Fresh off winning their 12th National Championship, the UConn women’s basketball team is back, locked and loaded.
On Monday afternoon, the Huskies returned to the hardwood to take on the Boston College Eagles at the Hall of Fame Exhibition series, where both the men’s and women’s programs played against each other’s squads. In the end, the Huskies came out on top with a final score of 84-67.
With such a legendary player like Paige Bueckers leaving for the WNBA after Connecticut’s dominant 2024-25 season, many wondered who would fill the void of the star-studded player on the Husky roster.
Now, with one exhibition game, it’s not necessarily only one player who will fill the void, but multiple players.
In the first half, the game had its various ups and downs, with the Huskies looking to grow accustomed to such a shuffled roster.
The 2025-26 season brought five new players to the Huskies roster, including senior transfer Serah Williams from the University of Wisconsin Madison, who started the game at the five for the Huskies.
Right off the bat, Williams and her teammate, sophomore Sarah Strong, were the difference makers for the Huskies.
Every time the ball was in the North Carolina natives’ hands. Strong made things look effortless from any spot, whether that be in the paint or on the hardwood.
The 6-foot-2 forward finished the first half with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.
On the other hand, her teammate, Williams, followed suit with 10 points and three rebounds.
Right off the bat, Williams and Strong were the clear difference makers out on the court, but the Huskies’ offense in the first quarter still looked a little shaky. However, that is to be expected in the first exhibition game of the season.
In the first quarter, Strong proved her high-low to be the most dominant, scoring six of the Huskies’ first eight points.
In addition, Williams went 100% from the field to close out the first frame of the game.
“Those two have a really good connection.” Head coach of the program Geno Auriemma, said to the media when asked about Strong and Williams. “I think the more she plays with us, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to play one way for three years and then come in and perform into a scenario like that.”
The second quarter told a similar story to the first. Both Williams and Strong still commanded the court, making it pretty evident that the Huskies were not pushing the ball unless it was a wide-open lane.
At the half, the score was 43-30. With only a 13-point lead over the Eagles, the Huskies, including graduate student Azzi Fudd, returned to the locker room looking to regroup after the first half.
With only scoring five points in the first half of the game, it lit a fire underneath Fudd.
In the third quarter, Fudd kicked things off, scoring 15 points and racking up two rebounds.
“I mean, I didn’t do anything, it was all my teammates.” Fudd said to the media postgame when asked about this scoring spurt, “I just stood in the corner, and Sarah [Strong] and other people found me and gave me great chances.”
What Auriemma prides his team most on is how, like Fudd, his team can get shots off and immediately change the tempo of a game.
“That’s kind of been a hallmark of our team to score points so quickly.” Auriemma said.
With just one game under their belt, it was a perfect way for the Huskies to iron out kinks and look at what they need to harp on before heading into the regular season.
“They’re exhibitions for a reason. We saw a bunch of good things and a bunch of bad things; that’s what makes these games successful.” Auriemma said.
Next up, the Huskies have an exhibition date against the Southern Connecticut State University Owls on Oct. 26. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Conn. If Husky fans cannot make it to Connecticut’s capital, they can tune into the game on UConn+ or listen in on 97.9 FM from Learfield.