How UConn is re-finding its defensive identity

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How UConn is re-finding its defensive identity

Former DePaul women’s basketball coach (and Geno Auriemma confidant) Doug Bruno used to say that for as much praise as UConn got for its high-powered, attractive offense, the key to the program’s success was its defensive prowess.

“The dirty little secret on UConn is they’re a very, very good defensive team. They always have been,” Bruno said in 2024. “They don't get recognized for it because they're known for pretty offense, but they're a good defensive team.”

That hasn’t been the case in a few years, though. When injuries decimated the roster and eliminated their depth, the Huskies had to change the way they defended.

“We've had a lot of identities over the years. A lot of people are probably more familiar, more talking about offensively,” Auriemma said. “Fast forward to the last three or four years, you can get any shot you wanted against us. We didn't have the ability to play at a level of intensity that we want to play, because we had to save everybody for 38, 39 minutes.”

As a result, UConn’s defensive numbers naturally took a dip. The Huskies were still good on that end of the floor, just not elite. They posted four of their six worst defensive ratings and four of their five highest points per possession allowed in the Her Hoop Stats era (2009-present) over the last four seasons.

UConn’s current squad is changing that. With a bevy of defensive talent and a deep bench, the Huskies are beginning to re-find their defensive identity. Through 12 games, they haven’t allowed a team to reach 70 points or shoot 50 percent from the field. They own a defensive rating of 72.2 while opponents score just 0.63 points per possession — both of which are the program’s lowest marks since 2015-16, Breanna Stewart’s senior year.

“Now we're back to [the way] we want to play,” Auriemma said. “This is the way I like to play.”

It starts with the full-court press. UConn doesn’t use it for all 40 minutes, though it’s been extremely effective when deployed. The Huskies rank sixth nationally with a steal rate of 17.6 percent while forcing giveaways on 28.2 percent of opponent’s possessions — good for 12th-best in the country. They convert those turnovers into 33.7 points per game.

“Our goal every game is to disrupt what other team is doing and what they want to accomplish on offense,” Azzi Fudd said after the win over Iowa. “Our goal has been to have a defensive identity and be in the passing lanes, make things hard for the other team.”

UConn doesn’t just let up when the other team gets over mid-court, either.

“A lot of teams — when you full court press — they kind of drop their shoulders when you advance it and get it over (mid-court),” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said. “[The Huskies] do not. They get you across half-court and then they just get a little bit more intense. That's what impresses me.”

That bears out in the numbers, too — the Huskies hold opponents to 34.3 percent from the field (20th in Division I) and 37.1 percent from inside the arc (17th).

Still, UConn needs elite defenders to execute the defense. KK Arnold serves as the point of the spear and wreaks havoc on opposing defenses with relentless pressure and quick hands.

Alongside her in the backcourt is Azzi Fudd, who is typically tasked with defending the opposition’s top guard. She’s relished and thrived in that role, establishing herself as a legitimate lockdown defender. The redshirt senior’s best performance to date came at USC when she limited freshman phenom Jazzy Davidson to just 10 points on 3-13 shooting.

Off the bench, UConn can turn to Kayleigh Heckel and Blanca Quiñonez. Heckel is the ultimate pest on defense while Quiñonez has come on strong in the past few weeks, recording a season-high four steals against USC and matching that total against Iowa. While the freshman is far from a finished product, she’s made major strides over the last month.

“What I'm most proud of is her defense,” Fudd said about Quiñonez. “To start the season, her defense was a little questionable — even this first half [she was] a little questionable. But the way that she can really be a lockdown defender when she wants to be, it makes it so much fun when she's picking up full court, getting steals.”

The centerpiece of the defense is Sarah Strong. She leads the team in steals (3.5) and blocks (1.9) per game, good for a Hakeem Percentage (steal rate plus block rate) of 15.9, which ranks in the top one percent of the country. Strong has a knack for getting her hands on the ball but doesn’t just knock it away, she often corrals her own blocks and deflections, which kickstarts UConn’s transition offense.

Beyond that, Serah Williams’ Hakeem Percentage of 10.2 puts her in the 95th percentile nationally, Ashlynn Shade has developed into a defensive disruptor while Allie Ziebell is often credited as a smart and sneaky defender. Every member of the rotations can contribute defensively.

That depth has myriad benefits.

“When you play like this, I think players get the message real early: You either play like this or you're not going to get as many minutes as somebody else,” Auriemma said. “So it really helps us in a lot of ways.”

UConn’s greatest teams have all been built on their defense — Auriemma specifically highlighted the 1995 champions, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird’s squads, the Tina Charles and Maya Moore teams and the Breanna Stewart era as examples.

With the Huskies off to their best start since 2017-18 and in the midst of a 29-game winning streak, the current group hopes to add to that defensive legacy.

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