2021–22 UConn Huskies women's basketball team

UConn was ranked no. 3 in both the 2020 AP and Coaches pre-season polls. During the regular season, they had a record of 21–1, including 18–0 in the Big East to win the conference regular season championship. In February 2021, they defeated no. 1 ranked South Carolina; it was UConn freshman Paige Bueckers' third straight 30-point game. UConn won the Big East tournament, winning all three of their games by over 30 points. They were ranked no. 1 in both polls at that time. As a no. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, they won their region with a victory over no. 5 ranked Baylor in the Elite Eight. UConn then lost to Arizona in the Final Four and finished their campaign with a record of 28–2. Bueckers, the team's leading scorer, won several awards at the end of the season, including the Naismith College Player of the Year.

At the season's outset, the Huskies returned several starters: seniors Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Evina Westbrook, plus accomplished sophomore Paige Bueckers. Westbrook was eligible to enter the 2021 WNBA draft but chose to exercise her redshirt year option to play for the Huskies through her last year of eligibility.[25][26] Two-time All-Big Ten forward Dorka Juhász, an Ohio State graduate transfer, was expected to add experience and depth in the post. Aubrey Griffin was the sole returning junior. Sophomores Nika Mühl, Aaliyah Edwards, Mir McLean, and Piath Gabriel returned. Highly touted freshman recruits Azzi Fudd, Amari DeBerry, Caroline Ducharme, and Saylor Poffenbarger were expected to compete for playing time.[27][28]

In the season's opening weeks, Griffin was affected by a back problem and missed the entire year due to injury.[29] Poffenbarger and McLean both announced transfers. Towards the end of the team's sixth game, Bueckers suffered a tibial plateau fracture[30] and after surgery was forced to sit out most of the regular season, only returning before the Big East Conference tournament, where she played limited minutes. Guards Fudd and Mühl both suffered early season injuries which caused them to miss several games. Four canceled or postponed contests in December (due to pandemic or travel issues) allowed time for recovery. During the season, eight UConn players missed multiple games due to injury; with forwards Gabriel and DeBerry still in development, sometimes only six players were available for play. The only players able to compete in every regular season game were Westbrook and Edwards. Accordingly, the team tried eleven different starting lineups during the season, with nine different starters and eight different players leading a game in scoring. Caroline Ducharme assumed a scoring role originally anticipated for Fudd, but when Fudd returned both players continued to score effectively. With their scoring threats largely neutralized early in the season, the Huskies focused on defense, limiting their opponents to 54.2 points per game and collecting an average of 9.3 steals and 4.7 blocks per game. Mühl, the vocal floor leader of an aggressive and effective defense, was recognized as Big East Conference defensive player of the year.[31] First team all-conference honors went to seniors Williams and Nelson-Ododa, with Ducharme on the second team. Both Fudd and Ducharme were named to the conference's all-freshman team.[31] Williams won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the best shooting guard in the country. UConn finished the regular season with a record of 22–5; they were 16–1 in conference play.

All the Huskies (except for Griffin) were back in playing condition by the time of the Big East Conference tournament, where they dominated all three games, including the tournament final against Villanova, the only Big East team that had defeated UConn during the regular season.[32] In the first ever 68-team NCAA women's March Madness, UConn won games at the Storrs sub-regional against 15th seed Mercer and 7th seed Central Florida to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for a record 28th consecutive appearance. At the Bridgeport regional, the Huskies took a lead in the second quarter against 3rd seed Indiana and never looked back, advancing to a record 16th consecutive Elite Eight. In the regional finals against 1st seed North Carolina State, the teams battled through two overtimes in what game announcers called an "instant classic," and UConn won 91–87 to reach their 14th consecutive Final Four.[33] Juhász suffered a fractured and dislocated wrist in that game and was out for the rest of the tournament.[34][35] In the Final Four contest, UConn overcame defending national champion Stanford to advance to a rematch against no. 1 South Carolina in the final. In the national championship game, South Carolina jumped out to an 18-point lead while dominating the boards and held off scoring runs to defeat UConn. The Huskies finished the season with a record of 30–6 and were ranked 2nd in the final Coaches poll.

2021–22 UConn Huskies women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown F 3 Aaliyah Edwards 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So Crestwood Preparatory Kingston, Ontario G 5 Paige Bueckers 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Hopkins Hopkins, MN G 10 Nika Mühl 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So III. Gimnazija Zagreb Zagreb, Croatia F 11 Mir McLean (I) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Roland Park Country Baltimore, MD G 13 Christyn Williams 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Sr Central Arkansas Christian Little Rock, AR F 14 Dorka Juhász 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) GS Ohio State Pécs, Hungary F 20 Olivia Nelson-Ododa 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Sr Winder-Barrow Winder, GA G 22 Evina Westbrook 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Sr Tennessee Salem, OR F 32 Piath Gabriel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) So Bradford Christian Manchester, NH G 33 Caroline Ducharme 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Noble & Greenough Milton, MA G 35 Azzi Fudd 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr St. John's College HS Arlington, VA F 42 Amari DeBerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Fr Williamsville South Williamsville, NY F 44 Aubrey Griffin   6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Ossining Ossining, NY	Head coach Geno Auriemma (West Chester) Assistant coach(es) Chris Dailey (Rutgers) Jamelle Elliott (Connecticut) Morgan Valley (Connecticut) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 3, 2022

[lower-alpha 1]

[37][38]

^ Coaches did not release a second poll at the same time as the AP.

[39]

• 2021–22 UConn Huskies men's basketball team