UConn women’s rough road continues at No. 7 Louisville: What to know, how to watch
· Yahoo Sports
A week ago, Geno Auriemma was worried, perhaps half joking, said that the UConn women’s basketball team could be looking at a four-game losing streak, unthinkable for a program that once went 30 years without a two-game losing streak.
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But he had lined up a nonconference schedule that included four consecutive ranked teams, and when the Huskies started off with a double-digit loss at Michigan on Nov. 5, the unthinkable looked like a possibility. That has since been buried with a couple of signature, convincing UConn wins over Iowa at home and at Ohio State, so, no, they would not finish last in the Big Ten. In fact, the Huskies may be hitting their stride.
Now they have another road game against a top 10 team, at No. 7 Louisville, an old conference rival in the original Big East and a frequent nonconference opponent since.
UConn women ‘took a chance’ and the Huskies are now 3-1 heading to No. 7 Louisville
Louisville, with its ACC schedule coming up, has started its season with five mid-major opponents and defeated them easily. Coach Jeff Walz took his team on the road to Ball State for a little tougher test in the last game, and the Cardinals won, 94-73. Their average margin of victory so far is 38.4 points.
“I think it’s good for the game,” Walz told reporters after. “More top 10 programs need to go on the road because a lot of our mid-majors that are really good can only play top 25 teams on the road. They won’t come to their place and play. We need to be able to go on the road and play a place like this before we start up our conference play because you got to figure out a way to win on the road in the ACC.”
Louisville was second to Duke in the ACC preseason coaches’ poll. The Huskies will play Duke in Boston on Nov. 28, so before long they will know how they would stack up in that power conference. They have still another Big Ten opponent coming up with Maryland in December.
“My goal was not to finish last in the Big Ten,” Auriemma said. “A schedule like this can be really harmful to your team if it doesn’t go well. It doesn’t necessarily give you a chance to play a lot of players because you’re trying to win the game. But it gives you a chance to go to practice the next day and ‘I’d rather know now rather than in January what we are, what we’ve got, who we can count on.”
In UConn’s loss to Michigan, Auriemma felt players were “standing around” expecting Sarah Strong and Jovana Popovic to carry the team. In the games since, the Huskies have gotten more from the supporting cast, with Blanca Quinonez scoring 21 vs. Iowa, Ashlynn Shade scoring 15 at Ohio State. Sophomore Kelis Fisher scored nine points in only five minutes on Thursday.
“We scored 87 points and Blanca didn’t score and Pop was 1-for-7, so we had enough people step up that we were up three at halftime. That was huge. (The supporting cast) really found themselves a little bit. That’s all we need from them. When it’s your turn, you’re at Connecticut, so you’re expected to do it.”
Strong has taken charge on a different level in these last two games, scoring 64 points.
UConn women cruise to 87-55 win at Ohio State led by Sarah Strong’s game-high 25 points
Freshman Olivia Vukosa, who had 12 rebounds against Ohio State, has generally not looked overmatched against the high level of competition and could be in line for more minutes.
“Liv had a great game,” Auriemma told reporters at Ohio State. “She had the best game of her young college career. She took a big step in the direction that we want her to go. And I hope that we can prepare her to have more of these games.”
UConn and Louisville have met 24 times, in regular season conference and nonconference games, conference tournaments and NCAA Tournament games as deep as the Final Four. Here’s what you need to know about the game:
What to know: No. 4 UConn at No. 7 LouisvilleSite: Venue: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville
When: Sunday, 5:30 p.m.
Records: UConn (3-1), Louisville (5-0)
History: UConn leads the series, 21-3. In their last meeting, UConn prevailed, 79-66, at Louisville on Nov. 4, 2025.
TV/stream: ESPN (announcers Mike Monaco, Andraya Carter).
Radio: UConn Sports Network from Learfield (Fox Sports 97-9 FM, WGCH 1490 AM, WAVX 1300 AM, WICH 1310 AM, WILI 1400 AM). Announcers: Bob Joyce, Debbie Fiske.
What to expect from Louisville: The Cardinals have four starters scoring in double digits, including Tajianna Robers (16.4), Imari Berry (15.2), Zamareya Jones (10.2) and amd Amiya Joyner (10.0), so they have balance among starters. This will be Louisville’s first high-major opponent, so it will be the first big test for the Cardinals.