UConn Women Rout Cornell in Season Opener
The Huskies won 100-35 on Monday, extending a 31-year winning streak in opening games and resting starters before a tough November schedule.
By Andrew Yang ·
UConn women’s basketball has long treated the first game of the season as a formality, a chance to shake off the rust before the real work begins. On Monday night in Hartford, that tradition continued with a decisive victory over Cornell.
The Huskies defeated the Big Red 100-35 at PeoplesBank Arena. The scoreline marked UConn’s 31st consecutive win in a season opener. The team is now 45-8 in all-time opening games, a record that includes a 38-4 mark under head coach Geno Auriemma dating back to November 1995.
Cornell led for only 1 minute and 3 seconds early in the first quarter. UConn answered with a 21-0 run that held the Big Red scoreless for nearly seven minutes. By less than three minutes into the second quarter, the Huskies held a lead of more than 30 points, effectively deciding the contest before the halftime break.
Defense drove the margin of victory more than offense did. UConn recorded 25 steals and forced 29 turnovers from Cornell. The Huskies scored 43 points directly off those turnovers. Cornell made just two field goals in the first quarter as UConn’s press and trap defense rushed the ball out of the Big Red’s hands.
Sarah Strong and Jovana Popovic each scored 19 points to lead the Huskies. Strong set a career high with seven steals before halftime and finished the game with eight. Popovic provided steady scoring alongside Strong, but the team’s collective effort to control the pace defined the night.
Coaching staff members used the lopsided game to test lineups and rest key players ahead of a demanding month. Auriemma played 10 of his 12 available players in the first nine minutes. He emptied his bench with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter. Eleven different Huskies recorded points in the win.
Two players returned from injury to make their season debuts against Cornell. Blanca Quiñonez, who had shoulder surgery in May, played 22 minutes and finished with four points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. She was selected as the 2026 Big East Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year. Marine Dursus made her collegiate debut in 17 minutes, scoring 11 points while going 3-for-4 from three-point range.
Redshirt sophomore Morgan Cheli was the only Husky not to play. Auriemma described her status as day-to-day with an unspecified injury. The game served as the first half of a same-site doubleheader at PeoplesBank Arena.
UConn’s men’s basketball team hosts Gardner-Webb at 9 p.m. on the same night. This marks the first same-site doubleheader for the program since November 20, 2022, when the women hosted NC State and the men hosted Delaware in Hartford.
The Huskies face a difficult stretch beginning Thursday. They travel to play No. 5 Michigan at 6:30 p.m. on FS1. Eight of UConn’s next nine games are against ranked opponents, including three teams in the top five. The season opener provided a clean slate before that gauntlet begins.
