After their annual holiday break, the undefeated (12-0) UConn women’s basketball team is set to take on the Butler Bulldogs (7-6, 1-2) Sunday afternoon.
The top-ranked Huskies are coming off a 90-64 win against Iowa Hawkeyes from Dec. 20.
This Women’s Champions Classic matchup saw a 27 and 23-points performance, respectively, from Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong.
Jan Jensen, the Head Coach of the Hawkeyes, had extremely high praise for the Huskies postgame.
“UConn is…they’re the standard.” Jensen said to the media.
Even though the Huskies have two games (including the game against Butler) left in 2025, they have a lot to look forward to in the New Year.
That being seeing the evolution of underclassmen Strong and Blanca Quiñonez.
Both Strong and Quiñonez swept the Big East Awards this past week, taking home the Big East Player and Freshman of the Week honors.
In both of the Huskies’ wins last weekend, Strong averaged 22 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Head Coach of the program, Geno Auriemma, described that Strong has an “aura” about her every time he gets the ball in her hands.
Auriemma emphasized to the media that since the 6-foot-2 forward is so curious about learning more in practice, nothing will come by a surprise to her come game time.
“The game is in her soul.” Auriemma said.
As far as Quiñonez goes, Auriemma emphasized to the media that he admires her aggressiveness, especially on the defensive end. He attributes it to her experience playing professionally overseas.
“What I’m most proud of is her defense,” Azzi Fudd said when asked about Quiñonez. “Having her on the court, you can’t guard her.”
On Butler’s squad, Strong, Quiñonez and the Huskies’ defense should keep an eye out for sophomore guard Lily Zeinstra and junior forward Caroline Dotsey, who are averaging 10.9 and 9.8 points per game, respectively.
The Bulldogs are currently on a three-game win streak, with their most recent a 64-58 conference win over the Xavier Musketeers.
As far as injuries go for the Huskies, Caroline Ducharme will be out day-to-day with a shoulder injury. There are no new updates on Ice Brady (knee inflammation), but Auriemma says that Morgan Cheli is making good progress in terms of her ankle injury.
Tip-off between these two conference foes is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Husky fans can tune in to the matchup on TNT or TruTV.