2023–24 UConn Huskies women's basketball team

The 2023–24 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 39th season at UConn, split their home games between Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on their campus in Storrs, Connecticut, and the XL Center in Hartford. UConn is a member of the Big East Conference, which it rejoined in the 2020–21 season; it had been a member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 through 2013, and one of the original women's basketball teams in that conference in 1982.

UConn lost key players to injury early in the season and dropped several non-conference games. However, led by All-Americans Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards, the Huskies went undefeated in the Big East and then won the conference tournament. In the NCAA tournament, they advanced to the Final Four before losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes. UConn finished the season with a record of 33–6 and were ranked #3 in the final AP and Coaches polls.

Previous season
The 2022–23 UConn Huskies began with season-ending injuries to All-American junior guard Paige Bueckers and freshman forward Ice Brady. The team played well early in the season, but injuries to Azzi Fudd, Dorka Juhász, and Caroline Ducharme often forced starters like Nika Mühl, Aaliyah Edwards, and Aubrey Griffin to play full games and graduate transfer Lou Lopez Sénéchal to take on scoring responsibilities. Mühl ranked second among all NCAA women in assists during the season, UConn relying on her high energy and court vision to make Husky touches in the paint quick and decisive. With a light bench, Edwards, Mühl, Juhász, Lopez Sénéchal, and Griffin became a durable quintet in January; when Fudd and Ducharme returned, the team quickly improved. UConn dominated the Big East tournament. In the NCAA tournament, they advanced to their 29th consecutive Sweet Sixteen before being upset by a swarming Ohio State Buckeyes defense. This was the first time the Huskies failed to reach the Final Four since 2007 (not counting the COVID-disrupted 2019–20 season in which the NCAA tournament was not held).

Departures
The Huskies graduated senior starters Dorka Juhász and Lou Lopez Sénéchal from the 2022–23 roster, and both were drafted into the Women's National Basketball Association.

Injuries
Freshman center Jana El Alfy suffered an achilles injury in August while playing for the Egyptian national U19 team and later underwent corrective surgery.

Recruiting
ESPN evaluated UConn's class of 2023 as the fourth-ranked group in the country, behind LSU, South Carolina, and Arizona.

Recruiting class of 2024
On December 3, 2022, UConn received a verbal commitment from five-star guard Allie Ziebell. Fellow five-star guard Morgan Cheli committed to UConn soon after. In November 2023, ESPN ranked the Huskies' 2024 class as the sixth-best in the country. On April 6, 2024, the #1 player in the class of 2024, five-star forward Sarah Strong, also committed to UConn.

Coaching
Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma and Hall of Fame associate head coach Chris Dailey returned for their 39th season. Assistant coach Jamelle Elliott was a UConn assistant coach from 1998 to 2009 and returned after a nine-year head coaching stint at Cincinnati. Assistant coach Morgan Valley was the head coach of the Hartford Hawks when hired by the Huskies. Elliott and Valley are both former UConn players. Tonya Cardoza, another former Huskies assistant, returned to UConn in June after serving as Temple's head coach for 15 years. Also in June, UConn announced Ben Kantor was promoted to assistant coach from his previous staff position serving as the team's video coordinator since 2015. On February 7, 2024, this year's squad defeated Seton Hall for Auriemma's 1200th career win. He became only the third NCAA basketball coach to reach that mark.

Season summary
Even after graduating two WNBA draftees, the Huskies entered the season with six reliable and tested starters, led by seniors Nika Mühl, Aubrey Griffin, and 2023 All-American Aaliyah Edwards. Juniors Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, and 2021 All-American Paige Bueckers returned in the backcourt. UConn were ranked #2 in the preseason AP and Coaches polls.

However, the Huskies' injury problems of the previous few seasons continued to plague them. Freshman center Jana El Alfy got hurt during the offseason. Sophomore forward Ayanna Patterson suffered a knee injury in December and never played a game. Fudd only played two games before suffering a non-contact injury in practice in November. She was diagnosed with an ACL injury and was out for the rest of the season. Ducharme, who had previously struggled with recurring neck issues, only played four games. On January 23, she announced that she would not be returning to play this season.

UConn's injuries, combined with a tough non-conference schedule, led to three losses to quality opponents in their first seven games of the season. The Huskies then went on a 13-game winning streak as they started their Big East schedule, though they became even more shorthanded when Griffin experienced an ACL tear in her left knee during the Creighton game on January 3. For most of the season, UConn ran out a starting lineup of forward Edwards, guards Bueckers and Mühl, and freshmen guards KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade. Freshmen forward Ice Brady and guard Qadence Samuels were the primary substitutes on a very short bench. Forward Amari DeBerry and guard Inês Bettencourt provided spot minutes when needed.

With Bueckers leading the team in points, Edwards leading in rebounds, and Mühl leading in assists, UConn went 18–0 in the Big East to win the conference regular season title. They never dropped out of the top 25 in the AP and Coaches polls. During this time, they lost two more games to ranked non-conference opponents, but they won all of their Big East games by at least 15 points and had an overall record of 26–5 going into the postseason. Bueckers was named the Big East Player of the Year.

UConn entered the Big East tournament in March on a six-game winning streak. DeBerry was ruled out for the rest of the season after going into concussion protocol, and in the quarterfinals, Edwards suffered a broken nose. This left the Huskies with just seven players available for the rest of the Big East tournament. UConn went on to win the tournament anyway to clinch a berth in the NCAA tournament. It was their 11th straight conference tournament championship. Bueckers and Edwards were both named to All-American teams.

In the NCAA tournament, UConn were the number three seed in their region. They won their first four games of the tournament with Bueckers named the most outstanding player of the region. In the Final Four, the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Huskies; the game was watched by a college basketball record 14.4 million viewers on ESPN. UConn finished the season with an overall record of 33–6 and were ranked #3 in the final AP and Coaches polls. Afterward, Edwards and Mühl were selected in the 2024 WNBA draft. Mühl finished her UConn career as the program's all-time assists leader.

Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=""| Exhibition

!colspan=12 style=| Regular season



!colspan=12 style=|Big East tournament

!colspan=12 style=|NCAA tournament

Awards and honors

 * Paige Bueckers
 * Associated Press first-team All-American
 * United States Basketball Writers Association first-team All-American
 * Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American
 * Big East Player of the Year
 * First-team All-Big East
 * Big East tournament Most Outstanding Player
 * Aaliyah Edwards
 * United States Basketball Writers Association second-team All-American
 * Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American
 * First-team All-Big East
 * Ashlynn Shade
 * Big East Freshman of the Year
 * Big East All-Freshman Team
 * Nika Mühl
 * Second-team All-Big East
 * KK Arnold
 * Big East All-Freshman Team
 * Geno Auriemma
 * Big East Coach of the Year