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UConn Women's Basketball: Three Takeaways From Preseason Games
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- UConn Women's Basketball: Three Takeaways From Preseason Games
After beating the Syracuse Orange , Texas and Army, the UConn Huskies women's basketball team finished the exhibition season at 3-0.
After going 38-1 and getting to the Final Four a season ago, Geno Auriemma's team is ready for the regular season again - one that features a daunting non-conference schedule .
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With the exhibition season now behind us, let's take a look at the three biggest takeaways from these three games.
The team is incomplete
UConn won each of its three games by 22 points or more. That shows that they are pretty darn good already, but still, there's room to grow.
How? By getting star forward Blanca Quinonez back. The sophomore out of Ecuador didn't play at all in the preseason after undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason. She was the Sixth Woman of the Year in the Big East last season and she was named to the preseason All-Conference team this year.
Yes, the Huskies played well enough without her, but we'll never know the full ceiling for this team until she's back out there, which is hopefully coming soon.
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Jovana Popovic is here to stay
The freshman guard started in place of Quinonez and did an excellent job. While Olivia Vukosa may have been the most heralded recruit coming in, it was the Serbian who really opened eyes. She went for double-figures in each of the three games, and she had 22 against Texas.
She shoots well, passes well, isn't intimidated by the moment, and certainly has a good understanding of where to be on the floor.
Replacing Azzi Fudd's production is going to be hard...
Any time you lose the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, you're going to have a tough time replacing her, so that's not really a surprise. But what UConn needs to do is figure out exactly how to find 3-point shooting in her absence.
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Fudd was one of the top shooters in the nation, and she's no longer here. UConn was just 3-of-22 from 3-point range in the win against Syracuse and it will be a collective effort to find her replacement.
Sarah Strong can hit the three, and so can Popovic and Ashlynn Shade, but there's no one that scares you completely from beyond the arc - yet.
UConn Huskies guard Ashlynn Shade (12) shoots against South Carolina Gamecocks center Madina Okot (11) in the first half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the women's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center. Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Up next
The UConn women will open up the regular season on Nov. 2 against Cornell at PeoplesBank Arena. The Big Red compete in the Ivy League.
