Huskies Begin 20-Game Conference Schedule Sunday in Cincinnati; Auriemma Emphasizes Consistency, Decision-Making as Team Navigates Early Season Development
STORRS, CT – The top-ranked UConn women’s basketball team (6-0) opens Big East Conference play Sunday at Xavier (3-2) with head coach Geno Auriemma emphasizing execution, defensive consistency, and leadership development as his team navigates the earliest conference start in program history.
The Huskies tip off at 2:30 p.m. at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, beginning a 20-game conference schedule that marks a significant shift for the Big East. The game will air on FS1 and the UConn Sports Network from Learfield (FOX Sports 97.9).
“It’s obviously much earlier than we’ve ever started, I think,” Auriemma said Thursday. “That’s kind of different.”
Big East Expansion and Early Start
The Big East’s move to a 20-game conference schedule—adding two games and eliminating two non-conference matchups—has drawn mixed reactions from Auriemma, who acknowledged both the benefits and drawbacks of the expanded format.
“I can see both sides of it,” Auriemma said, I can understand why everybody wants to play a balanced schedule, so one team doesn’t have a much more difficult schedule than the other. I can see that.”
However, Auriemma noted the cost to UConn’s non-conference flexibility.
“For us, it’s not optimum,” he said. “We lose out on two non-conference games that could be really beneficial for us. But we’re part of the Big East, and so we do what we can to help the conference.”
Auriemma suggested the league may need to reassess the format after this season.
“I think after this year, we may have to rethink it down the road, see how this works,” he said. “But everybody has the same schedule. Everybody plays everybody twice. We’ll see whether or not that has any effect on whether it enhances people’s chances of getting in the tournament.”
Conference Landscape Shifts
The Big East looks markedly different this season, with Creighton losing its entire Final Eight core over the past two years and other programs retooling through the transfer portal.
“The league is quite different,” Auriemma said. “Creighton’s pretty much—over last year and this year—their whole Final Eight team is gone, so they’re going to look completely different.”
Still, Auriemma expressed optimism about the conference’s depth, pointing to promising young talent at Villanova and Seton Hall, as well as St. John’s early-season win over Oklahoma State.
“We were able to keep two of our best, most promising young players, both at Villanova and Seton Hall—two terrific guards,” Auriemma said. “It could very easily have happened that players could leave after one year and go somewhere. So I think it’s great that those kids stayed.”
Marquette, which returns its entire core from last season, could join UConn as an NCAA Tournament team, Auriemma said. He added that Seton Hall, Villanova, and St. John’s are also in the mix.
“The challenge for us is to try to get three or four teams in the NCAA tournament,” Auriemma said. “I thought last year we were so close. It was Marquette and us.”
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UConn’s Week of Self-Improvement
Coming off a dominant 93-41 win over Utah in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on Nov. 23, UConn has used the extended break to focus on internal development rather than opponent-specific preparation.
“We’ve tried to get a little bit better at some of the things that we felt last weekend were there,” Auriemma said. “Obviously, from a technical standpoint, how can we better get our message across, be better prepared for some things that happened?”
Auriemma emphasized the need for his team to maintain focus when holding large leads and to sharpen defensive execution late in games.
“Not relax when you get a big lead,” he said. “Some things that I thought we didn’t execute really, really well defensively late in the game. Tried to get better offensively at recognizing things a little bit quicker, making better decisions.”
The Huskies practiced Tuesday and Wednesday, took Thanksgiving off, and will practice Friday and Saturday before Sunday’s opener.
“Up until now, it’s been more concentrated on us,” Auriemma said. “We came back, we had off Monday, we practiced Tuesday and Wednesday, we were off yesterday, and we go today and tomorrow. And then we play Sunday and Tuesday.”
Leadership Development: KK Arnold’s Growth
Sophomore guard KK Arnold has taken on an expanded leadership role this season, running the offense alongside senior Ashlynn Shade in the absence of graduated point guard Nika Mühl.
Auriemma praised Arnold’s progress in decision-making, comfort, and control.
“This is the first year where she is being thrown out there with another guard that’s used to running teams,” Auriemma said. “It’s an ongoing process because that’s a pretty heavy task. And I think she’s doing great at it. I think she’s gotten more comfortable with it. She feels more in control of the things that she can control.”
Arnold’s assist-to-turnover ratio ranks among the nation’s best, a sign of her improved decision-making.
“I think that’s a great sign for her decision-making,” Auriemma said. “And her offense, I think she’s more comfortable offensively in pretty much every area.”
Auriemma recalled a complete performance Arnold delivered last season at Marquette and said the goal is to replicate that consistency.
“We’re trying to get her into that mindset, into that mode on a regular basis,” he said. “And that’s the goal right now.”
Jana El Alfy’s Consistency Challenge
Sophomore forward Jana El Alfy has shown flashes of brilliance but remains a work in progress as she continues her development in just her second year of competitive play.
“The thing that’s missing is this consistent approach,” Auriemma said. “Making the easy things look easy. I think her ball handling has gotten better. I think some of her decisions are better. I think she’s doing a great job on the offensive rebounding end. She’s getting us a lot of extra possessions. I think her fouls are down for the most part.”
Auriemma emphasized the need for El Alfy to maintain defensive effectiveness against both traditional and non-traditional big lineups.
“Can we play defense against teams that don’t have a traditional big guy? And then the teams that do have a traditional big guy, can we be effective in the post? Can we score in there? And can we do a good job of defending in there?” he said.
Auriemma noted that El Alfy’s limited game experience—just six games last season and six this year—means she’s still in the early stages of her development.
“It’s still only her second year of actually playing,” he said. “So it’s still early. But it’s better. It’s better.”
Ice Brady Injury Update
Freshman forward Ice Brady will miss both Sunday’s game at Xavier and Tuesday’s matchup at South Florida as she continues to recover from an undisclosed injury.
“ICE won’t be available on Sunday, and she won’t be available on Tuesday either,” Auriemma said. “Right now, we’re trying to figure out exactly what the next step is. As these two games go by, we’ll see how she feels, and we’ll see what the next step is.”
Paige Bueckers’ National Team Opportunity
Senior guard Paige Bueckers will attend her first senior national team training camp in the coming weeks, positioning herself for potential selection to the 2026 World Championships or 2028 Olympics rosters.
Auriemma said Bueckers’ WNBA experience with the Dallas Wings has prepared her for the national team level.
“The year in the league has helped her to understand that I can handle myself in this level of competition and I can be what my team needs me to be,” Auriemma said.
He added that Bueckers’ versatility and self-awareness make her an ideal national team candidate.
“Playing on a national team involves a lot of awareness—being self-aware, knowing who you are, what you are, and knowing that you might have a different role than you have on the team that you’re playing on regularly,” Auriemma said. “And I think all those things are things that she’s very familiar with.”
Auriemma noted that the point guard position on the national team has been in flux since Sue Bird’s retirement.
“There really hasn’t been a clear-cut ‘Here’s the successor, here’s the next person that can take over this team and be able to lead a lot of veteran players,'” he said. “So I think someone’s going to emerge. Whether that’s Paige or someone else, whether it’s now for the World Championships or for the Olympics, maybe she’s too young. I don’t know. Or maybe she’s ready. I don’t know. But I do know she has all the things that she needs.”
Xavier Scouting Report
Xavier (3-2) enters Sunday’s game coming off a 64-57 win over Akron on Monday. Senior guard Mariyah Noel leads the Musketeers with 18.0 points per game. Head coach Billi Chambers is in her third season at Xavier.
UConn is 9-0 all-time against Xavier and has dominated the series since rejoining the Big East in 2020, winning by an average margin of 41.75 points per game. This is UConn’s first trip to Cincinnati since Feb. 14, 2024, as the teams only faced off in Connecticut last season. Xavier will travel to Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 28, 2025.
UConn’s Recent Form
Graduate student Azzi Fudd led UConn to a 93-41 win over Utah on Nov. 23, scoring an efficient 24 points on 9-for-11 shooting (4-4 from three) and grabbing a career-high eight rebounds. Freshman Blanca Quiñonez set a season high with 21 points off the bench, while sophomore Sarah Strong added 15.
The Huskies scored 39 points off turnovers against Utah, and all 12 players who appeared in the game scored.
UConn was picked to win the Big East in the preseason Coaches’ Poll and won its regular-season conference games by an average margin of 34.1 points per game last season.
Looking Ahead: Return to Tampa
Following Sunday’s game at Xavier, the Huskies return to Tampa—where they won the 2025 National Championship—to face South Florida (4-3) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.
Auriemma noted that the Florida trip will include significant fundraising activities for UConn’s large fan base in the region.
“Obviously, a huge fan base for UConn sports and UConn women’s basketball is in South Florida,” Auriemma said. “So that’s a big part of why we would go down there and why we chose to start a series with South Florida.”
5 Key Takeaways
- Early Conference Start: UConn begins Big East play earlier than ever before as part of the league’s expanded 20-game conference schedule, which eliminates two non-conference games.
- Leadership Development: Sophomore guard KK Arnold is thriving in her expanded leadership role, with her assist-to-turnover ratio ranking among the nation’s best.
- Consistency Focus: Auriemma is emphasizing execution, decision-making, and defensive consistency during the extended break between games.
- Ice Brady Out: Freshman forward Ice Brady will miss both Sunday’s game at Xavier and Tuesday’s game at South Florida as she continues to recover from injury.
- Paige Bueckers’ National Team Opportunity: Senior guard Paige Bueckers will attend her first senior national team training camp, positioning herself for potential selection to the 2026 World Championships or 2028 Olympics rosters.
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