UConn guard Kayleigh Heckel (9) drives the ball against Southern California guard Malia Samuels (10) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The top-ranked UConn women’s basketball team (10-0, 2-0) has experienced its fair share of cramped leg space and questionable in-flight food since its five game home stand expired on Nov. 23.
Trips to Cincinnati, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles were spelled only by a 67-point explosion of DePaul in Gampel Pavilion on Dec. 7. The Huskies haven’t been home for more than four days at a time since before Thanksgiving and have played once at Gampel since Nov. 12.
Quite the whirlwind – and they won’t play again in Gampel until Jan. 19.
But they’re home, at least, and will open Hartford Big East play with the Marquette Golden Eagles (7-3, 2-0) on Wednesday night.
Storylines to Watch for No. 1 Connecticut (10-0, 2-0)
Consistency from Shade: Ashlynn Shade has strung together the three best performances of her season in the team’s last four games, notching double-digit points against Xavier (14), South Florida (10) and Southern California (15) on a combined 13-of-29 (44.8%) mark from the field.
Shade had been chasing scoring consistency for the first month of the season, hitting on 18 of her 51 (35.9%) field goals and 5-of-24 (20.8%) 3-pointers through six games. Since Nov. 30, those numbers have jumped to 43.8% (14-of-32) and 52.6% (10-of-19), respectively.
Shade may have felt pressure to perform with burgeoning freshman Blanca Quiñonez and sharpshooting sophomore Allie Ziebell providing scoring punch off the bench. But the junior wing has begun to piece it together, especially from behind the arc.
Marrying an improved 3-point shot with her penchant for scrappy offensive rebounding and transition defense gives Geno Auriemma another option to utilize on the perimeter.
Fudd on track for history: After Saturday’s 79-51 stomping of No. 16 USC, Azzi Fudd’s season splits lay at 50% from the field, 53.1% from behind the arc and 100% from the charity stripe.
A 50-50-100 season – Incomprehensible. It’s only been seen once before, when Tony Snell went for 51-56-100 on the Atlanta Hawks in 2020-21.
And the crux of it all? It’s realistic that Fudd maintains this efficiency. Her 53.1% mark from 3-point land isn’t the product of two attempts per game. Fudd is making over half of her shots from behind the arc on 6.4 attempts per night.
Perhaps the free throw line would stave off Fudd’s attempt at history – even the best shooters on the planet miss from the charity stripe every now and then. But her sterling 100% mark on “gimmie” shots has been done on only 13 shots in 10 games, meaning Fudd is barely ever at the free throw line.
The graduate wing is on pace for 40.3 free throws this season and currently ranks in the 13th percentile nationally in free throw attempts rate (9.7%).
It’s plausible that history is made in Storrs (again).
Southern California guard Kara Dunn (25) drives the ball against UConn forward Sarah Strong (21) during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Opponent Scout: Marquette Golden Eagles (7-3, 2-0)
The Golden Eagles, who were picked second in the Big East Preseason Poll, have used a 31-point dismantling of DePaul and a 25-point win over Butler to start 2-0 in league play.
Marquette’s 65-62 win over archrival Wisconsin highlighted its non-conference schedule, with other wins coming over Winthrop, Bowling Green, Milwaukee and Le Moyne. Cara Consuegra’s squad pushed undefeated Iowa State to the fourth quarter before slipping 84-73 and have also dropped games to Gonzaga and Minnesota.
The Golden Eagles are headed by the scoring trio of Skylar Forbes (15.8), Halle Vice (13.2) and Lee Volker (11.9) – all of whom are all-conference caliber players. Supplemental scoring is provided by Jaidynn Mason (9.9) and Olivia Porter (6.2), the other two starters.
It’s a tightly wound rotation; nine players average double-digit minutes, with every starter outside of Mason averaging 27-plus.
Marquette’s 39.9% mark from behind the arc ranks 5th nationally, while its 20 assists per game ranks 20th. The Golden Eagles’ half court oriented system looks to slow the game down and operate out of sets.
