No. 6 UConn women’s basketball faces first major test vs. No. 3 Texas: Preview, How to watch, injury report for Monday’s game

The No. 6 UConn women’s basketball team rolled to a 73-point exhibition game victory over Kutztown State last Sunday, followed by a 59-point drubbing of Northeastern in its season opener last Thursday. But now things are going to get a whole lot more difficult.

The Huskies face their first big test of the season on Monday when they host the No. 3 Texas Longhorns for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff at Gampel Pavilion.

“I feel good about where we are as a group and where we are individually, but I haven’t seen us under stress yet,” Auriemma said before practice Sunday. “We haven’t passed the stress test yet, and tomorrow will be a huge stress test. So I like getting stressed, I think it’s a great thing. I love stress, I love giving it and I like getting it, I think it’s great. And tomorrow’s perfect for us.”

The Longhorns have goals of reaching the Final Four in their third year under Vic Schaefer after making it to the Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons. Known for putting pressure on the ball with lots of size and athleticism down low and strong guard as well, Texas presents quite the challenge.

“I think they’re pretty well-rounded,” Auriemma said. “They make it hard for you to get the ball where you want it to go, they contest every pass, but I think their ability to put the ball on the floor on offense and then their big guys just on the glass, over and over and over again. They like to play fast and they like to play aggressively. … It’s probably going to be a really, really physical game on both ends.”

Texas opened the season with a 68-45 win over Louisiana last Friday. Six-foot-4 Oregon State transfer Taylor Jones led the Longhorns with 21 points, six rebounds and five blocks off the bench. Starting point guard and 2022 Big 12 Freshman of the Year Rori Harmon missed that game due to injury, sitting on the bench with a boot on throughout the night. Though they came out with the win, the Longhorns had 25 turnovers without Harmon leading the offense.

Schaefer said Harmon is being evaluated daily with a toe injury, according to ESPN. It remains unclear if she’ll be available for Monday’s game, and that will surely play a huge factor in the top-six matchup, though Auriemma said he is preparing as if she is playing. The status of DePaul transfer Sonya Morris is also up in the air after leaving that game in the third quarter with a back injury.

When Auriemma scheduled this game, he was expecting to have superstar guard Paige Bueckers and freshman forward Ice Brady available. With both out for the season with injuries, the Huskies will have much less depth to work with. Auriemma has loved the level of intensity, energy and resilience he’s seen from his team in responding to that situation so far. He’s eager to see how the Huskies carry themselves in this type of situation, specifically noting that players like Dorka Juhász, Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Mühl will be asked to play more minutes than they ever had in a big game like this.

Juhász, Edwards and freshman Ayanna Patterson will be asked to do a lot in the post against a Texas team featuring six players 6-foot-2 or taller and the Huskies’ play down low has been a huge emphasis ahead of the matchup. UConn has also discussed things such as being aggressive on both ends of the floor and taking care of the ball against Texas’ pressure.

“It was very positive, especially the last game, how much energy, how much intensity we played with. And I don’t know if in my past four years I ever had that feeling of this kind of unit that is just so passionate and so intense,” Juhász said. “... So I think is our focus this year is to be consistent with that every single game and I think that’s gonna be the most important for us for this Texas game, you know, that we’re going to be the first ones that go out there and get the first punch.”

Win or lose, Auriemma is confident that facing this type of test early will pay dividends for the Huskies.

“These games are are necessary because this is what we expect from ourselves and these are the games that help you win in March,” Auriemma said. “So you have to play the long game when you’re playing these games. … We’re not gonna change anything that we already do, we’re just trying to add to what we do and enhance who we already are. And I think it’s going to be a heck of a game one way or the other.”

Update on Caroline Ducharme

Caroline Ducharme missed the Huskies’ exhibition game and season opener due to neck stiffness. The status of the sophomore guard remains up in the air for Monday night’s matchup against Texas.

“Caroline is gonna give it a go today for a little bit and see how she feels, and maybe for tomorrow a little bit, maybe not. We’ll see how she feels today,” Auriemma said when asked about Ducharme’s status before practice Sunday. “She worked out a little bit with us yesterday and said she felt pretty good, so hopefully today will be another good day for her.”

Ducharme participated in the portion of practice open to media on Sunday. If she’s able to go on Monday it’ll provide a huge boost to the Huskies.

Celebration for Swin Cash

UConn legend Swin Cash will have her No. 32 retired and hung in the rafters in a ceremony before Monday night’s game.

Cash will be just the third player in the history of the Husky men’s and women’s basketball programs to have their number retired, joining Rebecca Lobo and Ray Allen. The honor is only given to basketball alumni who are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Cash was inducted into the Hall in September as part of the 2022.

During her time with the Huskies, Cash won two national championships in 2000 and 2002, alongside Sue Bird, Tamika Williams and Asjha Jones. She went on to be selected second overall in the 2002 WNBA Draft and was a three-time WNBA Champion, four-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA All-Star MVP across her 15-season professional career. She also helped USA Basketball win gold at the 2004 and 2012 Olympics, as well as the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

The ceremony will take place approximately half an hour before tipoff and will also stream live at Facebook.com/uconnwbb and Twitter.com/uconnwbb.

Here is what else you need to know about the game:

Site: Gampel Pavilion

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Series: UConn, 9-0 dating back to 2003

Last meeting: No. 1 UConn 75, No. 9 Texas 71 in Austin, Jan. 15, 2018

TV: FS1, John Fanta (pxp) and Kim Adams (analyst)

Streaming: Fox Sports app or foxsports.com

Radio: UConn Sports Network on 97.9 ESPN