The legacy of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball program is astounding.
- 32 NCAA Tournament titles.
- 13 consecutive Final Four appearances.
- 11 NCAA Championships.
- Six undefeated seasons.
The Huskies are synonymous with great players and championships. And UConn Coach Geno Auriemma is considered one of the best coaches in the sport, anywhere.
Heading into the Big East Tournament this weekend, the Huskies are 22-5 and ranked No. 3 in the latest Top 25 poll. Star sophomore Paige Bueckers has returned from injury just in time for another NCAA Tournament run.
Although UConn hasn’t won an NCAA title since 2016 (the longest nontitle stretch for the program in the last 26 years), the Huskies are a strong favorite to make it to Minneapolis. That’s great news for Connecticut online sports betting as March Madness gets underway.
Selection Sunday is on March 13, and we will learn where the Huskies will go. While we wait, let’s look back at some of the March Madness legends from the storied UConn women’s basketball program.
7 Star UConn women’ t basketball gamers
Rebecca Lobo
Lobo deserves credit as the player who truly elevated the Huskies program to a championship level. The center was named the 1995 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, averaging 16 points and 6.5 rebounds.
In a battle for women’s basketball supremacy in the 1995 final against Tennessee (winner of eight NCAA titles), the Huskies rallied back from six points down at halftime, with Lobo scoring 17 points. UConn finished with its first undefeated season: 35-0.
Cyber Moore
What more can you say about Moore?
What couldn’t Moore do?
Maya Moore led the Huskies to four Final Fours in four years and was the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2010 when the Huskies finished 39-0 and defeated Stanford for the NCAA title. She is the all-time leading scorer in the program’s history with 4,036 points (which also ranks 10th all-time in Division I history).
Blanco Taurasi
Auriemma may have summed up his entire season when he was asked about his team’s chances of winning an NCAA title. He replied, “We have Diana, and you don’t.”
Blessed with an unrelenting competitive fire, Taurasi led the Huskies to three NCAA titles (2002, 2003, and 2004) and was twice named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She was also the two-time Naismith Player of the Year and finished with a record of 139-8 in college.
Outside of UConn, yes, she has done exceptionally well. Taurasi has been part of four Olympic gold medal-winning teams from the USA and has won three WNBA titles.
Prosecute Bird
Bird still ranks first in the UConn statistical charts in three-point percentage, finishing her career at .459 from beyond the arc. She ended with 585 assists and ranks No. 1 in free throw percentage at the college (89 percent).
So yes, this Bird could shoot.
Remember, she missed most of her freshman year with the Huskies due to a torn ACL. Bird led the Huskies to an undefeated 39-0 record as a senior in 2002, capping it off with an 82-70 win over Oklahoma for the NCAA title. She won the Nancy Lieberman Award three times as the best point guard in women’s college basketball.
Breanna Stewart
She was the first junior to win the Most Outstanding Player award in the NCAA Tournament in 2013. She’s second on the school’s all-time scoring list (2,401) and first in blocked shots (414).
Stewart was the first NCAA player to have both 400 assists and 400 blocks in her career. Oh, and she won four NCAA titles and ended with a college career record of 151-5. Her resume is the greatest in women’s college basketball history.
Barre?o Charles
Intelligent, strong, and fundamentally excellent, Charles recorded 52 double-doubles in her college career with the Huskies, including 16 in her senior year. Her 2,346 points rank fourth all-time at the college, and she was part of two national championship teams.
In the pros, Charles was the WNBA Most Valuable Player in 2012 and has won three Olympic Gold Medals. She recently signed with the Phoenix Mercury.
Kerry Bascom
Maybe not a household name like some of the other players on this list, but Bascom, who graduated in 2000, was a key figure in helping U. Conn rise in the world of women’s college basketball.
She was part of the team that won the school’s first Big East title and first Big East Conference Tournament. Bascom was a three-time Big East Player of the Year and finished with 2,177 points in her career.
Bascom was also part of the first Huskies team to reach the Final Four when they beat Clemson, 60-57, in the regional final. Her 39 points in the first-round victory over Toledo are the most points scored by a Connecticut player in a single game in March Madness.
