Entering the 2025-26 season, UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma believed he was going to have one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country.
But before Sunday’s game at Xavier, the Huskies weren’t living up to that potential. Star guard Azzi Fudd had accounted for nearly 40% of their made 3-pointers, and the rest of the team was shooting just 27.2% from the perimeter. Auriemma never adjusted his expectations, confident in what his team was capable of, but he kept waiting to see them prove it.
Advertisement
“We’re a way better 3-point shooting team then we’re showing right now,” Auriemma said ahead of the team’s game against No. 6 Michigan. “I mean I say that, but if you don’t show it, then you’re not, so we’re not. But we will be. We will be, I promise.”
Against Xavier, the Huskies’ sharpshooters finally made good on that promise. Fudd and junior Ashlynn Shade each went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, and sophomore Allie Ziebell sank four 3s in the third quarter to finish 5-for-7. Even sophomore point guard Kayleigh Heckel found her shot, hitting a pair of outside shots after entering the game with a single make all season. UConn came just two makes shy of a program record, with 18 3-pointers in its 104-39 victory over the Musketeers in Cincinnati.
UConn women’s basketball dominates Xavier in Big East opener behind 18 made 3-pointers
It was a long-awaited breakthrough for Shade in particular, who had hit five 3-pointers over the previous six games combined. The junior guard averaged 41.1% from 3-point range coming off the bench last season, but she has battled a slump since returning to the starting lineup with heightened expectations as an upperclassman this year.
Advertisement
“I think my defense created my offense today, and as a team we were trying to emphasize being active on defense, getting in the passing lanes and getting steals,” Shade said postgame on the UConn Sports Network radio broadcast. “I think it’s just getting settled into the game for us. If we start 0-for-5, we’re going to go 5-for-5 the next time. It’s just a matter of when the shots are going to start falling.”
Even UConn’s non-shooters had a major impact in the win over Xavier. Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams had one of her most complete performances of the season with 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block in 19 minutes on the court. Though she went 1-for-4 on 3-pointers, junior KK Arnold finished with nine points shooting 57.1% from the field on top of five assists and five steals, and Auriemma said he’s been pleased with Arnold’s adjustment to her expanded role this season.
“She feels more in control of the things that she can control,” Auriemma said. “Her assist-to-turnover ratio is one of the top in the country I think, and that’s a great sign for her decision-making and her offense. I think she’s more comfortable offensively. So I would say in pretty much every area, there’s been some (growth).”
After the rout at Xavier, the Huskies have a quick turnaround before facing South Florida in Tampa on Tuesday night. For the first time in the 23-year history of the series, the Bulls will have a different head coach. Jose Fernandez was on the sideline opposite Geno Auriemma in every one of the 34 meetings between the teams since 2002, but the longtime South Florida coach left the program on Oct. 27 to accept the head coaching position with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings.
Advertisement
What was Geno Auriemma’s advice for Paige Bueckers’ new coach in Dallas?
Though Fernandez won’t be at the helm, interim coach Michele Woods-Baxter spent the past 17 seasons on Fernandez’s staff, and the roster he assembled hasn’t changed since his departure. The Bulls play a deep rotation with nine players seeing at least 15 minutes per game and four averaging 10-plus points, though leading scorer Edyn Battle hasn’t appeared in the team’s last two games. South Florida recently returned four-year starter Carla Brito from a knee injury, so she should be able to help fill that void.
The Bulls have been through ups and down this season, with losses to Fairfield, No. 4 UCLA and Minnesota, but they proved they can hang with more talented competition in an 85-72 upset of Duke. Though UConn is undefeated all-time in the series, Auriemma said South Florida is never an easy out, and this will be the first time the teams have faced off in Tampa since they were conference opponents in the American from 2013-20.
“It’s still (Fernandez’s) team that he put together … and their coaching staff have been together for a while, so I don’t expect it to be any different,” Auriemma said. “I’m looking forward to going down there. We always had a blast going down there to play. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We knew they were going to run a million different things.”
Advertisement
How to watch UConn women’s basketball vs. South Florida
Site: Yuengling Center; Tampa, Florida
Time/date: 5 p.m., Tuesday
Team records: UConn 7-0, USF 5-3
Series record: UConn leads 34-0
Last meeting: 86-49 UConn, Nov. 10, 2024 at Gampel Pavilion
TV: ESPN2
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: UConn Sports Network on FOX Sports 97.9
