UConn’s Women’s Basketball: The Untold Story Behind a Potential New Dynasty
UConn claimed the women’s basketball national title last season—but if you think that was just a lucky streak, think again. The 2025-26 Huskies don’t just look good on paper; they’re channeling the dynasties of yesteryear with a dominant swagger that practically hums through every pass and defensive stance. Ever wonder what it takes for a program to shift from “contender” to “unstoppable juggernaut” again? The answer might be right here in Storrs. With a mix of seasoned leadership and next-level talent, this team is rewriting the script on what dominance means in women’s college basketball. It’s not just a return; it’s a resurgence that’s making coaches and fans alike sit up and ask: could this be the start of yet another era that defines the sport? Dive deeper into the story of UConn’s rise and what lies ahead for this powerhouse—it’s a narrative you won’t want to miss. LEARN MORE.
UConn won the women’s basketball national title last season. But it’s the 2025-26 season’s dominance that looks a lot like the Huskies dynasties of yesteryear.
Ever since UConn won the national championship last season, there’s been a thought in the back of the minds of opposing coaches and fans.
What if UConn’s not just a perennial title contender? What if UConn is UConn again?
The difference there is massive. The Huskies never went away as a national story, but, until last year, they were just one of the best teams in the country for a while. In fact, they entered the 2024-25 season on an eight-year title drought, which was their longest since winning the first championship in 1994-95.
UConn’s run of dominance was recent enough that everyone remembers it, but it bears repeating just how dominant the team was. From 2016-17 to 2024-25, UConn had the best winning percentage in Division I at .905, edging out South Carolina (.894).
From the 1999-2000 season, the Huskies had a winning percentage of .937, .091 points higher than second-place Stanford during that time frame. UConn also won 10 of the 17 championships during the span.
Narrow that time down even more and UConn had a truly unfathomable stretch. From 2008-09 to 2015-16, the Huskies won six of eight possible championships and went undefeated four times. If we look at the top teams by TRACR, which evaluates team strength based on performance and quality of competition, the top seven teams from 2011-12 to 2024-25 are UConn’s seven teams from 2011-12 to 2017-18.
So the Huskies’ domination wasn’t merely a dynasty. It was a reign unlike almost anything ever seen in North American sports history. Getting back to anything close to that level of dominance will take a lot, but the signs are there.
The eighth-best team since 2011-12 according to TRACR? That would be last season’s UConn Huskies.
And the 2025-26 team looks even better.
Entering Tuesday’s women’s basketball schedule, UConn had a TRACR of 75.85, which would be the best any team has had in the TRACR era.
There’s a long way to go, but to this point, another Huskies’ national title under veteran coach Geno Auriemma looks every bit as inevitable as the best teams of their glory years.
Two-Way Talent
Think of all the names from UConn’s storied history that propelled their dominance. Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Breanna Stewart.
Paige Bueckers was a terrific recent addition to this list, and there are some names on the current roster that belong beside that list of legends when it’s all said and done.
The odds at most sportsbooks for Naismith Player of the Year suggest that it is a two-player race between Audi Crooks of Iowa State and Sarah Strong of UConn. While Crooks is completely unstoppable as a scorer, Strong’s all-around game should give her the edge.
She leads UConn on a per-game basis in points, rebounds and steals while being tied for the team lead in assists and blocks. All while shooting 60.0% from the field, 42.4% on 3-pointers and 88.9% from the free throw line.
Among all Division I players who attempted at least 25 3s since 1999-00, only two have averaged more points than Strong while shooting 60% from the field and 40% on 3s: Middle Tennessee’s Alysha Clark in 2008-09 and UConn’s Napheesa Collier in 2016-17.
With her ability to score at a high volume efficiently, Strong would be incredibly valuable even if she were a subpar defender. But she has a case as the best defender in college basketball. In fact, Strong leads Division I in both offensive VAPR and defensive VAPR, which measure a player’s value in relation to the rest of the league on both ends of the court.
It can be hard to break down Strong’s game because she’s good at, well, everything. She’s an elite scorer on mismatches, a good shooter and a good interior defender with quick hands.
Strong is complemented perfectly on offense by Azzi Fudd, who has taken her game up a level. Fudd was a very good shooter last season but is now in the conversation for best shooter in college basketball. She ranks seventh nationally in 3-point percentage (48.2%) and is tied for fifth in 3-pointers made (53). Any time Strong puts the defense in rotation, Fudd is there to make them pay from outside.
She’s also helped fill the playmaking void left by Bueckers’ departure. Her assists per game are up from 2.7 to 4.3, and she’s done it within the flow of the offense.
The rest of the offense falls in line behind the two stars, with six players averaging between six and 11 points. Blanca Quinonez has ascended to the third-leading scorer on the team and is shooting 67.3% on 2-point shots over her last eight games. The freshman forward has turned into a real weapon off the bench.
The offense has a clear hierarchy and has been humming, but the Huskies are only the second-best offensive team in the country behind UCLA, according to offensive TRACR (O-TRACR). Defensively, though, they have no equal.
UConn ranks first in D-TRACR and looks even more impressive when broken down by individual talent. All five UConn starters rank in the top 10 in Division I in D-VAPR.
Watching the UConn defense is mesmerizing, especially when all five starters are on the floor. It’s five incredible individual talents moving in harmony. The Huskies are incredibly opportunistic, leading all major conference teams with 15.8 steals per game with Strong, Arnold and Fudd all in the top 30 in the country in steals.
Despite being aggressive going for the ball, they don’t foul very often. The Huskies allow the sixth-fewest free throws among major conference teams at just 11.3 per game. The targeted aggression is a balancing act, but it’s been incredibly effective.
So the Huskies have an offense centered around two of the most talented and efficient high-volume scorers in the nation and a defense full of players who would be the best primary defender on the majority of the other teams. That adds up to a team that is one of three unbeatens at 17-0.
The Road Ahead
UConn has won two games by less than 20 points this season: 79-66 against No. 20 Louisville in the opener, and a nail-biting 72-69 victory against No. 6 Michigan on Nov. 21.
Since the close call against the Wolverines, the Huskies have won 12 games by an average of 42.8 points. This isn’t the beginning of the season with a bunch of cushy nonconference opponents, either – it’s been Big East play with a 79-51 win over No. 16 USC and a 90-64 win over No. 11 Iowa thrown in.
If you’re looking for some tougher challenges for the Huskies, there aren’t many left in the regular season. They host a tough Villanova team and No. 23 Notre Dame in their next two games but will still be massive favorites at home.
In fact, our supercomputer gives the Huskies a 95%-or-better chance to win each of their remaining games except two: Feb. 1 hosting No. 20 Tennessee (92%) and at Villanova on Feb. 18 (94%).
Add up all these games as heavy favorites, and the supercomputer gives UConn a 72% chance of being undefeated at the end of the regular season. The team will be a massive favorite in the Big East Tournament as well, given that it has a 55-game winning streak over conference opponents.
The NCAA Tournament is a different story. Although UConn may enter as the favorite, the field is anything but a walk-through this year.
There have been four teams since 2011-12 with a TRACR above 69.0 over a full season. So, four teams over 14 seasons.
There are currently four teams in this season alone with a TRACR of 69.0. While that number is in part because the average team seems to be a bit worse than usual and is also likely to dwindle because it’s hard to be that consistently elite over a full campaign, it shows just how deadly this year’s top contenders are.
UCLA has the potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft in Lauren Betts, surrounded by an excellent supporting cast. South Carolina has made five straight Final Fours and is loaded once again. The Gamecocks’ lone loss was by two points to Texas, which suffered its first loss to LSU on Sunday and has a rematch with South Carolina on Thursday. They’re immensely talented and will be battle-tested by the time the NCAA Tournament arrives.
With these talented teams (plus the Michigan team that almost beat UConn earlier this season or LSU), the Huskies will need to be at their best in the later rounds of the tournament to repeat as national champions.
But if they’re able to steamroll their way to another championship? It might foreshadow another long decade for any team that doesn’t reside in Storrs, Connecticut.
For more coverage, follow along on social media on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and X.
The post Is UConn Starting Another Women’s College Basketball Dynasty? appeared first on Opta Analyst.
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