Before a much-needed holiday break, the undefeated (11-0) UConn women’s basketball team has just one more tall task ahead of them.
That is, a duel against the No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday afternoon, for the Women’s Championship classic.
The last time these two programs faced off against each other was on April 5, 2024, for the Final Four in Cleveland, Ohio. The final score of the duel ended in the Hawkeyes’ favor, 71-69.
Since then, a lot has gone down.
The Huskies headed into their 2024-25, with a sense of revenge, winning the 2025 National Championship.
In addition, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers are no longer on their Hawkeye and Husky rosters, respectively, and Iowa has a new head coach behind the bench in Jan Jensen.
This time around, though, Connecticut has more depth throughout their bench and should keep tabs on the Hawkeyes’ capable roster on both sides of the ball, especially in the front court. Players like sophomore Ava Heiden and senior Hannah Stuelke both lead Iowa with averages of 15.2 and 13.1 points, respectively. In
“They can score with their bigs in the lane, and their transition offense is really good.” Head coach Geno Auriemma said after UConn’s 89-53 win over Marquette on Wednesday when asked about Iowa, “[A] Lot of times when you have a great transition offense, you’re not throwing the ball in the lane a lot. But, yeah, I think they’re going to be a real challenge.”
Auriemma emphasized that, along with this fast and consistent transition offense, it will present a challenge for Connecticut’s defense at the post.
After the Huskies’ win over Marquette on Wednesday night, Auriemma was satisfied with how his roster played, especially forward Serah Williams.
Williams, a transfer this season out of Wisconsin, has slowly grown accustomed to playing for UConn.
The 6-foot-4 New York native racked up a total of 11 points and 6 rebounds Wednesday night and was consonant for Connecticut on defense.
“A little more aggressiveness, I think she’s rebounding the ball more consistently. That’s something we’ve talked about,” Auriemma said. “I think a little bit at a time, the improvement is obviously very noticeable and we’re going to need it down the road.”
As her time as gone on in a navy and blue uniform, Williams admitted she has gotten more comfortable with the playing style, but she really enjoys her teammates to which she fondly describes as a “moldy” bench.
A “moldy” bench meaning a roster that clicks with one another and gets along very well.
“It’s hard to have a bad day here, because there is always gonna be a couple of people that will make you laugh,” Williams said.
Tip-off between Iowa and UConn is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Husky fans can tune into the bout on FOX or listen in on 97.9 from Learfield.