STORRS, Conn. – The second-ranked UConn women’s basketball team (0-0) begins the 2023-24 season against Dayton (0-0) in the XL Center Tuesday at 7 pm The game will air on SNY and the UConn Sports Network (97-9 ESPN ).
Wednesday is UConn’s Huskies & Heroes Military Appreciation Night. The first 250 students at the game will receive a camo fanny pack.
UConn’s season opener will be a homecoming for Dayton head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter. At UConn from 1998-2002, Williams-Jeter won two NCAA Championships, four BIG EAST regular season and four BIG EAST Tournament titles.
Junior Azzi Fudd scored 18 points as UConn beat Division II Southern Connecticut State, 97-38, in an exhibition last Saturday. Senior Aaliyah Edwards had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Graduate student Aubrey Griffin came off the bench to notch 14 points and seven rebounds. Redshirt junior Paige Bueckers played in her first game since April 2022. Bueckers had seven points, seven assists and four rebounds in 11 minutes.
The Huskies held a 42-2 advantage in paint points and had 28 points off turnovers vs. the Owls.
Head coach Geno Auriemma and associate head coach are in their 39Th seasons in Storrs. The duo has led UConn to unmatched heights as the Huskies have won 11 NCAA Championships. Assistant coaches Jamelle Elliott and Morgan Valley, both UConn alums and national champions, return to the bench.
Tonya Cardoza, who was an assistant at UConn from 1994-2008, returns to Storrs this season. Ben Kantor, a member of the UConn support staff since 2015, was elevated to assistant coach in the offseason.
The Huskies are ranked No. 2 in the preseason Associated Press poll. UConn has been ranked in the AP poll for 565 consecutive weeks, which is the longest active streak in the nation. The Huskies have also tied Tennessee for the most consecutive weeks ranked.
Freshmen KK Arnold, Kadence Samuels and Ashlynn Shade will make their official UConn debuts on Wednesday. Redshirt freshman Ice Bradywho missed last season due to an injury, will also finally make her UConn debut.
Bueckers, the 2021 National Player of the Year, returns to action Wednesday after missing the 2022-23 season.
Bueckers was named the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year and an AP Preseason All-American. She and Edwards were named to the Wade Trophy watch list and the Naismith Player of the Year watch list.
Edwards, senior Nika Mühl and junior Azzi Fudd were tabbed Preseason All-BIG EAST while Arnold was selected as the conference’s Preseason Freshman of the Year.
STREAMING
UConn’s SNY games will be available to stream in-market (CT, NY, NJ, PA) to authenticated subscribers via the SNY app.
Out-of-market fans will be able to stream UConn’s SNY games at no additional cost to authenticated subscribers who have FOX as part of their television package. Users will need to sign in with their TV provider credentials at https://www.foxsports.com/ or in the FOX Sports app. The games can also be accessed at www.fox.com/sports or in the FOX Now app.
