In his 40th season at the helm of the UConn women’s basketball program, head coach Geno Auriemma became the winningest coach in college basketball history, one of his players reached 2,000 points and he notched his twelfth consecutive conference tournament win.
Next up on the docket for Auriemma and the Huskies is the first round of the NCAA tournament, where they will host the Arkansas State Red Wolves Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies have a lot of March Madness experience coming into this weekends game, especially with red shirt senior guard Paige Bueckers who will be playing in Howe fifth tournament and her last two games in the basketball capital of the world.
After taking home the Big East Player of the Year award at the conference tournament, the Minnesota native is locked and loaded for the post season where, as Auriemma says, she plays her “best basketball.”
“Nothing is guaranteed, the preparation, the practice to prepare for the 40 minutes ahead of you is what’s most important.” said Bueckers to the media Friday morningwhen asked about her last chance to bring home the trophy. “So, just focusing on that, focusing on the journey ahead, and just loving every moment of it, obviously another chance is a different sense of urgency.”
With it being Bueckers’ last March Madness tournament, it will be freshman Sarah Strong’s first. Strong, a forward, has been a tremendous asset to the Huskies all year and comes into Saturday having averaged a double-double a game throughout the Big East tournament.
“She’s [Strong] mature beyond what I expected on the court and it comes out in the biggest moments,” said Auriemma on Strong.
Along with Bueckers and Strongs pulling for their program on the offensive end, Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold are pulling for their squad by the boards.
“I wouldn’t be the player or person I am without having experienced that alongside her.” Said Shade to CT Insider’s Maggie Vanoni.
Should Arnold and Shade stay feisty on the defensive side of the ball, the Huskies should have no problem propelling themselves to the second round.
Coming into this matchup, the Red Wolves are the fifteenth seed in the tournament, as they make their March Madness debut. In their 2024-25 campaign, the Red Wolves racked up a 21-10 record and was 15-3 in the Sun Belt conference. Arkansas State clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament after securing their first conference title in an overtime thriller versus James Madison. A player on Arkansas State the Huskies will need to keep an eye on during this matchup is Zyion Shannon who averages around 22 points a game. In their title win against the Dukes, Shannon notched a total of eight points and four assists.
Along with the junior guard, Auriemma reports that the Huskies will have to keep an eye on the Red Wolves’ quick and consistent style of play, comparing the way they play as very similar to the Kim Caldwell and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.
Not only with their depth throughout the entire roster, the Huskies have an advantage with their size. The Red Wolves only have two players at their disposal above six feet including 6-foot-4 forward Nissa Sam-Grant. This will give players like Jana El Alfy and Ice Brady an advantage when they are trying to maintain consistency by the boards.
However, since it is March, these games are win or go home and anything can happen.
“You play every game like it’s the last game of the season, because it very well could be.” said Auriemma to the media on Friday morning.
The madness will commence when the ball tips off between these two squads at 1 p.m. from a sold-out Gampel Pavilion. Husky fans can tune into this matchup on ABC and listen in through the UConn Sports Network from Learfield.