G 33 Ducharme, CarolineCaroline Ducharme 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS Jr Noble & Greenough Milton, MA F 34 Patterson, AyannaAyanna Patterson  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS So Homestead Fort Wayne, IN G 35 Fudd, AzziAzzi Fudd 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS Jr St. John's College HS Arlington, VA F 44 Griffin, AubreyAubrey Griffin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS Sr Ossining Ossining, NY	Head coach Geno Auriemma (West Chester) Assistant coach(es) Chris Dailey (Rutgers) Jamelle Elliott (Connecticut) Morgan Valley (Connecticut) Tonya Cardoza (Virginia) Ben Kantor (Illinois) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 20, 2025

Schedule and results

Rankings

Player statistics

Awards and honors

• Paige Bueckers
  • Wade Trophy
  • Nancy Lieberman Award
  • Associated Press first-team All-American
  • United States Basketball Writers Association first-team All-American
  • Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American
  • Big East Player of the Year
  • First-team All-Big East
  • Big East tournament Most Outstanding Player
• Sarah Strong
  • Associated Press second-team All-American
  • United States Basketball Writers Association third-team All-American
  • Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American
  • WBCA Freshman of the Year
  • First-team All-Big East
  • Big East Freshman of the Year
  • Big East All-Freshman Team
• Azzi Fudd
  • NCAA Division I tournament Most Outstanding Player
  • First-team All-Big East
• Ashlynn Shade
  • Big East Sixth Woman of the Year
• Geno Auriemma
  • Big East Co-Coach of the Year

See also

• 2024–25 UConn Huskies men's basketball team