STORRS — As of Friday afternoon, UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma hadn’t even begun formulating a plan for distributing minutes during the team’s first exhibition game against Boston College at Mohegan Sun Arena at 2 p.m. on Monday.
The Huskies have more pieces to put together entering 2025-26 than they’ve had in years with five newcomers including two transfers and a full 15-player roster. Auriemma knows what he’s going to get from star guard Azzi Fudd and sophomore phenom Sarah Strong, but the rest of the team will have something to prove when they face their first real competition.
Advertisement
“For the first time for a lot of these kids, there’s enough players on our team that they have to work really, really hard,” Auriemma said after practice Friday. “They have to fight for for every minute of playing time that they’re going to get.”
Monday’s game comes early for the Huskies, who didn’t play their first exhibition last season until November. The matchups that matter are still a long way away, but here are three questions UConn can answer when it takes the court against the Eagles:
The frontcourt rotation?
Redshirt sophomore Jana El Alfy and redshirt junior Ice Brady split minutes at center for most of last season, but Auriemma consistently wanted more from the pair and went into the transfer portal to add former Wisconsin star Serah Williams to the frontcourt. El Alfy is questionable to play Monday with a lingering calf injury, so the exhibition game will offer a chance for Williams and Brady to assert their positions in the rotation.
Advertisement
Williams has elite upside after averaging 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks in her junior year at Wisconsin, though the 6-foot-4 forward is still working through growing pains in her adjustment to life as a Husky.
“I’m trying to give myself grace. Like, it’s okay to make a mistake, but just move forward from it,” Williams said. “I think I make progress day-by-day. I think it’s just hard being in a system for three years now coming to another system. I thought the transition would be a lot easier.”
Brady has always shown a high ceiling, and Auriemma described her as the team’s best ball-handling forward outside of Strong, but she struggled with inconsistency in her first two seasons. Brady has the benefit of experience, but in order to compete with Williams for minutes, the 6-3 forward needs to prove she can be reliable.
“She’s been here enough, she’s run our stuff enough, so there’s been a lot of really good moments for her (in practice),” Auriemma said. “She’s made a lot of progress. Ice’s big thing is always, can you sustain it? It’s a good sign that she’s made progress from last year, and now it’s all a matter of building on it every day.”
Advertisement
UConn women’s basketball star Sarah Strong heading to ‘whole other level’ in sophomore season
Are the freshmen ready?
UConn has had at least one freshman in its starting lineup for four of the last five seasons, but the depth of this year’s roster means Auriemma won’t have to throw his rookies off the deep end. The Huskies brought in the No. 6 2025 recruiting class in the country with No. 25 prospect Kelis Fisher, No. 75 Gandy Malou-Mamel and international standout Blanca Quinonez, and the trio will get their first taste of college basketball on Monday.
This will likely be a development year for Malou-Mamel, who came to the U.S. from Ireland to play high school basketball in 2022, but Auriemma sees potential for both Fisher and Quinonez to take on significant roles at some point this season. The Huskies’ coach cautioned that it may take time to see them contribute, but he believes the pair will become increasingly important as the team approaches March, and the exhibition gives them a chance to establish a baseline for their potential.
Advertisement
“I think they’ll have a big impact as the season goes on, but in the beginning I think it’ll be kind of feel your way,” Aurimma said. “Other than Gandy … they’ve all shown flashes of like, ‘Yeah, I can play here and I can be successful.’ So I’m excited for them.”
How will Ducharme, Patterson be used?
For the first time in three years, redshirt senior Caroline Ducharme and redshirt sophomore Ayanna Patterson will both be available to play on Monday.
Ducharme missed nearly all of the last two seasons due to a series of head and neck injuries, returning at the end of 2024-25 and appearing in nine games. But she never spent more than 11 minutes on the court as she slowly recalibrated to playing with full contact against real opponents. Ducharme is still day-to-day in practice, but she’s stringing together good days with far more consistency than she was able to last season, and Auriemma said after UConn’s first official practice that he’s counting on having her available this year.
Advertisement
“I’m definitely feeling the best that I’ve felt,” Ducharme said Friday. “It’s hard to get too caught up in that stuff or get too optimistic because of how things have gone. But for me, I’ve just always focused on keeping it day to day. … I’m participating in everything (in practice) right now, so I’m definitely making a lot of progress.”
The wait has been even longer for Patterson, who hasn’t appeared in a game since March 2023. The 6-2 forward will almost certainly be rusty when she steps on the floor against Boston College, but just checking into the exhibition will be a major step in the right direction. Auriemma said Patterson hasn’t lost any of her elite athleticism, and she could be a secret weapon once she gets back up to speed.
“I’ve seen all the ups and downs she’s had to go through, and so for her to even just get in practice consistently, I find myself just watching her and (getting) so excited that she gets to actually play,” Ducharme said. “She’s so athletic, so explosive, and she has such an impact when she’s out there.”
