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Takeaways from UConn women's basketball win over Texas: Sarah Strong, Jovana Popovic and more
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- Takeaways from UConn women's basketball win over Texas: Sarah Strong, Jovana Popovic and more
HARTFORD - It's not often Geno Auriemma gets a real eye test of his team before the start of the regular season.
Preseason games have long been reserved for secret scrimmages behind closed doors and exhibitions against mismatched opponents. Normally, the UConn women's basketball team would play one or two lower-level programs, often a Division II team, in October and blow out the box score. Sure, these games give players ample minutes and allow Auriemma the flexibility to test lineups, but they rarely put the Huskies in a competitive environment.
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That wasn't the case Monday against Texas.
The Huskies and Longhorns, both 2026 Final Four teams and led by All-American forwards, went back and forth throughout a first half that featured 12 lead changes. UConn's tandem of Jovana Popovic and Sarah Strong dominated on offense, while Texas' size frustrated the Huskies.
"I think games like this, you can't really replicate in practice," said Strong.
And even though the game counts toward nothing and won't matter in any standings or postseason seeding, it forced the Huskies to work through adversity early. UConn won 83-61 and, most importantly, gave Auriemma a clearer understanding of his team heading into the final two weeks of the preseason.
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"March is going to come, and your goal is to play a team like Texas in March because that means you're going pretty far in the tournament," said Auriemma. "... So, getting a taste of that, getting a preview of that, is way better than watching on film and talking about it at practice."
Strong led UConn with 27 points, three rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal. Popovic followed with 22 points (7-of-11 shooting), a team-high seven rebounds, a team-high five assists and one steal. The Huskies shot better against the Longhorns than in their preseason opener against Syracuse (when they finished 3-of-22 from deep). Against Texas, UConn finished 10-of-18 from the perimeter, led by as much as 24 and won inside the paint, 34-26.
"Today we scored on a lot of just individual plays," said Auriemma. "People made pretty good decisions, and then we did some really good things. But I thought, you know, we turned it over a lot, some bad decisions. But that's kind of par for the course for this time of year; I think we're maybe a little bit ahead of where I thought we'd be."
Sarah Strong, center, of UCONN drives to the basket against Texas during a preseason game at the PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford on October 19, 2026. (Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media)
All-American Madison Booker led Texas with 23 points, six rebounds and one assist. The two teams will meet again in next year's preseason when the Huskies play the Longhorns in Austin in another exhibition.
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The Huskies again only had 10 available players. Blanca Quiñonez (shoulder) and Marine Dursus (ankle) remain out recovering, while redshirt sophomore Morgan Cheli was a late scratch to the injury report. Auriemma said Cheli is "day-to-day," but did not specify why.
UConn closes out its preseason slate on Sunday, hosting Army at 4 p.m. in Storrs. The 2026-27 regular season officially tips off on Nov. 2, when UConn hosts Cornell in Hartford.
Here are the main takeaways from UConn's exhibition win over Texas:
The Good
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Jovana Popovic and Sarah Strong's connection: From full-court length passes to dazzling layups, the two were unstoppable, combining for 22 of UConn's first 29 points. Halfway through the second quarter, Popovic heaved a football-ball-like pass down to Strong by the Huskies' basket. The star forward caught the ball, took a step and made the bucket even with a defender in front. One of Strong's eight straight points in a span of 57 seconds. Popovic and Strong combined for 49 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals.
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Allie Ziebell's return: The junior guard made her preseason debut after missing last week's game against Syracuse due to an ankle injury. Ziebell came in about four minutes into the game. Her first points came off a steal-and-score in the second quarter. Ziebell looked confident back on the floor, never hesitating to take her shot. She finished with eight points, two rebounds, one block and one steal in 21 minutes.
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Defense: UConn outscored Texas 19-8 in the third quarter and held the Longhorns to just 2-of-14 from the floor in the frame. In the first half, neither team led by more than five as the first 20 minutes ended in a tie. But the Huskies came out of intermission with their feet firmly on the gas. UConn double-teamed Booker and scored 15 points off Texas' 15 total turnovers. The Huskies won the second half 46-24.
"I thought Connecticut was really tough tonight. I thought we got out-toughed," said Texas head coach Vic Schaefer. "… Coach Auriemma doesn't get a lot of credit for his defense, and I think his defense is always good. He always talks about his offense and their flow and their movement, but I think defensively, his teams are always tough, and I thought they were tough tonight."
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The Bad
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Turnovers: The Huskies turned it over on their first possession of the first and second quarters. Whether it was lack of communication or poor execution, UConn often let the ball slip out of control. By halftime, Texas had scored 14 points off the Huskies' 11 turnovers. Some of that sloppiness is expected in a preseason game where chemistry is still developing, and lineups are still being experimented with. UConn finished with 17 turnovers.
"We're not maybe as big and as long as some other teams, but we need to be a little tougher," said Auriemma. "We need to be a little bit smarter, and I think we're getting there."
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Breaking Texas' press: The Longhorns pressed UConn hard and repeatedly, thanks to their size and length. While UConn could often break through the press, it flustered its offense into an uncontrollable pace, resulting in turnovers and rushed shots.
This article originally published at Takeaways from UConn women's basketball win over Texas: Sarah Strong, Jovana Popovic and more .
