There are two undefeated teams left in women’s college basketball this season — No. 1 UConn and No. 5 Vanderbilt. Both teams are 19-0 on their season, and are navigating similar yet different paths, with a lot more in common than casual onlookers may see.
On one hand, this kind of season was almost expected from UConn. The reigning NCAA Champions came into the year with a ton of confidence, despite losing Paige Bueckers to the WNBA draft after the program won its first title since 2016. They still had redshirt senior Azzi Fudd on the team, poised to have the best season of her injury-riddled college career in preparation for her professional debut in 2026. Then, there’s Sarah Strong, the sophomore phenom who has been blowing the socks off of everyone with her ability to do everything on the basketball court with a poise and confidence that is beyond her years.
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On paper, it’s hard to imagine anyone can beat this iteration of the UConn Huskies, and so far, they’ve proven that right. The only “close” game they’ve had all season was against then-No. 6 Michigan, who took them to the edge, and the Huskies won by just one possession. They are the unanimous No. 1 team on the AP women’s basketball poll, and with the lack of serious competition for them in the Big East Conference, they seem to be cruising toward a conference title.
The Huskies haven’t really needed to put in 100% either this season, except for that Michigan game. Take Sarah Strong, for example, who just became the third-fastest UConn player in history to score 1000 points. She did so in 59 games, only trailing Paige Bueckers and Maya Moore in the feat. Strong is averaging 18.6 points per game on 60.3% shooting from the field, while playing only 27.3 minutes per game. Azzi Fudd is averaging 17.3 points per game, the highest per-game point average of her college career, while playing 27.9 minutes per game. They just have not needed to play more so far this year.
These kinds of stories and performances aren’t new to UConn; it’s why they attract the talent that they do. Vanderbilt’s success this season is more unprecedented for them, but funny enough, still ties back to the success of the UConn Huskies.
Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team is coached by Shea Ralph, who played at UConn from 1996 to 2001 and was a part of their 2000 NCAA championship-winning team. Ralph returned to UConn from 2008 to 2021 as an assistant coach, being there through the Breanna Stewart era, where UConn won 4 consecutive national titles. She left UConn to take the head coaching role at Vanderbilt, taking that experience with the historic Connecticut program to try to build her own legacy.
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Like all good things, it’s taken time to build up her program, but Ralph hit the jackpot with Mikayla Blakes. In her freshman season (2024-2025), Blakes scored 53 points in her SEC debut against Florida, 55 points against Auburn, and averaged 23.3 points in the season. She went on to represent Team USA at the Women’s AmeriCup in the summer, helping the USA to a gold medal and winning the tournament MVP award.
In her sophomore season, she’s helped Vanderbilt to a 19-0 start, averaging 25.0 points per game on 46.0% shooting from the field and a team-high 3.3 steals per game. She currently sits 2nd in the country in points per game behind Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, and only seems to be getting better.
Both UConn and Vanderbilt had to defend their streaks on Monday against formidable opponents. For UConn, it was against long-standing rivals Notre Dame, who have fallen out of the top-25 and are having a rough season after losing Olivia Miles to the transfer portal last year. UConn easily beat the Fighting Irish 85-47, maintaining their undefeated streak. Vanderbilt was closer again No. 7 Michigan, but ultimately beat them 72-69.
UConn and Vanderbilt obviously have the Ralph connection, but both teams are also being led by these incredible sophomore players who are going to be incredible women’s basketball players for decades. They are both currently 19-0 on their season, and while UConn’s streak is more likely to hold over Vanderbilt’s — just because of the level of difficulty in the SEC — their parallels this season are not an anomaly. Strong and Blakes will be the best players in their class, eventual No. 1 and No. 2 draft pick contenders, and battle for years to come.
