Starting this week, The UConn WBB Weekly will look a little bit different. After three years on Substack, we’re transitioning to Beehiiv. The next story on the Huskies you receive will come from our new home.

What will be different?

As a subscriber, not much. You’ll still receive newsletters from us without disruption. The font and layout of each email may look a bit different, but the content that you’ve signed up for (whether as a free subscriber or a paid one) will remain exactly the same.

You don’t need to do anything to prepare for the change.

Why are we making this change?

Substack proved to be a great place to start the newsletter, but Beehiiv will provide the tools to take the Weekly to the next level. We’ll have our own URL — UConnWBBWeekly.com is already live! — and while our stories will still be delivered via email, this website will serve as the hub for our coverage of UConn WBB Weekly instead of just being an alternate place to read the newsletter.

In case of trouble

While we’ve worked to make this transition as smooth as possible, there are inevitably kinks that will need to be worked out. Currently, our plan is to send out the first story from Beehiiv later today (Tuesday, May 23). If you don’t see that or any future stories in your inbox, first check your spam folder. If it’s not in there, email me at UConnWBBWeekly@gmail.com and I’ll help you sort it all out.

The UConn WBB Weekly is only getting better

Ever since we launched the Weekly in July 2020 and turned it premium in May 2021, we’ve worked hard to provide content on UConn women’s basketball that you can’t find anywhere else. Our new home will help us continue chase that goal during the season and in the offseason.

The WNBA season tips off this weekend with all 12 teams in action on either Friday or Saturday. Fourteen former Huskies were named to opening day rosters as of Thursday evening (15 if you include Los Angeles Sparks’ guard Katie Lou Samuelson, who is listed on the opening day roster but will miss this season due to her pregnancy).

Here are som…

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Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.

Sign up to get the Weekly in your inbox every Thursday or subscribe to get our premium newsletter which includes film breakdowns, analysis, recruiting coverage, and more!

Subscribe now

Headlines

From the UConn WBB Weekly:

• Film Room: How Ohio State's press ended UConn's season

Last week’s Weekly:

• How former UConn players and coaches fared this past season

Elsewhere:

• CCSU hired former UConn forward Willnett Crockett as an assistant coach

The moments that made UConn's 2022-23 season

This past season, two streaks that came to define UConn women’s basketball’s success over the last 25+ years came to an end: The Huskies dropped back-to-back games for the first time since 1993 and missed the Final Four after making the previous 14.

UConn fought through another injury-plagued season — one that even affected the coaching staff — and went through the program’s worst stretch of play in recent memory. Whereas last year’s team rallied in the NCAA Tournament, this one reached its breaking point in the Sweet Sixteen and fell apart.

Apr. 23: Lou Lopez Sénéchal commits from Fairfield

On a Saturday in April, little-known Fairfield star Lou Lopez Sénéchal chose UConn as the destination for her final season of collegiate eligibility. At the time, it appeared to be little more than a depth move for the Huskies. There were legitimate questions about whether Lopez Sénéchal could make the leap from the low-major level to UConn.

As it turned out, she arguably became the team’s most important player. It’s hard to imagine what the Huskies would’ve looked like without her.

Aug. 3: Paige Bueckers’ torn ACL becomes public

The complexion of the entire women’s college basketball landscape changed in a split second on the first day of August when Paige Bueckers tore her ACL in a pick-up game. Two days later, UConn revealed the heart-wrenching news, immediately up-ending the outlook on the team’s season.

A month later, Bueckers made the best of the situation by declaring herself “Coach P” and also revealed that she’d return for her fourth season in Storrs despite being eligible for the WNBA Draft.

While the Huskies made their best effort to get past it, Bueckers’ injury hung over the team all season long.

Oct. 21: Ice Brady dislocates patella in right knee

The injury bug continued to bite when Ice Brady dislocated the patella in her right knee, knocking her out for the season as well. The freshman forward had drawn rave reviews during the preseason and was projected to be a key piece of the frontcourt rotation. Without her, UConn didn’t have a consistent third option in the post behind Dorka Juhász and Aaliyah Edwards.

Nov. 14, 20: UConn racks up two impressive non-conference wins

Aside from the opener vs. Northeastern, which was closer to an exhibition than a real non-conference test, UConn’s early schedule was a gauntlet. In their second game, the Huskies welcomed Texas and six days later, they hosted NC State.

UConn proved to be ready for the challenge. Azzi Fudd set a career-high in the win over Texas with 32 points, then tied that mark in the blowout victory against NC State. Nika Mühl also made history against the Wolfpack, dishing out 15 assists — a single-game program record.

Even without Bueckers (or Brady), the Huskies looked like one of the most dangerous teams in the nation.

Thanksgiving Weekend: UConn wins PK85

After a pair of relatively comfortable wins, UConn’s toughness was tested out in Portland at the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament. The Huskies earned a hard-fought win over Duke in the first game then erased an 11-point deficit in the second half against Iowa to claim the hardware.

UConn’s performances in the Pacific Northwest reinforced its status as one of the top teams in the nation.

Dec. 4: Azzi Fudd goes down

For the second year in a row, the Huskies’ hopes and dreams came crashing down against Notre Dame. After Bueckers suffered her initial knee injury against the Fighting Irish in 2021, Fudd went down with a right knee injury after Aaliyah Edwards was pushed into her leg.

UConn struggled without her and lost, 74-60. A few days later, the team announced that Fudd would miss 3-6 weeks.

Dec. 8: More injuries hit

Already without Bueckers, Brady, Juhász (who broke her thumb vs. Texas) and now Fudd, UConn lost two more key players when Nika Mühl (concussion) and Lopez Sénéchal (foot) exited vs. Princeton with injuries. With UConn down to the bottom of its backcourt depth chart, the Tigers charged back from 15 down to get within two in the fourth quarter.

Despite being shorthanded, the Huskies did just enough to survive thanks to an unlikely hero: Freshman Inês Bettencourt, who sealed the win from the free throw line.

Dec. 18: Geno gets sick

UConn’s health problems extended beyond the roster. Prior to the NC State game, associate head coach Chris Dailey collapsed and was taken to the hospital. Then, head coach Geno Auriemma came down with flu-like symptoms during a shootaround ahead of the matchup with Florida State and did not coach. He missed one more game, returned for a pair of contests in late December, then stepped away in early January to focus on his health.

Auriemma later revealed the health issues were connected to the death of his mother, who passed away on Dec. 8.

Jan. 11, 15: Azzi Fudd makes brief returns, then gets hurt again

For a moment, UConn’s luck appeared to turn around when both Auriemma and Fudd returned on Jan. 11 at St. John’s. The good feelings didn’t last, though: One game later, Fudd hurt her right knee again and missed the rest of the regular season.

Feb. 5: Optimism hits all-time high in loss to South Carolina

Rarely has UConn felt so good after a loss. The Huskies put up a good fight in an 81-77 loss to South Carolina at the XL Center — they just didn’t have enough firepower.

“I (already) felt great about my team,” Auriemma said, “but I feel really good about them right now.”

“We know we’ll face them again and we’ll get the win,” Lopez Sénéchal said.

Feb. 8: The back-to-back streak dies

After 1,083 games without back-to-back losses, UConn’s streak finally went down at Marquette. Following the emotional contest against South Carolina, the Huskies never showed up and were deservedly beaten by the Golden Eagles, 59-52.

“I think mentally — all of us, no one in particular — I think we just checked out,” Auriemma said afterward. “I told the team I'm surprised that it's taken this long for us to have that kind of mental checkout. It’s the first time all year in 20-something games that's happened, and tonight happened to be that night against the wrong team.”

The rest of February: UConn falls into a deep funk

The performance at Marquette proved to be a preview of the month to come. Throughout the rest of February, UConn played some of its worst basketball in recent memory. The final six games of the regular season were all decided by single-digits, including a loss at home to St. John’s and a near-defeat against a bad DePaul team on the road.

The Huskies didn’t just look vulnerable. They looked like a broken team.

Feb. 27: Nika Mühl breaks the program’s single-season assist record

A lone bright spot down the stretch came in the regular season finale when Mühl dished out her 232nd assist of the campaign, breaking the program record previously set by Sue Bird in 2001-02. Mühl finished the season with 284 assists.

That same night: Geno goes off

On senior night at Gampel Pavilion, UConn only beat Xavier — a team that failed to win a single conference game — by nine. In the postgame press conference, Auriemma went off on his team.

“It’s time we stopped blaming the injuries, stop blaming fatigue, stop blaming tired,” he said. “We are where we are.”

“There’s a reason why the last 10 games have been the way they’ve been and it has nothing to do with fatigue. We used that long enough. That story’s sailed,” the coach added. “Now, it’s just being held accountable for doing what you’re being coached to do, not what you feel like doing. Not what feels right for you at the moment.

“We don’t think very well. We don’t speak on defense. We don’t communicate. That’s got nothing to do with tired or being injured. That has to do with a lot of selfishness and a lot of you don’t want to change. This is who you are and you don’t want to change.”

Later on, Auriemma admitted his comments were essentially a motivational ploy. They worked.

First weekend of March: Azzi Fudd returns, UConn cruises through Big East Tournament

As the postseason began, it didn’t take long for the “UConn of March” to arrive. With Fudd back in the lineup, the Huskies blew out Georgetown and Marquette in the first two rounds of the Big East Tournament by an average of 29.5 points — especially impressive considering its final 10 regular season games were decided by a total of 30 points. In the championship, UConn comfortably handled Villanova for a third time to lift the trophy.

Mar. 15: Aaliyah Edwards earns All-American honors

With Bueckers out for the year and Fudd missing all but 15 games, Edwards transformed into the star UConn needed. She played in every game, collected 14 double-doubles, and led the team in scoring. As Edwards went, so did the Huskies in 2022-23.

On March 15, Edwards received All-American status, landing on both the AP and USBWA’s Third Teams. After a disappointing sophomore campaign, the honor represented the culmination of all of Edwards’ work to improve into one of the top bigs in the nation.

Mar. 25: Ohio State stuns UConn in Sweet Sixteen

For the first time since 2007, UConn failed to reach to the Final Four. In fact, the team didn’t even get to the Elite Eight.

Instead, the Huskies’ season came to an end at the hands of Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen. The Buckeyes’ press defense gave UConn fits and helped force 18 turnovers in the first half and 25 overall. In the second quarter, the Huskies failed to even attempt a shot for the first 4.5 minutes and were outscored by Ohio State 21-9.

Despite only facing a deficit of 10 at the half, UConn couldn’t mount a serious comeback bid and fell 73-61.

After all the Huskies had been through during the season, they deserved a better fate than being the team that broke the Final Four streak. Ultimately, the sport showed how cruel it can be sometimes.

Still, UConn’s season should be remembered for Lopez Sénéchal’s ascent into stardom — and eventually, the fifth overall pick in the WNBA Draft — Mühl’s record-setting performances and the constant responses to adversity. If nothing else, it was a memorable year, even if it ended earlier than any other over the last 18 years.

Best of social media

Still on hiatus (but hopefully not for much longer).

UConn was a turnover-prone squad throughout the 2022-23 campaign. The Huskies coughed up the ball 608 times, their highest total since the 2002-03 season.

That’s part of what made Ohio State a nightmare matchup for this UConn team. The Buckeyes’ press tormented opponents and on more than one occasion, it sparked them enough to climb bac…

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Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.

Sign up to get the Weekly in your inbox every Thursday or subscribe to get our premium newsletter which includes film breakdowns, analysis, recruiting coverage, and more!

Subscribe now

Headlines

From the UConn WBB Weekly:

• How Aaliyah Edwards can take the next step

From The UConn Blog:

• Photo gallery: New York Liberty @ Connecticut Sun (WNBA Preseason)

Last week’s Weekly:

• Will UConn break its national title drought in 2023-24?

How former UConn players and coaches fared this past season

As difficult as it is to play at UConn, the program hasn’t seen many departures in recent years. Three of the players who transferred out all arrived in the 2020 class and were blocked by better players. The fourth showed up that same season and faced the same problem.

On the coaching side, four programs are helmed by either UConn players or assistants.

Coaches

Shea Ralph — Vanderbilt

Ralph had a difficult second season at Vanderbilt. The Commodores went just 12-19 (following a 16-19 record the year before) and, like UConn, dealt with a host of injuries. Three starters went down before the first first game and there were a few games where they only had seven players available. To make matters worse, top freshman Amauri Williams was dismissed due to a violation of team rules in December.

Vanderbilt managed just three wins in SEC play. In the conference tournament, the Commodores found themselves trailing by 17 to Texas A&M with just under eight minutes left, but mounted a furious comeback to pull within three points with 2:25 remaining. They ultimately fell short but the fight showed by the team provided some optimism heading into the offseason.

Next year, Vanderbilt is projected to return just five players, but will bring in a five-player freshman class that includes Khamil Pierre (the No. 63 player in the class according to ESPN) and Aga Makurat, younger sister of former UConn guard Anna Makurat. Despite the rough start to her head coaching tenure, Ralph remains optimistic about the future in Nashville.

“You will be seeing a lot of Vanderbilt women’s basketball over the next several years,” she told the school paper.

Off the court, the Commodores added Katie Lou Samuelson to the staff as Director of Player Development, where she joined fellow Huskies Kyla Irwin (Director of Student-Athlete Success and Community Relations) and Kevin DeMille (assistant coach).

Marisa Moseley — Wisconsin

Wisconsin ended the season with a 11-20 record but for the second year in a row, the team showed steady improvement throughout the campaign. After a seven-game losing streak from late November to early December and a four-game skid in early February, the Badgers closed the regular season by going 4-1 with an upset of No. 12 Michigan.

As ugly as the record may appear, Wisconsin’s 11 wins were the program’s most since 2019-20 and its six Big Ten victories were the most since 2010-11. A trio of freshmen — Serah Williams, Maty Wilke and Sania Copeland — formed a young core that gives the Badgers hope for the future.

Wisconsin won’t have as heavy of a UConn influence next year, though. After the season, Caroline Doty was let go as assistant coach. Regarding the move, Moseley told BadgerExtra, “I want more experience, that’s it.”

Tamika Williams-Jeter — Dayton

Following one season as head coach at Division III Wittenberg, Williams-Jeter took over at Dayton for the 2022-23 campaign. While the Flyers were coming off a 26-6 campaign, they went 7-21 in Williams-Jeter’s first season. Dayton didn’t win its first game until Dec. 29 and didn’t nab its first Division I victory until Jan. 1 vs. George Mason.

Despite the struggles, the Flyers won their A10 Tournament opener against VCU before bowing out to Richmond in the second round.

UConn will face Dayton in a non-conference matchup this season, according to the Manchester JI’s Carl Adamec. While the Huskies will host, the date or venue have not yet been announced.

Carla Berube — Princeton

Berube nearly made history as the first former UConn player or assistant to beat the Huskies as a head coach when Princeton visited Gampel Pavilion on Dec. 8. Already without Dorka Juhász and Azzi Fudd, UConn lost Nika Mühl and Lou Lopez Sénéchal to injury during the contest and were left with just Caroline Ducharme and Inês Bettencourt in the backcourt. The Tigers cut a 15-point UConn lead down to two in the fourth quarter, but the hosts recovered for the win.

Princeton lost just five other games — all to teams that made the postseason — en route to a second-straight Ivy League Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance for Berube.

In the first round, the Tigers faced 7-seed NC State in Salt Lake City. They went back and forth for most of the first half until a stretch in the second half where they missed 23 of 24 shots. However, Princeton did just enough to stay within striking distance and found itself down just eight in the final minutes. From there, the Wolfpack didn’t score again and Grace Stone hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.7 left. Princeton faced 2-seed Utah in the second round and put up a fight, but ultimately fell 63-56.

Players

Mir McLean — Virginia

In her first full season with the Hoos, McLean thrived. Through 15 games, she averaged 12.2 points and 9.6 rebounds while shooting 57.4 percent even after undergoing thumb surgery in October. Virginia won its first 12 games and looked to be ahead of schedule on its rebuild.

Then in the third quarter against NC State on Jan. 8, McLean landed awkwardly on a rebound attempt and crumpled to the floor in pain. She soon revealed that she dislocated her knee and tore multiple ligaments, including her ACL, and also suffered cartilage damage. She missed the remainder of the season and there have been no updates on her recovery since.

McLean departed UConn on good terms. In fact, she didn’t even plan on leaving when she did. It all started during a conversation with Geno Auriemma.

“We had a good relationship to where I felt comfortable going to talk to him and I didn’t get into, ‘Oh, I’m transferring.’ It was a conversation about what I could do to improve and how I could be better in the future, and it led down that road to where I was I thinking, ‘It’d probably be better off that I leave and go do something else.’ I’m really blessed that he was very supportive and the whole staff there signed my waiver off and helped that process,” she told The Daily Progress.

Auriemma even helped McLean receive a waiver to play immediately at UVA. She still looks back at her time in Storrs fondly.

“I learned the game a lot at UConn,” she said to The Daily Progress. “I couldn’t depend on my athleticism because there were so many people like me there. And Coach Geno, he’s a great coach with how smart he is and we always said, ‘This man is smart.’ So, I learned like when to back cut, when to flash to the elbow, how to break the press.”

Saylor Poffenbarger — Arkansas

Poffenbarger entered her first full year still a freshman despite beginning her third collegiate season. She started all 37 games for Arkansas and collected 255 rebounds — second-most in a single season in school history. She finished the season averaging 8.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocks per game, hitting 33.1 percent from the field. She also earned a spot on the All-SEC Freshman Team.

Piath Gabriel — UMass

Despite arriving in Amherst with plenty of fanfare and excitement, Gabriel’s junior season went much like her first two at UConn. She played in 12 games — partially due to injury — and only saw a total of 47 minutes on the entire season. Gabriel entered the transfer portal for the second consecutive offseason in March.

Autumn Chassion — Xavier of Louisiana (NAIA)

After one season on the JUCO level at LSU Eunice, Chassion transferred to Xavier of Louisiana, an HBCU in New Orleans that competes at the NAIA level. In 27 games, Chassion started 13 and averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 assists while shooting 30.1 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from three. She scored a season-high nine points on Nov. 28 against Louisiana Christian but struggled down the stretch and failed to score in eight of the team’s final 13 games.

On May 7, Chassion announced she will transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.

Aaliyah Edwards was really good last year. She collected plenty of hardware — AP and USBWA Third Team All-American; All-Big East First Team and Most Improved Player; Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player; Katrina McClain Award finalist — while leading UConn with 16.6 points per game, a 58.9 field goal percentage, and 332 rebounds…

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Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.

Sign up to get the Weekly in your inbox every Thursday or subscribe to get our premium newsletter which includes film breakdowns, analysis, recruiting coverage, and more!

Subscribe now

Headlines

From The UConn Blog:

• UConn women’s basketball taking European tour in August

Last week’s Weekly:

• Evaluating Lou Lopez Sénéchal's and Dorka Juhász’s fit at their WNBA draft destinations

Elsewhere:

• UConn to play exhibition against Southern Connecticut (Manchester JI)

• Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis to retire

UConn’s outlook for 2023-24

UConn’s 2022-23 season ended earlier than any other since 2005 after its loss to Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen, but expectations aren’t changing. Geno Auriemma already said next year will be the Huskies’ best chance at a national title since 2016 and there’s no shortage of talent available to make that happen.

Aubrey Griffin

Griffin returned from back surgery without skipping a beat and had the best season of her career. As long as the back spasms that limited her during the postseason aren’t a sign of a deeper issue, she’ll once again be relied on as the team’s Swiss Army knife. Griffin still has room to grow — especially with her 3-point shooting and consistency — but even if she’s the exact same player, she’ll be a valuable piece for the Huskies.

Aaliyah Edwards

After an All-American campaign, Edwards will return as the only sure thing in the post for UConn. Although the junior could afford to be a touch more consistent, the bigger question is whether she can make the leap from really good to great. To do so, she’ll either have to become the best in the nation at something or eliminate any remaining holes in her game.

Nika Mühl

With Bueckers back and Arnold coming in, Mühl won’t have to run the offense completely on her own. While that’ll knock down her assist numbers, she’ll still have a crucial role in the backcourt by allowing Bueckers and Fudd to play off the ball.

Paige Bueckers

Bueckers will not only need to prove she can stay healthy after nearly two seasons on the sidelines, she’ll also have to show that she’s still the same All-American caliber player after missing so much time. If Bueckers can knock off the rust quickly, she’ll challenge Caitlin Clark for national player of the year.

Azzi Fudd

Fudd’s success is entirely dependent on whether she can stay healthy. She’s a national player of the year talent when at 100%, but has a lengthy injury history dating back to high school and has only played in 50 of 73 possible games in her UConn career. But on the plus side: The combination of Fudd, Edwards, and Bueckers has the chance to be not only one of the best trios in the nation but in program history.

Caroline Ducharme

Through two years, Ducharme has proven that when healthy, she contributes. Unfortunately, she’s struggled in that regard — much of which is completely out of her control. Ducharme’s head has somehow become a magnet for contact, which has resulted in two major head injuries through her first two seasons. She could have a big impact as a junior, but it’s hard to be certain about that.

Amari DeBerry

Through two seasons, DeBerry has shown flashes when on the floor — she had 3.4 blocks per 40 this season (which put her in the top 40 nationally) and hit a respectable 29% from three last year — but hasn’t earned the trust of the coaching staff to play meaningful minutes. With Dorka Juhász off to the WNBA, DeBerry has the opportunity to seize a larger role but will need to make major progress over the summer to claim it.

Ayanna Patterson

Patterson’s physical tools are unmatched and she’s regarded by players and coaches alike as the hardest worker on the team. Based on that alone, she should see more time as a sophomore, even if she needs to improve her touch around the basket and limit the foul trouble. It’ll also help that UConn has a hole in the post behind Edwards, and Patterson will be the most experienced option.

Inês Bettencourt

With Mühl and Ducharme returning, Bueckers and Fudd (hopefully) back to full strength along with the addition of Arnold, Samuels, and Shade, Bettencourt finds herself in a crowded backcourt — especially when it comes to ball-handlers. It’ll be difficult for her to play meaningful minutes barring a major leap over the summer or another run of injuries.

Ice Brady

Despite being at UConn for a year now, Brady is still a mystery after missing her freshman season with a knee injury. She drew rave reviews before going down so as long as she made a full recovery, Brady will make an impact in the frontcourt.

KK Arnold

Arnold has all the tools to be a day-one contributor. She likes to pass, can drive to the basket, defends well, and has the strength and athleticism to hold up physically at the collegiate level. She’ll eventually run UConn’s offense but as a freshman, she’ll likely be a role player while learning behind Mühl and Bueckers.

Jana El Alfy

El Alfy has all the makings of an instant-impact freshman. Auriemma has said that he expects her to play in the WNBA and she had a few months at the end of the season to get acclimated to the program after arriving early in January. At 6-foot-4, El Alfy also has more size than most of the frontcourt, which will come in handy.

Ashlynn Shade

Auriemma refused to pigeonhole Shade into a specific position when she signed her letter of intent in November, so it’ll be fascinating to see how she’s utilized. At the very least, that versatility should help Shade get on the court even with a crowded backcourt.

Qadence Samuels

A tall, long athlete — think Aubrey Griffin but with more of a backcourt skill set — Samuels’ playing time as a freshman will likely depend on how well she can shoot. Even though athleticism always plays, UConn has Griffin and Patterson in a similar mold, so Samuels’ ability to stretch a defense will help differentiate her.

Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.

Sign up to get the Weekly in your inbox every Thursday or subscribe to get our premium newsletter which includes film breakdowns, analysis, recruiting coverage, and more!

Subscribe now

Headlines

From The UConn Blog:

• Chasing Perfection: UConn’s non-conference schedule coming into focus

• UConn women’s basketball enters four-year series with Louisville

Last week’s Weekly:

• From Aaliyah Edwards to Ines Bettencourt: 2022-23 UConn roster review

Elsewhere:

• A Q&A with Kingston basketball star Aaliyah Edwards (The Kingston Whig)

Evaluating Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Dorka Juhász’s fit at their WNBA draft destinations

In a league as small as the WNBA, no draft position is guaranteed a roster spot. The Indiana Fever just waived the No. 4 pick from the 2022 draft, Emily Engstler, on Wednesday ahead of the start of training camp. A player’s fit at their draft destination matters as much, if not more than, their position in the WNBA draft.

Both Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Dorka Juhász have landed in franchises where they have a chance to make an impact this season. Here’s a look at how UConn’s latest draftees fit in with their WNBA squads ahead of training camp, which begins Sunday.

Lou Lopez Sénéchal (Dallas Wings)

Despite the Fever’s move on Wednesday, it’s unlikely that a franchise would use a top-five pick on a player they don’t anticipate making this season’s final roster. Dallas has a relatively young roster entering training camp, and just five protected contracts on the books per Her Hoop Stats. With most teams carrying 11 players on their roster, that leaves about six spots up for grabs in training camp.

The Wings seemed to target shooting in this year’s draft, acquiring Maddy Siegrist (Villanova), Abby Meyers (Maryland) and Ashley Joens (Iowa State), in addition to Lopez Sénéchal. That focus makes sense as Dallas ranked eighth out of the 12 WNBA teams in perimeter shooting last year, and their best 3-point shooter Allisha Gray signed with Atlanta in the offseason. It’s also an area where Lopez Sénéchal, who shot 44 percent from deep this season at UConn, can clearly help the Wings.

In addition to her perimeter scoring, Lopez Sénéchal has proven her ability to score at all three levels at UConn. That skill set can be useful to help bolster a Dallas backcourt anchored by Arike Ogunbowale, and also help space the floor to allow a frontcourt of Teaira McCowan and Natasha Howard to excel inside.

Dorka Juhász (Minnesota Lynx)

As a second-round pick, roster fit is increasingly important for Juhasz’s chances of landing on a WNBA roster to start the season. There aren’t many places that would have served as a better landing spot than Minnesota. The Lynx missed the postseason in 2022 for the first time since the 2010 season, and are entering a rebuilding era following the retirement of Sylvia Fowles.

The Lynx are now looking to build around former Husky Napheesa Collier as their star, and in particular, have openings in their frontcourt following the end of Fowles’ career. On the current roster, Natalie Achonwa gives the Lynx a veteran post option and No. 2 overall draft pick Diamond Miller helps strengthen Minnesota’s wing position. Juhász will have an opportunity to earn a spot to help strengthen the team’s post depth in training camp.

With Minnesota using their late first-round pick on Maia Hirsch (France), a draft-and-stash pick not expected to join the league this season, Juhász has a better opportunity to make this season’s roster. While the competition in training camp will be tough, Juhász’s skillset could make her a great fit in Minnesota. Juhász has demonstrated her ability to play alongside an elite big in Aaliyah Edwards this season at UConn. Her ability to pass out of the low post and to step out and knock down looks from the perimeter could make her an intriguing bench piece for the Lynx this season.

Best of social media

Twitter has temporarily banned Substack from embedding Tweets in newsletters. Until that’s fixed, the social media recap will be limited.

UConn’s WNBA pipeline continues to be strong after adding two more draft picks this season:

Lou Lopez Sénéchal is having some fun in Dallas:

Nika Mühl posted some memories from this season on Instagram:

Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.

Sign up to get the Weekly in your inbox every Thursday or subscribe to get our premium newsletter which includes film breakdowns, analysis, recruiting coverage, and more!

Subscribe now

Headlines

From the UConn WBB Weekly Premium:

• Mailbag: What will UConn's starting lineup be next season?

• The numbers that defined UConn's 2022-23 season

From The UConn Blog:

• UConn women’s basketball to host Ball State in battle of Mühl sisters

• UConn women’s basketball to play in 2023 Cayman Islands Classic

Elsewhere:

• One event stands above the rest for Lou Lopez Sénéchal

2022-23 UConn roster review

UConn had two versions of its team this past season: The roster — the group of players on the squad — and those who were actually available to play. The former remained steady. The latter seemed to change game-by-game.

Lou Lopez Sénéchal

After transferring in from Fairfield, Lopez Sénéchal blew away all expectations in her one season at UConn. She was one of two players to appear in every game and finished second on the team with 15.5 points per game. While she came to Storrs hoping for a more complementary role, Lopez Sénéchal ended up carrying the Huskies on her back for stretches, just as she did with the Stags. It all worked out, though — the exposure helped her to fly up WNBA draft boards and the Dallas Wings took her with the fifth overall pick.

Lopez Sénéchal might’ve only been at UConn one year, but she firmed established herself as the best transfer in program history.

Dorka Juhász

While she didn’t fulfill Geno Auriemma’s preseason prediction and become a top-five pick in the WNBA Draft, Juhász took a big step forward in her second season with the Huskies and became one of the team’s top players.

She suffered a broken thumb in the second game of the year against Texas and had to sit out seven games, but she returned with a near double-double against Florida State. Juhász went on to average 14.2 points and a team-best 9.9 rebounds per game while racking up 15 double-doubles.

She also helped replace Olivia Nelson-Ododa in the post by improving her passing en route to a 92-assist campaign — an impressive feat considering she totaled 129 helpers in the four years prior, and just 74 during her time at Ohio State.

Aubrey Griffin

After missing the entire 2021-22 season with a host of injuries, Griffin returned and looked no worse for wear. She had 13 points in the season opener and proceeded to reach double-figures in 20 of the first 24 games. Griffin played with a consistent confidence and also showed off a 3-point shot, hitting 16 of 55 (29.1 percent) after only making four 3-pointers in her first two seasons.

She tailed off over the last month and only surpassed the 10-point mark twice over the last 11 contests but dealt with back spasms during the postseason, which played a part in the dip.

Aaliyah Edwards

As Edwards went, so did UConn. After a disappointing sophomore campaign, Edwards bounced back and earned AP and USBWA Third Team All-American honors after a 16.6-point, 9.0-rebound season in which she totaled 14 double-doubles — 11 more than she had in her entire career prior to this year. She also played in every game, which shouldn’t be taken for granted.

It wasn’t all perfect, though. A rough stretch in February likely cost her WBCA All-American status (which would’ve gotten her a spot in the Huskies of Honor) while her performance against Ohio State — four points in 18 minutes while dealing with foul trouble — ended the season on a sour note. Still, Edwards proved herself as one of the best players in the country and should only be better with a stronger surrounding cast next season.

Nika Mühl

With Paige Bueckers out for the year with a torn ACL, the weight of the entire offense rested on Mühl’s shoulders and she delivered. She hit the double-digit assist mark 12 times and set the program’s single-game record with 15 dimes against NC State en route to a program-record 284 assists on the season, shattering the previous mark of 231 set by Sue Bird in 2001-02.

Mühl improved her scoring as well, averaging 7.1 points and totaling 256, up from 139 through her first two years combined. Turnovers were a problem at 3.5 per game — including seven in the loss to Ohio State alone — but considering she was UConn’s only ball-handler for much of the season, Mühl played as well as could’ve been reasonably expected of her.

Mühl shattered UConn’s assists record with 284 total — 53 more than the previous mark set by Sue Bird in 2001-02. For reference, the difference between Bird in second and 10th place on the single-season assists list is 41. — From: The numbers that defined UConn's 2022-23 season

Paige Bueckers

Bueckers tore the ACL in her left knee — the same one that forced her to miss 19 games in 2021-22 — in August, which ended her season before it even began. She returned as a partial participant in practice towards the end of the year but there hasn’t been a formal update on her recovery in a while.

Azzi Fudd

After starting the season on a national player of the year pace at 25.6 points through six games, Fudd went down with a right knee injury at Notre Dame on Dec. 4, returned for three quarters in mid-January, suffered another right knee injury, missed another month and a half then made it back in time for the postseason.

While she did have a 22-point effort in the second round against Baylor and put up 14 points in the Sweet Sixteen loss to Ohio State, Fudd never really knocked the rust off. After hitting 40.5 percent from three prior to the injury, she made just 23.4 percent from deep afterwards.

Caroline Ducharme

Even with all the injuries UConn dealt with, arguably nobody went through more than Ducharme this past season. She sat out the opener with neck stiffness, admitted early in the year that she wasn’t 100 percent physically then missed 12 games with a concussion that forced her to wear earplugs on the bench and required a trainer to apply ice to her head when she came out at times — not to mention the countless shots she took to the head.

As a result, Ducharme only played in 23 games and struggled to find a rhythm. Her scoring average dropped from 9.8 per game as a freshman to 7.4 and her shooting percentage fell from 45.5 percent to 40.3 percent.

Amari DeBerry

Despite receiving high praise from Auriemma after the 2021 title game and spending all summer on campus, DeBerry failed to secure any significant playing time this past season. She played the fewest minutes on the team with 210, nearly all of which came after the game was decided.

While DeBerry flashed some potential — her 18 blocks were third best and she made 29.4 percent from three, not bad for a big — she’s struggled to show enough in practice to earn the trust of the coaching staff. This is a make-or-break offseason for the rising junior.

Ayanna Patterson

For all her strength and athleticism, Patterson struggled to carve out a consistent role for the Huskies. She flashed an ability to dominate the glass and even put up a 10-point effort at Maryland, but was often hampered by foul trouble. Patterson missed four games with a concussion in January but returned with a six-point, six-rebound performance in her first contest back.

Auriemma said in February that the freshman turned a corner in practice, but then she didn’t play against either Creighton or Villanova because of the matchup. The same thing happened in the Big East Tournament final, also vs. the Wildcats, but scored six points in 14 minutes against Vermont. Afterwards, Auriemma mentioned that the team needed Patterson down the stretch, but she only played one minute against Baylor and two against Ohio State.

Patterson is regarded as the top performer in the weight room, but she’s still a raw talent — especially on the offensive end around the basket. Despite that, it’s hard to understand why the freshman didn’t play more, especially since her work ethic has never been in question and UConn was often short on players.

Inês Bettencourt

Considering she committed to UConn nine days before the start of the semester and arrived in Storrs on the first day of classes, Bettencourt did about as well as she could’ve. She held her own when called into emergency duty against Princeton and Maryland, and proved to be a capable, end of the bench fill-in.

Ice Brady

Brady missed the season after dislocating her right knee. By the end of the year, she had returned to individual work in practice and participated in drills that required her to run up and down the court at full speed, so her recovery seems to be progressing well. As with Bueckers, there hasn’t been an official update on Brady in a while.

Jana El Alfy

Originally a member of the 2023 recruiting class, El Alfy arrived at the start of the spring semester and spent the remainder of the season with the team to get acclimated to the program. She’ll be a few months ahead of UConn’s other three freshmen when summer workouts begin.

Best of social media

Twitter has temporarily banned Substack from embedding Tweets in newsletters. Until that’s fixed, the social media recap will be limited.

When our last mailbag request went out before the NCAA Tournament, we got a lot of good questions that were more geared towards the offseason, so we put them aside until now.

What’s the starting lineup next year? — Steve C.

With the all-important caveat that everyone is healthy, there’s four locks to start: Paige Bueckers, Aaliyah Edward…

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Since UConn fell to Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen, we’ve looked at the team from plenty of angles: We broke down what went wrong, had the locker room reaction, debated how the season should be remembered, honored the outgoing seniors and looked ahead to the offseason as well as the next campaign.

But perhaps the most objective way to look at the 2022-23 Huskies is through numbers. These are the statistics that defined UConn’s past season.

Statistical leaders

Points: Aaliyah Edwards (16.6 per game, 615 total)

No surprise, UConn’s lone All-American led the team in scoring. Not only that, she and Lou Lopez Sénéchal — the only two players to appear in every game — were No. 1 and 2 in both points per game and total points. Edwards finished as the leading scorer a team-best 15 times in 37 games as well.

Rebounds: Dorka Juhász (9.9 per game); Aaliyah Edwards (332 total)

Because Juhász missed eight games with injury, her 9.9 rebounds per game weren’t enough to surpass Edwards’ total of 332. Still, Juhász’s mark ranks eighth in the program’s single-season history.

Edwards and Juhász both reached double-digit rebounds 15 times on the season.

Assists: Nika Mühl (7.9 per game, 284 total)

Mühl shattered UConn’s assists record with 284 total — 53 more than the previous mark set by Sue Bird in 2001-02. For reference, the difference between Bird in second and 10th place on the single-season assists list is 41. Mühl put herself in a class of her own this year.

The gap is even more stark looking at assists per game. Mühl averaged 7.9 dimes per contest — exactly 2.0 more assists more than Bird had in 2001-02.

She also set the single-game assist record with 15 against NC State, surpassing Paige Bueckers’ mark of 14 from 2021. Later in the year, Mühl had a 14-assist day down at Tennessee meaning in one season, she recorded two of the three top assist games in program history.

Field goal percentage: Aaliyah Edwards (58.9 percent)

After leading the nation with a 68.9 field goal percentage as a freshman, Edwards regressed to make just 52.1 percent the next season. She bounced back in a big way this past year, ranking in the top two percent of the country at 58.9 percent.

3-point percentage: Lou Lopez Sénéchal (44.0 percent)

Despite hitting a rough patch late in the regular season, Lopez Sénéchal still led UConn from behind the arc. For reference, Azzi Fudd only made 42.6 percent from deep in the first seven games of the year before getting hurt.

Free throw percentage: Azzi Fudd (88.2 percent)

For the second straight season, Fudd led the team from the charity stripe, going 15 of 17 on the season. Among players with more attempts, Lopez Sénéchal paced the Huskies at 85.4 percent (76 of 89).

Steals: Dorka Juhász (1.5 per game); Aubrey Griffin, Nika Mühl (50 total)

While Juhász led the way in steals per game, she only finished with 43 total — fourth-most total Griffin, Mühl and Aaliyah Edwards (44). Behind those four, nobody had more than 20.

Blocks: Dorka Juhász (1.4 per game); Dorka Juhász, Aaliyah Edwards (41)

Edwards and Juhász both had a team-high 41 blocks. Amari DeBerry was third with 18.

Minutes: Nika Mühl (36.5 per game, 1,316 total)

Mühl was UConn’s most indispensable player this past season, so she only sat for a total of 164 minutes all season — including the game (meaning all 40 minutes) that she missed due to a concussion at Maryland.

Broken streaks

The 2022-23 season will go down as the year the program’s major streaks ended.

Back-to-back losses for the first time 1,083 games

After dropping a hard-fought contest to South Carolina on Feb. 5, UConn traveled out to Marquette three days later and fell again — the first time the Huskies suffered back-to-back losses since 1993, snapping a streak of 1,083 consecutive games.

The streak nearly went down earlier in the season, too. On Dec. 4, UConn lost to Notre Dame in a game where Azzi Fudd suffered a right knee injury and returned home to host Princeton. Already without Fudd and Dorka Juhász (broken thumb), the Huskies built a 15-point lead with seven minutes left. But after Nika Mühl left with a head injury and Lou Lopez Sénéchal followed with a foot problem, the gap dwindled to as little as two points with 46 seconds left.

With only Caroline Ducharme and freshman Inês Bettencourt left in the backcourt, UConn struggled to break the Tigers’ press and turned it over 14 times in the fourth quarter. The Huskies eventually held on thanks to three made free throws from Bettencourt in the closing seconds.

Later in the season, UConn almost lost back-to-back games again. First, the Huskies were stunned by St. John’s at the XL Center on Feb. 21 and on Feb. 25, they traveled out to DePaul. Despite little going right, UConn erased a five-point lead with five minutes left and eventually went ahead by five. The Blue Demons fought back to within one and then stole the ball to get a chance to take the lead, only for Dorka Juhász to force a jump ball, which gave the Huskies possession. Mühl sealed the win with a pair of free throws as UConn escaped, 72-69.

The Final Four run ends at 14

For the first time since 2007, UConn failed to make the Final Four. In fact, the Huskies failed to advance to even the Elite Eight after being upset by 3-seed Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen.

UConn couldn’t handle the Buckeyes’ press and a second quarter in which the Huskies failed to even attempt a shot until midway through proved to be the difference.

Advanced statistics

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Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.

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Headlines

From the UConn WBB Weekly Premium:

• Why Morgan Cheli and UConn are the right fit for each other

• WNBA Draft Preview: Will Dorka Juhász or Lou Lopez Sénéchal get taken in the first round?

From The UConn Blog:

• UConn women’s basketball to play in 2023 Cayman Islands Classic

• 2024 guard Morgan Cheli commits to UConn women’s basketball

• 2023 WNBA Draft: Lou Lopez Sénéchal selected fifth overall by Dallas Wings

• 2023 WNBA Draft: Dorka Juhász selected 16th overall by Minnesota Lynx

• Photo gallery: 2023 WNBA Draft

Last week’s Weekly:

• Geno says next season will be UConn's best chance for a national championship since 2016

Elsewhere:

• UConn women’s basketball’s non-conference schedule nearly complete (Manchester JI)

After remarkable year, one event stands above the rest for Lou Lopez Sénéchal

In the past year, Lou Lopez Sénéchal got something she’d been waiting her entire life for.

It wasn’t starring at a legendary program like UConn after spending the previous four seasons dominating in the dark at Fairfield. It wasn’t being taken in the WNBA Draft as the No. 5 overall pick by the Dallas Wings on Monday.

It had nothing to do with her own accomplishments.

It was playing in front of her father, seeing her in action live for the first time ever, at this year’s Big East Tournament.

“It was something that I've wanted for 17 years since I started playing basketball,” she said in March.

Born in Guadalajara, Mexico to Carlos Lopez and Sophie Sénéchal, Lou moved to France at the age of five with her mother while her father remained in Guadalajara, where he still lives.

In France, Lopez Sénéchal began her basketball career, which eventually took her to the United States, by way of the North Atlantic Basketball Academy in Ireland.

Despite limited Division I interest, Lopez Sénéchal landed at Fairfield, where she earned three All-MAAC First Team selections and won 2022 MAAC Player of the Year while leading the Stags to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001.

Yet Lopez Sénéchal’s father could only watch her career unfold from afar.

“He was in Mexico so he never got a chance to come watch me in France or even here when I was at Fairfield before,” she explained.

As Lopez Sénéchal’s college days started to wind down, she and her father were determined to change that. They crafted a plan for both him and Lopez Sénéchal’s sister, Mia, to travel to Connecticut for the Big East Tournament.

“We talked about it a lot because it was a dream for both of us to make it happen,” she said. “Knowing that this was gonna be my last year in college… [we wanted] to make it count for the last year and try to make it possible to for him and my sister to come.”

Mia arrived early to surprise Lopez Sénéchal for senior night while her father made it in for the Big East Tournament. Across the three games, she averaged 14.0 points per game as UConn won and hoisted the trophy at Mohegan Sun Arena.

On a day off after the tournament, Lopez Sénéchal spent a day in New York City with them.

“It was the first time for them to be there so I tried to just have as much time as possible with them while still focusing on what we had to do here,” she said.

All of it left a lasting impact on both Lopez Sénéchal and her father.

“Dreams do come true,” she wrote on Instagram. “I’ll never forget the feeling of seeing my family in the stands.”

“That was a life experience that was unique and wonderful to be present and by your side,” he replied in the comments. “So proud of you.”

Now that Lopez Sénéchal is set to embark on her professional career, she’s hopeful that her father can make it to more games in the future. As a new member of the Dallas Wings, she’s about as close as she can get to Mexico. It’s still a sizable distance but it’s certainly shorter than the trip to Connecticut.

“Hopefully he's gonna see me again as a pro,” Lopez Sénéchal said.

Best of social media

Twitter has temporarily banned Substack from embedding Tweets in newsletters. Until that’s fixed, the social media recap will be limited.

When Morgan Cheli was in early elementary school, she had a homework assignment where she needed to decorate a journal with pictures that would motivate her.

She didn’t need to look far to find inspiration: Cheli worked on the project while watching UConn women’s basketball on TV, so the Huskies quickly took over the notebook.

“I had Reb…

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The WNBA Draft kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on Monday night and two former UConn players are expected to hear their names called: Dorka Juhász and Lou Lopez Sénéchal.

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Expert opinions

Lou Lopez Sénéchal

Geno Auriemma (from Feb. 24): “I hope a lot of people pass on her. I really do. Because I always think the later you go in the draft, the better team you get to play on. People all want to be the number one pick or number two pick or number three pick. Good. You're going to a team that can't win and you're expected to do all the things to help them win. And for some people, that's great. I like to think for players like Lou, (if) she gets on a really good team, she's gonna make a difference. 100 percent.”

LaChina Robinson (ESPN analyst): “I'm really high on Lou Lopez Sénéchal. Big wing, can really shoot the three, can drive, has a lot of toughness, can come off screens and make decisions. Got a mid-range pull-up off the bounce. Size matters at 6-1 to be able to play that wing position, so I think teams are interested in her. I could see her going anywhere from late first round to early second.”

Rebecca Lobo: “You've got some good shooters in this draft. LaChina already talked about Lou Lopez Sénéchal… she was able to showcase what she can do at UConn this past season.”

Dorka Juhász

Robinson: “Dorka is interesting because this is not a big, heavy draft so at 6-5, she could go a lot higher than maybe some expected because of position. But she has a lot of versatility, can play inside-out, and has great offensive rebounding ability. I think her double-double numbers were approaching that of the great Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo. Really good mobility in footwork, has the length to be disruptive defensively and can block shots. A lot of skill and can contribute to a WNBA team as well. Feeling like second round for Dorka, but wouldn't be surprised to see her go late first. Again, just depends considering position-wise in this draft.”

Tanisha Wright (Atlanta Dream head coach): “Being able to watch Dorka for the last two years, I think her skill set and what she brings to the table, I think that she's somebody who I would say probably changed a little bit from my side.”

Mock drafts

Barring a major surprise, Aliyah Boston go No. 1 overall to the Indiana Fever followed by Diamond Miller at No. 2 to the Minnesota Lynx. After that is anyone’s guess (though Maddy Siegrist is a favorite to go No. 3 in mock drafts).

In the five mock drafts we considered most reputable — ESPN, Her Hoop Stats, Winsidr, Just Women’s Sports, and The Athletic — there isn’t much of a consensus on Lopez Sénéchal or Juhász. The two are just generally expected to go somewhere in the late first or early second rounds.

ESPN

Lopez Sénéchal: 11th overall (Dallas Wings)
Juhász: 12th overall (Minnesota Lynx)

One of just two mock drafts that have both players going in the first round, ESPN projects the two Huskies to come off the board back-to-back. Dallas at 11 proved to be the most common landing spot for Lopez Sénéchal. As for Juhász, Minnesota has historically gravitated toward UConn players. The Lynx have taken seven Huskies over the years, more than any team other than the Seattle Storm (who have also picked seven).

Her Hoop Stats

Lopez Sénéchal: 11th overall (Dallas Wings)
Juhász: Not listed

Her Hoop Stats only goes one round deep in its projection, so Juhász doesn’t make the cut. Again, Lopez Sénéchal goes to the Wings, who have three first round picks this year.

Winsidr

Lopez Sénéchal: Seventh overall (Indiana Fever)
Juhász: 13th overall (Indiana Fever)

In this scenario, Lopez Sénéchal and Juhász would continue on as teammates in Indiana. While former UConn teammates have been selected in the same draft 14 times over the years, they’ve only been picked by the same team once before: 1999, when Kara Wolters and Jennifer Rizzotti both went to the Houston Comets.

Just Women’s Sports

Lopez Sénéchal: 10th overall (LA Sparks)
Juhász: 8th overall (Atlanta Dream)

The only mock draft to have Juhász going before Lopez Sénéchal is also the highest on Juhász.

The Athletic

Lopez Sénéchal: Not listed
Juhász: Not listed

Another one-round mock draft but neither player is projected by The Athletic to go in the first round.

Prediction

For differing reasons, both players seem likely to go in the first round.

Lopez Sénéchal proved she can shoot — a valuable trait in modern basketball — and score from all three levels. She also elevated her game after transferring from Fairfield to UConn, so it’s reasonable to think she can make a similar leap from college to the WNBA. Lopez Sénéchal also receives high marks for character and mental makeup. Throughout the season, Geno Auriemma marveled at how Lopez Sénéchal’s steadiness in both her demeanor and level of play from the moment she stepped on campus.

As for Juhász, she struggled with consistency but at 6-foot-5 with skill, she’s the prototypical modern big. While she probably won’t be a top-five pick like Auriemma predicted in the preseason, she still had a strong season, finishing three rebounds short of a double-double average while the eighth-best rebounds per game mark in program history. With a relatively weak draft class, it’s hard to imagine too many teams passing on Juhász’s potential in the latter half of the first round.

Numbers to know

• 43 UConn players have been taken in the WNBA Draft, 26 of whom have gone in the first round.

• Lopez Sénéchal and Juhász will be the 15th set of UConn teammates to be selected in the same draft.

• The Huskies’ last first round pick was Megan Walker in 2020, who went ninth overall to the New York Liberty. The last four UConn players taken have all gone in the second round.

• The only current WNBA team that has never selected a Husky is the Las Vegas Aces. Barring a trade, that trend won’t change since the Aces only have one pick: The final one, 36th overall.

• The Connecticut Sun would also likely need to make a deal to keep either Lopez Sénéchal or Juhász in the state. The team isn’t slated to pick until 22nd overall when both players are expected to be off the board.

How to watch

When: 7 p.m. ET

Where: Spring Studios (New York City)

TV: ESPN

Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.

Sign up to get the Weekly in your inbox every Thursday or subscribe to get our premium newsletter which includes film breakdowns, analysis, recruiting coverage, and more!

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Last week’s Weekly:

• What to watch for as UConn's offseason begins

Elsewhere:

• Former UConn forward Kaili McLaren joins Providence as an assistant coach (Providence Athletics)

• WNBA mock draft 2023: Picks and player projections (ESPN) — Lou Lopez Sénéchal goes 11th to Dallas, Dorka Juhász follows one pick later to Minnesota.

UConn men’s basketball is back on top!

Get all our coverage of UConn men’s basketball’s fifth national championship by reading and subscribing to the Fast Break!

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• Dan Hurley writes a new chapter for UConn

• Notes & Quotes: UConn did it

Will 2023-24 be UConn’s best chance for a title since 2016?

Geno Auriemma has one simple wish for UConn’s 2023-24 season.

“I would love nothing better than to coach Paige Bueckers for an entire season. That would make me extremely happy,” he told John Fanta at the Men’s Final Four in Houston over the weekend. “She's been here three years at UConn, and she's played a season and a third, probably.”

After arguably the greatest freshman year in the history of the sport in which she won every national player of the year award possible, Bueckers missed most of the 2021-22 campaign after suffering a tibial plateau fracture and torn meniscus in her knee in December, then sat out all of last season with a torn ACL.

Auriemma has called Bueckers one of the best players to come through the program in recent years, but those injuries have limited her impact. This past season, the Huskies looked like they had all the pieces to win a national championship for the first time since 2016, only for the loss of Bueckers followed by an endless strong of additional injuries to derail it all, resulting in the team’s earliest defeat since 2005.

Despite the prognostications that the dynasty is dead, UConn enters the offseason with a strong, balanced roster. The Huskies are set to lose Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Dorka Juhász, but will get Bueckers along with top freshman Ice Brady back from injury while adding a talented freshman class of KK Arnold (the No. 6 player in ESPN’s 2023 rankings), Ashlynn Shade (No. 15) and Qadence Samuels (No. 41). Jana El Alfy will also be eligible to play after joining the team midway through the season and redshirting.

Those players will join a core that includes AP/USBWA Third Team All-American Aaliyah Edwards, single-season program assists leader Nika Mühl and Azzi Fudd, who looked like a national player of the year candidate before suffering a right knee injury.

Talent-wise, UConn has the best roster in the nation and it’s not particularly close. So even though the season is still seven months away, Auriemma believes the Huskies have all the pieces necessary to snap their national title drought — if their luck can turn.

“If we can stay healthy and avoid some of the pitfalls that we've had the last two years, the team that we have coming back, mixed in with the players that we've recruited that are coming in, I think we will have the best chance to win a national championship since 2016,” he said.

Even if UConn stays healthy, the last seven years have shown just how hard it is to win it all. In 2016-17, the Huskies lost Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck but didn’t miss a beat and went 36-0 to extend the program’s win streak to 111 games entering the Final Four. Despite being the best team in the nation, the pressure caught up to UConn in the national semifinal against Mississippi State and it fell in heartbreaking fashion.

The next season, the Huskies returned almost everybody while adding Azura Stevens. Again, they went undefeated but saved their worst performance of the season for the Final Four and came up short.

In both years, UConn had the best team but didn’t come away with a national championship. The Huskies were a cut above everyone else, but faltered when it mattered most.

Since then, UConn has been flawed just like everyone else and either hasn’t played its best basketball at the right time or hasn’t gotten the necessary luck to end up as the last team standing.

The Huskies will try to change that next season. The good news? If anyone is due for some good fortune, it’s UConn after all it’s been through the last two seasons.

“Everything has to has to fall into place,” Auriemma said. “And I don't want to say, like, we deserve it. But we deserve a break.”

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Just a couple of national champions:

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Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week from the team that runs The UConn Blog.

Sign up to get the Weekly in your inbox every Thursday or subscribe to get our premium newsletter which includes film breakdowns, analysis, recruiting coverage, and more!

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Headlines

From the UConn WBB Weekly Premium:

• What went wrong in UConn's Sweet 16 loss to Ohio State

• UConn reaches "breaking point" in Sweet 16 loss to Ohio State

• Seattle Journal: UConn excited to be in Sue Bird's house

• Why fellow Croatian Karla Vres isn't surprised by Nika Mühl's success at UConn

• No bad blood between Dorka Juhász and her former team

From The UConn Blog:

• Chasing Perfection: A bitter end

• How should UConn women’s basketball’s 2022-23 season be remembered?

• Dorka Juhász and Lou Lopez Sénéchal leave UConn as two of the best transfers in program history

• Sweet 16: UConn women’s basketball shocked by Ohio State, 73-61

• Photo gallery: Ohio State Buckeyes vs UConn women’s basketball - 2023 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Last week’s Weekly:

• Azzi Fudd reintroduces herself with third quarter surge vs. Baylor

What to watch for as UConn's offseason begins

UConn is officially into the offseason after falling the Sweet Sixteen to Ohio State this past weekend. Even though the Huskies suffered their earliest defeat since 2005, they’re only done about a week earlier than usual.

These next two months before the start of summer workouts will be busy. Here’s what to keep an eye out for:

The transfer portal

Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Dorka Juhász are both gone after the pair exhausted their collegiate eligibility, but there’s always the possibility that more players could leave via the transfer portal. Since 2017, all UConn’s outgoing transfers have departed at some point in April, so if anyone from the current roster chooses to go elsewhere, it’ll likely happen in the next month.

As a rule, we don’t speculate on whether any specific players will transfer. However, the Huskies don’t have much room to add someone out of the portal. Currently, UConn has just one scholarship available and will add KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and Qadence Samuels as freshmen while Jana El Alfy and Ice Brady will finally get a chance to play as well.

That leaves the Huskies with six guards, five posts and three wings/positionless players — most of whom are in line for big minutes. Unless there’s a can’t-miss player on the market or the coaching staff feels there’s a major hole that needs to be addressed, UConn doesn’t appear to be a likely landing spot for any transfers.

Injury recoveries

Both Paige Bueckers and Brady are nearing the end of their respective recoveries from season-ending knee injuries. Brady has participated in practice during the window open to media over the last month or so — which included both individual work, team-wide drills and full-court sprints — and warmed up with the team during the NCAA Tournament.

Meanwhile, Bueckers has also been a partial participant in practice. She’s nearly eight months removed from surgery to repair her torn ACL, so she should be fully healed at some point during the summer (barring any setbacks).

The next time Geno Auriemma meets with the media (typically late May or June), there should be definitive updates on both players.

Offseason fix-ups

With no games for the next seven months, now is the time for players to get lingering injuries fixed. Last summer, Caroline Ducharme went under the knife to repair a torn hip labrum while the year before, Bueckers had ankle surgery and Christyn Williams underwent an operation on her elbow.

With the exception of Williams, these type of procedures happen between now and the start of summer workouts in late May. Some are relatively minor while others require an extensive recovery that takes up the entire offseason.

It’s possible nobody needs surgery, though that seems unlikely considering Azzi Fudd told The Athletic in October that her lingering foot problem “will be fixed after the season.’’

If anything does happen, it’ll be revealed in the next couple of months.

Schedule news

UConn’s non-conference schedule is nearly complete, though there are still a few holes remaining. The Huskies will either continue or complete series with Maryland and Notre Dame at home as well as Minnesota (for Paige Bueckers’ homecoming), NC State, South Carolina and Texas on the road. The Manchester JI’s Carl Adamec reported that UConn will begin a four-year series with Louisville in Connecticut next season as well.

That leaves the Huskies with a few openings left to fill. There’s two potential “homecoming” matchups that could happen — another game in Toronto for Aaliyah Edwards, similar to what the team did for Kia Nurse in 2017 or an intra-family matchup for Nika Mühl against Ball State, where her younger sister Hana plays.

The Huskies’ series with Tennessee also concluded with the most recent contest in Knoxville, though Auriemma said afterwards that it’s “still as good as any other non-conference game”. UConn could end up playing in an early-season tournament as well, such as the Phil Knight Legacy this past season or the Battle for Atlantis in 2021.

UConn does have more flexibility with its non-conference slate, though. In 2023-24, the Big East will change to an 18-game schedule instead of the 20-game double round robin format, which means the Huskies can play two additional non-conference matchups.

While the season doesn’t begin until November, news of any potential series, one-off games or tournaments should start to come out sooner than later.

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Entering Saturday’s Sweet Sixteen matchup against 3-seed Ohio State, Geno Auriemma felt pretty good. The team had practiced hard, scouted well, and appeared to have a firm grip on the scouting report.

At first, that checked out through the first few minutes. UConn opened up a quick 10-2 lead and took control. The Huskies defend well and…

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UConn women’s basketball controlled the opening five minutes of the game against 3-seed Ohio State in the Sweet 16, but it was all Buckeyes from that point on. Turnovers and mental mistakes piled up for the Huskies, leading to their earliest exit from the NCAA Tournament since 2005 in a 73-61 loss.

So what went wrong?

UConn couldn’t handle Ohio State’s press

The Huskies started off the game with a 10-2 run — as many would have expected. When Ohio State missed shots, UConn got the ball into the half court without any trouble and found the looks it wanted on offense. The Huskies couldn’t keep Ohio State from scoring forever, however, and once the Buckeyes found ways to get the ball in the basket, the Huskies started to unravel.

UConn looked unprepared to play against the press and completely unaware of how to navigate it, turning the ball over possession after possession while allowing the Buckeyes to capitalize on the offensive end. The Huskies had 18 turnovers in the first half alone with far fewer made field goals (just 10) than giveaways at the break. They turned the ball over on over 50 percent of their first half possessions.

Nika Mühl, tasked with the primary ball-handler role, struggled the most with seven turnovers. However, every Husky contributed to the failure to execute against Ohio State’s press with every player other than Ayanna Patterson — who played just one minute — accumulating at least two giveaways in the game.

“Well, we had eight in the second half, right? So it just took 'em 20 minutes to remember what we worked on, I guess,” said Geno Auriemma of the first half. “I don't know. I think sometimes when these things happen, the bigness of the moment, you know, it's not like you're getting pressed in a game in January on the road against somebody. You're under pressure now in a regional and you either handle it and we win the game going away or you don't handle it and you lose.”

Despite the improvement in the second half, the first half deficit and pressure proved to be too much for UConn to overcome.

Aaliyah Edwards’ foul trouble cripples UConn’s defense

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Welcome to our Seattle Journal, a recap of everything that happened during UConn’s practice days during the regional rounds.

Setting the scene

It’s early on a cold, rainy morning in Seattle. The sun hasn’t even been up for an hour when UConn takes the court for its first practice at Climate Pledge Arena, the host of the Seattle Regional 3.

The arena’s located in Seattle Center, created when the city held the World’s Fair in 1962. It sits in the shadow of the iconic Space Needle and features a low, sloped roof reminiscent of a park pavilion.

Technically, Climate Pledge Arena isn’t a new facility, it just received a $1.15 billion upgrade. In reality, the roof and exterior were saved while practically everything else was demolished and rebuilt. From the outside, the arena doesn’t look that big and isn’t particularly tall, but that’s because the court is five stories below street level so once inside, the building feels cavernous.

Climate Pledge Arena serves as the home of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, so the facilities are top-notch. UConn’s inside the NHL visitor locker room, located at the end of a long series of hallways.

The Huskies take the court for an hour beginning at 8:05 a.m. PT before then fulfilling media obligations.

Geno’s thoughts on Ohio State

“They play a little different than most teams in the sense that they do a couple things exceptionally well. They get out in transition as fast and as aggressively as any team that I've seen. Defensively they create a lot of chaotic situations for you if you're not prepared to handle it. So those two things in and of itself — you might play a team that presses, which certainly we have, or you might play a team that is exceptionally good in transition. But they do both and they've got their whole team now. They were missing a couple kids early in the season when they went through a little bit of a lull, but they seem to be fully healthy and they have got great leaders, great role players.

“I think Kevin has done a remarkable job with them. There's a lot that they do that you have to prepare for offensively and defensively.”

Ohio State’s thoughts on UConn

“They have obviously had a really interesting season. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for us it seems like they're getting healthy at the right time. The players they're going to get back this year, they're back and they look really good right now. When they have the players that they have now they're certainly one of the best teams in the country.” — Head coach Kevin McGuff

The lead

Climate Pledge Arena is where Sue Bird played her final season with the Seattle Storm while KeyArena — the predecessor to the current building — served as her home court from 2002-18. That fact isn’t lost on UConn’s current players.

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For the second weekend in a row, Nika Mühl and UConn will face a team with a Croatian on its roster. Ohio State features Karla Vres, a 6-foot-3 grad transfer forward who started her career at American University. While Vermont’s Nika Kurdija, who’s from a different part of the country, Vres is also from the capital city of Zagreb and p…

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