# 2002–03 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team

The 2002–03 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2002–2003 NCAA Division I basketball season. Coached by Geno Auriemma, the Huskies played their home games at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, and are a member of the Big East Conference. The only loss the Huskies suffered all year was to Villanova in the championship game of the Big East women's basketball tournament. Villanova beat the Huskies by a score of 52–48. The Huskies won their fourth NCAA championship by defeating the Tennessee Volunteers, 73–68.

## Roster

Source

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 22, 2002* 7:30 p.m., CPTV | No. 6 | Wright State | W 85–39 | 1–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| November 24, 2002* 4:30 pm, ESPN | No. 6 | at NC State Jimmy V Classic | W 78–50 | 2–0 | Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (13174) Raleigh, North Carolina |
| November 29, 2002* 7:20pm, CPTV | No. 5 | vs. Denver Wahine Classic | W 85–29 | 3–0 | (2136) Honolulu, HI |
| November 30, 2002* 11:07 am, CPTV | No. 5 | at Hawaii Wahine Classic | W 60–53 | 4–0 | (1759) Honolulu, HI |
| December 01* 3:25 pm, CPTV | No. 5 | vs. No. 18 Oklahoma Wahine Classic | W 73–60 | 5–0 | (–) Honolulu, HI |
| December 5, 2002* 7:37 p.m., CPTV | No. 3 | at Holy Cross | W 68–46 | 6–0 | Worcester Centrum (3823) Worcester, MA |
| December 7, 2002* 2:00 p.m., CPTV | No. 3 | USC | W 68–44 | 7–0 | Hartford Civic Center (16294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| December 20, 2002* 7:30 pm, CPTV | No. 3 | Pepperdine | W 109–48 | 8–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| December 22, 2002* 2:00 p.m., CPTV | No. 3 | St. Joseph's | W 82–48 | 9–0 | Hartford Civic Center (16294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| December 28, 2002* 7:00 pm, CPTV | No. 3 | at South Florida | W 72–56 | 10–0 | USF Sun Dome (3702) Tampa, FL |
| December 30, 2002* 7:00 pm, CPTV | No. 3 | at Florida State | W 74–55 | 11–0 | Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center (3011) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 4, 2003* 2:00 p.m., CBS | No. 3 | No. 5 Tennessee Rivalry | W 63–62 $^{OT}$ | 12–0 | Hartford Civic Center (16294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 8, 2003 7:00 p.m., CPTV | No. 3 | Rutgers | W 67–62 | 13–0 (1-0) | Hartford Civic Center (16294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 12, 2003 2:00 p.m., CPTV | No. 3 | Virginia Tech | W 69–57 | 14–0 (2-0) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| January 15, 2003 7 p.m., CPTV | No. 3 | at Seton Hall | W 53–48 | 15–0 (3-0) | Walsh Gymnasium (2600) South Orange, NJ |
| January 18, 2003 12:00 p.m., CPTV | No. 3 | Georgetown | W 72–49 | 16–0 (4-0) | Hartford Civic Center (16294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 20, 2003 2 p.m., espn2 | No. 2 | at Notre Dame Rivalry | W 72–53 | 17–0 (5-0) | Phillip J. Purcell Pavilion (8265) South Bend, IN |
| January 25, 2003 7:00 pm, CPTV | No. 2 | at Pittsburgh | W 76–55 | 18–0 (6-0) | Petersen Events Center (12632) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 29, 2003 7:30 p.m., CPTV | No. 2 | No. 20 Villanova | W 58–38 | 19–0 (7-0) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| February 1, 2003* 7:03 pm, espn2 | No. 2 | at No. 1 Duke | W 77–65 | 20–0 | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9314) Durham, NC |
| February 4, 2003 7:30pm, CPTV | No. 1 | at St. John's | W 87–46 | 21–0 (8-0) | Alumni Hall (4195) Queens, NY |
| February 8, 2003 12 noon, FSNE | No. 1 | at No. 23 Boston College | W 83–75 | 22–0 (9-0) | Conte Forum (8606) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| February 12, 2003 7:00 pm, CPTV | No. 1 | Syracuse | W 75–51 | 23–0 (10-0) | Hartford Civic Center (16294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| February 16, 2003 2:00 p.m., CPTV | No. 1 | Seton Hall | W 84–44 | 24–0 (11-0) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| February 19, 2003 7 p.m., CPTV | No. 1 | at Miami | W 81–60 | 25–0 (12-0) | UM Convocation Center (4973) Coral Gables, FL |
| February 23, 2003 2:00 p.m., CPTV | No. 1 | Notre Dame Rivalry | W 77–59 | 26–0 (13-0) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| February 26, 2003 8 p.m., CPTV | No. 1 | at Georgetown | W 97–57 | 27–0 (14-0) | McDonough Memorial Gymnasium (1879) Washington, D.C. |
| March 1, 2003 2:05 p.m., CPTV | No. 1 | at Providence | W 70–52 | 28–0 (15-0) | Dunkin Donuts Center (2620) Providence, RI |
| March 4, 2003 7:00 p.m., CPTV | No. 1 | West Virginia | W 78–58 | 29–0 (16-0) | Hartford Civic Center (16294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 2003 Big East Women's Basketball Tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2003 2:00 p.m., CPTV | No. 1 | vs. Seton Hall Quarterfinals | W 70–47 | 30–0 | Louis Brown Athletic Center (5695) Piscataway,NJ |
| March 10, 2003 5:00 p.m., Fox Sports NE | No. 1 | vs. vs Virginia Tech Semifinals | W 71–54 | 31–0 | Louis Brown Athletic Center (–) Piscataway,NJ |
| March 11, 2003 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 1 | vs. No. 18 vs Villanova Big East Championship Game | L 48–52 | 31–1 | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4396) Piscataway, NJ |
| 2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament ||||||
| March 23, 2003* 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (1) No. 1 | vs. No. 16 Boston University East Region - First Round | W 91–44 | 32–1 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (8647) Storrs, Connecticut |
| March 25, 2003* 9:15 p.m., ESPN2 | (1) No. 1 | vs. (9) TCU East Region - Second Round | W 81–66 | 33–1 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (9181) Storrs, Connecticut |
| March 30, 2003* 12:00 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 1 | vs. (5) No. 25 Boston College East Region - Sweet 16 | W 70–49 | 34–1 | University of Dayton Arena (–) Dayton, Ohio |
| April 1, 2003* 7:00 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 1 | vs. (2) No. 10 vs Purdue East Region - Elite Eight | W 73–64 | 35–1 | University of Dayton Arena (8503) Dayton, Ohio |
| April 6, 2003* 9:50 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 1 | vs. (2) No. 5 vs Texas Final Four | W 71–69 | 36–1 | Georgia Dome (28210) Atlanta, GA |
| April 8, 2003* 8:30 p.m., ESPN | (1) No. 1 | vs. (1) No. 4 Tennessee National Championship Game | W 73–68 | 37–1 | Georgia Dome (28210) Atlanta, Georgia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Not released |
| Coaches | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |

## Team players drafted into the WNBA

* No one from the Huskies was selected in the 2003 WNBA draft.

## Awards and honors

* Diana Taurasi, Big East Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year
* Diana Taurasi, Tournament Most Outstanding Player
* Diana Taurasi, Naismith Award
* Diana Taurasi, Wade Trophy

## Huskies of Honor induction

On December 29, 2013, the University of Connecticut inducted two women's basketball team, the National Championship winning teams of 2002–03 and 2003–04 into the Huskies of Honor.