UConn women release non-league schedule

Carl Adamec, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·3 min read

Sep. 17—In its final 19 seasons of its first tenure in the Big East, the UConn women's basketball team played a game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Huskies played only once on the holiday during their seven-year stay in the American Athletic Conference and did not play on the third Monday in January a season ago in their first year back in the Big East.

But perhaps a tradition is returning in Year 2 in the Big East. UConn announced its 2021-22 non-league schedule on Thursday and it includes a game at Oregon on Jan. 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Huskies compiled 15-4 record (losses to Georgia in 1996, at Louisiana Tech in 1999, at Notre Dame in 2001, and at North Carolina in 2007) on the holiday from 1995 through 2013. In their last appearance, they defeated Texas in 2018.

The contest with Oregon is the return game for the Ducks' 2020 visit when they handed the Huskies a 74-56 loss, their worst in 31 years playing at Gampel Pavilion. The game will also serve as a homecoming for UConn senior and Salem, Oregon native Evina Westbrook. The series was scheduled seven months before Westbrook announced in May 2019 her decision to transfer to UConn from Tennessee.

Six of UConn's non-league foes, including Oregon, finished last season in the top 25 of the NCAA NET rankings: South Carolina (4), Louisville (6), UCLA (8), Oregon (10), Tennessee (16), and Arkansas (24).

The Huskies return their starting lineup from last year's 28-2 Big East champion and NCAA Final Four team. They've added one of the top recruiting classes in the country as well as all-Big Ten forward Dorka Juhasz as a graduate transfer from Ohio State.

"I think this team is young and has a lot of energy," coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement. "We want them to compete against the top teams in the country. We have a lot of players who haven't experienced what it is to play in front of a crowd at UConn, so we're hopeful and excited that will happen this season."

The Huskies will host Division II Fort Hays State on Nov. 7. Before beginning the regular season at home against Arkansas on Nov. 14. The Razorbacks defeated UConn last season and the Huskies will put their streak of 1,023 games without back-to-back losses on the line.

UConn will travel to the Bahamas to take part in the first women's Battle 4 Atlantis, facing Minnesota in the opener Nov. 20 and then either Syracuse or South Florida in the second round the next day. Buffalo, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Carolina round out the field. The final game is Nov. 22.

Notre Dame comes to Connecticut on Dec. 5 and the Huskies then go to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech in a homecoming game for Winder, Georgia native and senior center Olivia Nelson-Ododa Dec. 9.

On Dec. 11, UConn will play UCLA at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey in the Never Forget Tribute Classic. The Huskies then take on Louisville at Mohegan Sun Arena on Dec. 19 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase.

After facing Oregon, UConn's non-league schedule wraps up with games against Southeastern Conference opponents South Carolina (Jan. 27 in Columbia) and Tennessee (home on Feb. 6).

UConn's 20-game Big East scheduled will be announced later.

For coverage of all sports in the JI's 18-town coverage area, plus updates on the UConn women's basketball team and head coach Geno Auriemma, follow Carl Adamec on Twitter: @CarlAdamec, Facebook: Carl Adamec, and Instagram: @CarlAdamec.