# 2020–21 UConn Huskies women's basketball team

The 2020–21 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 36th season at UConn, split their home games between Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center and were members of the Big East Conference, which they joined for women's basketball that season. UConn was previously a member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 through 2013, and one of the original women's basketball teams of that league in 1982.
UConn was ranked no. 3 in both the AP and Coaches pre-season polls. During the regular season, they had a record of 21–1, including 18–0 in the Big East to win the conference regular season championship. In February 2021, they defeated no. 1 ranked South Carolina; it was UConn freshman Paige Bueckers' third straight 30-point game. UConn won the Big East tournament, winning all three of their games by over 30 points. They were ranked no. 1 in both polls at that time. As a no. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, they won their region with a victory over no. 5 ranked Baylor in the Elite Eight. UConn then lost to Arizona in the Final Four and finished their campaign with a record of 28–2. Bueckers, the team's leading scorer, won several awards at the end of the season, including the Naismith College Player of the Year.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Megan Walker | 3 | F | 6'1" | Junior | Chesterfield, VA | Declared for 2020 WNBA draft |
| Crystal Dangerfield | 5 | G | 5'5" | Senior | Murfreesboro, TN | Graduated / 2020 WNBA draft |
| Molly Bent | 10 | G | 5'9" | Senior | Centerville, MA | Graduated |
| Evelyn Adebayo | 14 | F | 6'1" | RS Senior | London, England | Completed college eligibility |
| Kyla Irwin | 25 | F | 6'2" | Senior | State College, PA | Graduated |
| Batouly Camara | 32 | F | 6'2" | RS Senior | New York, NY | Graduated |
* ↑ Adebayo was a graduate transfer in the 2019–20 season, having graduated from Murray State.

### Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Paige Bueckers PG | Eden Prairie, MN | Hopkins High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98 ||||||
| Aaliyah Edwards W | Kingston, Ontario | Crestwood Secondary School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Mir McLean W | Owings Mills, MD | Roland Park Country School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Piath Gabriel F | Manchester, NH | N/A | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Nika Mühl PG | Zagreb, Croatia | N/A | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2021

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Azzi Fudd G | Arlington, VA | St. John's College High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98 |||||||
| Caroline Ducharme G | Milton, MA | Noble & Greenough School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98 |||||||
| Amari DeBerry F | Williamsburg, NY | Williamsville South High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 96 |||||||
| Saylor Poffenbarger G | Middletown, MD | Middletown High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 94 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021. |||||||

### Recruiting class of 2022

US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Isuneh Brady P | San Diego, CA | Cathedral Catholic High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020. |||||||

## Roster

* Saylor Poffenbarger was only on the roster for the spring semester, joining the team in January.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 28, 2020* 12:30 pm, SNY | No. 3 | vs. Quinnipac Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Challenge semifinals | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| November 29, 2020* ESPN | No. 3 | vs. Maine or No. 6 Mississippi State Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Challenge | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| December 4, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | vs. No. 5 Louisville | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| December 12, 2020* 1:00 pm, SNY | No. 3 | UMass Lowell | W 79–23 | 1–0 | 17 – Bueckers | 9 – Tied | 5 – Tied | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| December 15, 2020 6:30 pm, SNY | No. 3 | at Seton Hall | W 92–65 | 2–0 (1–0) | 25 – Bueckers | 10 – Nelson-Ododa | 7 – Tied | Walsh Gymnasium South Orange, NJ |
| December 17, 2020 6:30 pm, SNY | No. 3 | Creighton | W 80–47 | 3–0 (2–0) | 24 – Nelson-Ododa | 8 – Tied | 5 – Bueckers | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| December 19, 2020 1:00 pm, SNY | No. 3 | Xavier | W 106–59 | 4–0 (3–0) | 24 – Williams | 11 – Nelson-Ododa | 9 – Bueckers | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| December 22, 2020 7:00 pm, SNY | No. 3 | at Villanova | W 90–52 | 5–0 (4–0) | 19 – Tied | 9 – Makurat | 7 – Williams | Finneran Pavilion Villanova, PA |
| December 29, 2020 6:30 pm, SNY | No. 4 | No. 18 DePaul | W 75–52 | 6–0 (5–0) | 18 – Bueckers | 14 – Nelson-Ododa | 5 – Williams | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 7, 2021* 8:30 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | at No. 6 Baylor | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Ferrell Center Waco, TX |
| January 9, 2021 1:00 pm, SNY | No. 3 | Providence | W 87–50 | 7–0 (6–0) | 23 – Bueckers | 9 – Griffin | 5 – Bueckers | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 16, 2021 1:00 pm, SNY | No. 4 | Villanova | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 19, 2021 6:30 pm, SNY | No. 3 | Butler | W 103–35 | 8–0 (7–0) | 18 – Nelson-Ododa | 10 – Griffin | 8 – Bueckers | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 21, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | at No. 25 Tennessee Rivalry | W 67–61 | 9–0 | 20 – Williams | 11 – Nelson-Ododa | 7 – Bueckers | Thompson–Boling Arena (3,553) Knoxville, TN |
| January 23, 2021 2:00 pm, SNY | No. 3 | Georgetown | W 72–41 | 10–0 (8–0) | 19 – Nelson-Ododa | 9 – Nelson-Ododa | 9 – Westbrook | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| January 26, 2021 | No. 3 | at Providence | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Alumni Hall Providence, RI |
| January 28, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 3 | at No. 19 Arkansas | L 87–90 | 10–1 | 27 – Bueckers | 6 – Tied | 7 – Westbrook | Bud Walton Arena (4,400) Fayetteville, AR |
| January 31, 2021 1:00 pm, FOX | No. 3 | at No. 17 DePaul | W 100–67 | 11–1 (9–0) | 29 – Williams | 14 – Westbrook | 10 – Bueckers | Wintrust Arena Chicago, IL |
| February 3, 2021 6:30 pm, SNY | No. 3 | St. John's | W 94–62 | 12–1 (10–0) | 32 – Bueckers | 9 – Edwards | 7 – Tied | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| February 5, 2021 7:00 pm, SNY | No. 3 | at Marquette | W 87–58 | 13–1 (11–0) | 30 – Bueckers | 8 – Nelson-Ododa | 9 – Mühl | Al McGuire Center Milwaukee, WI |
| February 8, 2021* 7:00 pm, FS1 | No. 2 | No. 1 South Carolina | W 63–59 $^{OT}$ | 14–1 | 31 – Bueckers | 7 – Tied | 6 – Nelson-Ododa | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| February 10, 2021 6:30 pm, SNY | No. 2 | Seton Hall | W 70–49 | 15–1 (12–0) | 23 – Bueckers | 13 – Nelson-Ododa | 7 – Westbrook | Gampel Pavillon Storrs, CT |
| February 12, 2021 6:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 2 | at Georgetown | W 64–40 | 16–1 (13–0) | 19 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 9 – Bueckers | McDonough Gymnasium Washington, D.C. |
| February 17, 2021 6:00 pm, SNY | No. 1 | at St. John's | W 77–32 | 17–1 (14–0) | 21 – Williams | 8 – Westbrook | 9 – Bueckers | Carnesecca Arena New York, NY |
| February 20, 2021 3:00 pm, SNY | No. 1 | at Xavier | W 83–32 | 18–1 (15–0) | 22 – Williams | 11 – Edwards | 7 – Bueckers | Cintas Center (922) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 25, 2021 5:00 pm, SNY | No. 1 | at Creighton | W 81–49 | 19–1 (16–0) | 19 – Mühl | 11 – Nelson-Ododa | 9 – Bueckers | D. J. Sokol Arena (278) Omaha, NE |
| February 27, 2021 4:30 pm, SNY | No. 1 | at Butler | W 97–68 | 20–1 (17–0) | 24 – Edwards | 14 – Edwards | 14 – Bueckers | Hinkle Fieldhouse (1,721) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 1, 2021 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 1 | Marquette | W 63–53 | 21–1 (18–0) | 19 – Nelson-Ododa | 10 – Nelson-Ododa | 3 – Tied | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| Big East Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2021 12:00 pm, FS1 | (1) No. 1 | vs. (8) St. John's Quarterfinals | W 77–41 | 22–1 | 17 – Bueckers | 11 – Nelson-Ododa | 3 – Bueckers | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| March 7, 2021 3:00 pm, FS1 | (1) No. 1 | vs. (5) Villanova Semifinals | W 84–39 | 23–1 | 26 – Williams | 7 – Tied | 8 – Bueckers | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| March 8, 2021 8:00 pm, FS1 | (1) No. 1 | vs. (2) Marquette Championship | W 73–39 | 24–1 | 23 – Bueckers | 8 – Edwards | 5 – Nelson-Ododa | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 21, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN | (1 R) No. 1 | vs. (16 R) High Point First Round | W 102–59 | 25–1 | 24 – Bueckers | 12 – Edwards | 6 – Bueckers | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| March 23, 2021* 9:00 pm, ESPN | (1 R) No. 1 | vs. (8 R) Syracuse Second Round | W 83–47 | 26–1 | 20 – Bueckers | 8 – Nelson-Ododa | 4 – Tied | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| March 27, 2021* 1:00 pm, ABC | (1 R) No. 1 | vs. (5 R) Iowa Sweet Sixteen | W 92–72 | 27–1 | 27 – Williams | 11 – Nelson-Ododa | 10 – Westbrook | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| March 29, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN | (1 R) No. 1 | vs. (2 R) No. 5 Baylor Elite Eight | W 69–67 | 28–1 | 28 – Bueckers | 8 – Nelson-Ododa | 4 – Nelson-Ododa | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| April 2, 2021* 9:30 pm, ESPN | (1 R) No. 1 | vs. (3 M) No. 11 Arizona Final Four | L 59–69 | 28–2 | 20 – Williams | 7 – Edwards | 4 – Bueckers | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. R=River Walk M=Mercado. All times are in EST. |||||||||

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| RV | Received votes |
| NR | Not ranked |
| ( ) | Number of first place votes |
^ Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll

## Player statistics

| Player | Games Played | Minutes | Field Goals | Three Pointers | Free Throws | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | Points |
| BueckersPaige Bueckers | 29 | 1049 | 222 | 64 | 73 | 141 | 168 | 11 | 66 | 581 |
| WilliamsChristyn Williams | 29 | 998 | 187 | 49 | 49 | 124 | 64 | 14 | 27 | 472 |
| WestbrookEvina Westbrook | 30 | 920 | 104 | 40 | 35 | 158 | 128 | 20 | 52 | 283 |
| Nelson-OdodaOlivia Nelson-Ododa | 30 | 783 | 152 | 4 | 52 | 234 | 87 | 53 | 19 | 360 |
| EdwardsAaliyah Edwards | 29 | 631 | 131 | 0 | 49 | 164 | 26 | 29 | 28 | 311 |
| MühlNika Mühl | 23 | 562 | 40 | 24 | 8 | 56 | 62 | 4 | 40 | 112 |
| GriffinAubrey Griffin | 29 | 486 | 69 | 3 | 40 | 138 | 24 | 23 | 34 | 181 |
| MakuratAnna Makurat | 16 | 327 | 21 | 13 | 4 | 52 | 38 | 5 | 15 | 59 |
| McLeanMir McLean | 24 | 167 | 26 | 1 | 15 | 51 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 68 |
| GabrielPiath Gabriel | 22 | 55 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| PoffenbargerSaylor Poffenbarger | 12 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| ChassionAutumn Chassion | 8 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |

## Awards and honors

* Paige Bueckers
** Naismith Player of the Year
** United States Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year
** Associated Press Player of the Year
** John R. Wooden Award
** Nancy Lieberman Award
** Associated Press first-team All-American
** United States Basketball Writers Association first-team All-American
** Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American
** United States Basketball Writers Association Co-Freshman of the Year
** Women's Basketball Coaches Association Co-Freshman of the Year
** Big East Player of the Year
** First-team All-Big East
** Big East Freshman of the Year
** Big East All-Freshman Team
** Big East tournament Most Outstanding Player
* Olivia Nelson-Ododa
** Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year
** Second-team All-Big East
* Aaliyah Edwards
** Big East Sixth Woman of the Year
** Big East All-Freshman Team
* Christyn Williams
** First-team All-Big East
* Geno Auriemma
** Big East Coach of the Year