The Road to Twelve
A five-year arc that began in a bubble and ended with the Huskies once again hoisting the ultimate NCAA bauble was riddled with bad luck and injuries.
November – January
Six games cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
April 2
1-seed UConn loses to 3-seed Arizona in Final Four 59–69 in an arena filled with cardboard cutouts.
April-May
Paige Bueckers sweeps all four major player-of-the-year awards, the first freshman to win any.
April 30
Bueckers has ankle surgery, is unable to practice for majority of off-season.
December 3
Azzi Fudd misses first of 10 games with right foot injury.
December 5
Bueckers is injured in last 40 seconds of a win vs. Notre Dame, undergoes surgery.
December 9
UConn’s loss to Georgia Tech is first to unranked team in 240 games.
December 20
UConn drops outside AP Top 10 for first time in 16 years.
January 10
Aubrey Griffin has injury-related back surgery, will miss entire season.
February 25
Bueckers returns in a 93–38 victory over St. John’s.
March 28
Elite Eight: UConn tops NC State in double overtime. Dorka Juhász fractures wrist, exits tournament.
April 1
UConn makes 14th consecutive Final Four, beats defending champs Stanford 63–58.
April 3
Fudd falls ill before her first championship game. UConn falls to South Carolina 64–49 in its first men’s or women’s loss in 16 NCAA title games.
April 11
Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Evina Westbrook are drafted into WNBA.
April 23
Fairfield transfer Lou Lopez Sénéchal commits to UConn, starts all 37 games.
August 1
Bueckers suffers ACL tear in pickup game, will miss entire season.
October 21
Ice Brady suffers a dislocated patella in practice, will miss entire season.
November 10
Griffin returns, shooting 6 of 7 for 13 points off the bench in win against Northeastern.
November 14
A broken thumb sidelines Juhász.
November 20
Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey faints before tip off, exits court on stretcher. Nika Mühl sets single-game Huskies assist record with 15 against No. 10 NC State.
November 27
UConn tops Caitlin Clark’s No. 9 Iowa to win its third top-10 match in a month.
December 4
Fudd injures knee, UConn falls to Notre Dame at home for the first time since 2013.
December 8
Mühl suffers concussion against Princeton.
December 11
With four starters injured, UConn narrowly loses to No. 20 Maryland.
December 18
Juhász and Mühl return to lineup. Coach Geno Auriemma falls ill minutes before tip off. The Huskies win 85–77, making C.D. 15–0 in Auriemma’s absence.
December 21
Auriemma misses second consecutive game with health concerns.
December 28
The Huskies take the court with only seven players after Amari DeBerry is unable to travel due to weather and Griffin tests positive for COVID.
January 3
C.D. extends record to 16-0 as Auriemma is sidelined once again. Ducharme misses first of 13 games with concussion.
January 5
C.D. goes 17-0, but Edwards suffers knee injury after hard second-half fall into courtside seating.
January 8
UConn vs. DePaul is postponed as Huskies have six available players — one fewer than Big East minimum.
January 11
Fudd returns for 30-point victory over St. John’s.
January 15
Fudd reinjures knee against Georgetown.
January 26
A still-shorthanded UConn defeats historic rival Tennessee in Knoxville 84-67.
February 8
Loss to Marquette follows Feb. 5 South Carolina loss — UConn’s first back-to-back losses in nearly 30 years.
March 4
Fudd returns for quarterfinal victory over Georgetown in Big East tourney.
March 25
UConn exits NCAA tournament in Sweet Sixteen loss to Ohio State, ending its Final Four streak at 14.
April 10
Lopez Sénéchal and Juhász selected 5th and 16th respectively in WNBA Draft.
July 23
Jana El Alfy ruptures Achilles while playing for Egyptian national team, will miss entire freshman season.
November 8
Bueckers returns to court after 584 days in 102–58 rout of Dayton. KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, Brady, and Qadence Samuels debut.
November 14
Fudd tears ACL in practice.
December 14
Ayanna Patterson has knee surgery.
January 3
Griffin tears ACL during third quarter of win over Creighton.
January 23
Caroline Ducharme will remain sidelined to recover from head and neck injuries that have kept her out since fourth game of season.
January 27
No. 15 Notre Dame defeats No. 8 UConn at Gampel behind 34-point performance from Hannah Hidalgo.
February 11
UConn takes another tough non-conference loss against No. 1 South Carolina 83-65.
February 16
Bueckers announces return for final year of eligibility.
March 2
DeBerry enters concussion protocol, the sixth Husky out through end of season.
March 9
Aaliyah Edwards exits quarterfinals of Big East Tournament with facial injury, misses rest of tourney.
March 25
Huskies celebrate Auriemma’s 70th birthday with a 30th consecutive first-round win in NCAA tournament.
April 2
Another depleted UConn roster regains its Final Four place over USC and freshman star JuJu Watkins.
April 5
UConn brings Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes to the wire but falls short 71–69.
April 15
Edwards and Mühl selected 6th and 14th overall in 2024 WNBA Draft.
April 28
Princeton grad Kaitlyn Chen transfers to UConn.
May 15
No. 1 ranked recruit Sarah Strong commits, joins No. 7 Allie Ziebell and No. 11 Morgan Cheli.
November 7
El Alfy returns to competitive play against BU.
November 20
Auriemma becomes winningest coach in college basketball history with win over Fairleigh Dickinson University. His overall record: 1,217–162. Fudd returns to lineup.
December 8
Fudd exits game vs. Louisville with knee sprain.
December 12
UConn falls to Notre Dame for third time in a row.
December 16
Ayanna Patterson undergoes shoulder surgery, misses remainder of season.
December 17
UConn bounces back against Iowa State with 29/27/27 points from Strong/Shade/Bueckers. Huskies set program record with 20 three-pointers.
December 21
UConn falls just short against USC, 72-70, after overcoming an 18-point deficit. Fudd returns.
January 19
Griffin returns to lineup in win against Seton Hall. Bueckers is fastest Husky to reach 2,000 career points (102 games).
February 6
UConn falls 80–76 to Tennessee in Knoxville. Auriemma will call this the season’s turning point.
February 16
UConn snaps South Carolina’s 71-game home winning streak.
February 21
Cheli misses remainder of season after ankle surgery.
February 22
Ducharme makes first appearance since November 2023 in win over Butler.
March 2
Bueckers inducted into Huskies of Honor on Senior Night.
March 24
Bueckers scores 34 points in farewell game at Gampel in second-round NCAA Tournament win against South Dakota State, 91–57.
March 29
Bueckers scores career-high 40 points in Sweet 16 win against Oklahoma.
March 31
UConn returns to Final Four with rematch victory over 1-seeded Trojans, this time without Watkins.
April 4
Huskies stun No. 1 overall seed UCLA 85–51 and earn another shot at ending their nine-year title drought.
April 6
Huskies dominate against 1-seeded South Carolina, become national champions again.
April 14
Bueckers drafted #1 in 2025 WNBA Draft by Dallas Wings, finishing career as Huskies’ third all-time scorer. Chen and Griffin drafted in third round.
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