Previewing the four programs with ties to UConn

On Monday, the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season officially kicks off. As UConn goes for its 12th national championship, four other Division I programs are led by coaches who either played for or coached the Huskies.

Shea Ralph (third season) — Vanderbilt

Player: 1996-2001
Assistant coach: 2008-2021

In Ralph’s second season, the Commodores struggled to an overall record of 11-19 and an SEC record of 3-13. Despite the tough start to her head coaching career, Ralph plans on making a big leap in her third season. The goal for her team this year is simple: Get back to the NCAA Tournament.

“I want our program to be competing for championships,” Ralph said at SEC Media Day. “I have a vision for our program, we talk a lot about the tradition of excellence that Vanderbilt women's basketball has had in the past. It's a storied program. We are here to revitalize it. To be in that conversation of programs that are competing for championships every year, that's a big goal. My players have bought into that. We want to go back to the NCAA Tournament this year. That's a big goal.”

The Commodores have two key returning players: Graduate guard Jordyn Cambridge and junior forward Sacha Washington. Cambridge is returning for her final year with Commodores after she spent all of the 2022-23 campaign sidelined with an ACL injury. Before that, Cambridge averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds a game as a junior

“To be able to have Jordyn Cambridge back this year is elevating us even more,” Ralph said. “She is the heart and soul of our team. This is her sixth year playing college basketball and her last year of basketball. So she's putting everything out on the table. To me, her perseverance and her resiliency is indicative of what I want our program to represent.

In regards to Washington, Ralph is excited to see what the season will hold for the junior forward. Last year, Washington averaged 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Keeping her on her squad was an accomplishment considering how easy it would’ve been for her to depart to the transfer portal, but Ralph believes it’s just the beginning for Washington.

“For Sacha, the sky is the limit,” Ralph said. “She's a junior this year. That kid has played more minutes for me than any other player on our roster. I can't wait for everyone else to see how much better she's gotten, and how much value the last year brought to her even though it was a struggle. We all know that the most growth you have is in moments of struggle. Sacha grew a ton last year. I'm excited to see what this year holds for her.”

Other notable pieces of Vanderbilt’s roster include transfer Jordyn Oliver and Justine Pissott, two former McDonalds’ All-Americans who transferred in from Duke and Tennessee, respectively, and freshman Aga Makurat, the younger sister of former UConn guard Anna Makurat.

The Commodores’ season kicks off on Monday, Nov. 6 at noon ET vs. Kennesaw State.

Marisa Moseley (third season) — Wisconsin

Assistant coach: 2009-2018

Last year Wisconsin finished with an overall record of 11-20 and a Big Ten conference record of 6-12, but the team won its final three regular season games and upset No. 12 Michigan 78-70 on senior day.

With such a young team and a positive end to last year, Moseley is excited to see what her squad can do this season. 

“Really excited. We actually are celebrating 50 years of Wisconsin women’s basketball this year and very excited about this young team that I have,” Moseley said at Big 10 Media Day. “We have 10 underclassmen. So excited about this young core that we have, five true freshmen, and one of the things that I think was really important this summer is that we took a foreign tour to Italy and it really bonded this group of young women together.” 

On top of the young team, the Badgers will have key three players back: Serah Williams, Brooke Schramek, and Halle Douglass. Williams is a sophomore forward who averaged 12.7 points and 5.4 rebounds a game in her rookie season. The senior guard, Schramek, averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. As for Douglass, the senior guard missed the majority of her junior year due to an ACL injury but as a sophomore, she averaged 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.

“We actually are returning Serah Willaims, who I feel is one of the best post players in the country,” Moseley said. “I have Brooke Schramek, who her and Halle Douglass are both seniors and, for us, are really glue players. Halle’s coming off of an ACL, we’re so excited to have her coming back. Brooke has been just a phenomenal piece to the puzzle for us, and really her versatility is the epitome of what we look for in a Wisconsin Badger.”

With a solid set of returners being there to lead the newcomers, Moseley believes that she and her team are ready to compete for a spot in March Madness.

“This is the most cohesive unit that I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Moseley said. “We know that we have an uphill battle to get back to the NCAA Tournament, but that is absolutely the goal and we are very confident that we will be able to accomplish that this year.”

Wisconsin starts the campaign on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at home against Milwaukee. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on B1G+.

Carla Berube (fifth season) — Princeton

Player: 1993-1997

Former UConn forward and current Princeton head coach Carla Berube and her team had an impressive season last year that just fell short of a trip to the regionals in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers finished the year with an overall record of 24-6 and finished in the Ivy League with a 12-2 record while winning their fifth conference championship.

In the NCAA Tournament, 10-seed Princeton pulled off an incredible comeback victory over 7-seed NC State. The Tigers missed 15 straight shots at one point in the second half and had a stretch where they went 1-24, but only trailed by eight with just under six minutes to go.

Then Princeton came alive. The defense held the Wolfpack without a basketball over the final 5:44 and in the final seconds, Grace Stone stole the ball and hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.7 left to life the Tigers to a 64-63 win.

Princeton couldn’t keep the magic going in the second round and lost to 2-seed Utah 63-56.

For Berube and her team, after last year’s success and disappointment, this year has a different vibe than before.

“It’s definitely a different feel for us this year,” Berube said. “We have six newcomers and a seventh, a sophomore that didn’t get to play last year, so it’s a lot of teaching. We’re really setting the foundation and working our way and building each day. We’ve got a great returning group too, some great leadership.”

Returning to Berube’s squad are senior guard Kaitlyn Chen and senior forward Ellie Mitchell. Last season, Mitchell was the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and averaged 5.8 points and 11.3 rebounds a game. Chen was another key player for the Tigers last season with her versatility on both sides of the court and ability to come up big when the team needed her. Named the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year, Chen averaged 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists a game. 

“I think you saw what Kaitlyn was going to be able to do at the end of her sophomore year in the Ivy League tournament,” Berube said. “Her junior year was awesome. She wants the ball in her hands to make plays whether it’s for herself or for her teammates. We trust her 100%. She’s become a great defender as well, a great rebounder. Just puts people in the right places to be successful. Really great leader and she sets the example every day, her and Ellie. So happy to have the two of them back for their final campaign here.” 

With the new additions, Berube believes that her team will play more proficiently on offense this year. Focused on keeping their solid defense, the freshman class will help the Tigers be able to move the ball quicker and have a more effective presence on offense this season. 

“I think we’ll look a bit different this year,” Berube said. “Hopefully, we’ll still have our standard on the defensive end, but offensively we’ve got some different firepower so it’s exciting. The freshman class is just really driven. They work really hard, and they’re athletic. So we’re able to push the ball in a different way this year so it’s fun.”

Princeton’s first game is against Duquesne on Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. ET.

Tamika Williams-Jeter (second season) — Dayton

Player: 1998-2002

Last year marked Tamika Williams-Jeter’s inaugural season with the Dayton Flyers. A former UConn standout who helped the Huskies to two national championships, Williams-Jeter is focused on setting the Flyers on the right track as she enters her second campaign. Dayton struggled to a 7-21 overall mark and an A-10 record of 3-10. However, Williams-Jeter views last season’s disappointment as a stepping stone for this year’s success.

“Coming from last year, not having the season we wanted but building the foundation we needed,” Williams-Jeter said. “Not making that jump, success, winning takes patience, and that’s what we learned last year, you can’t cheat that process. So coming into this year, having our players, our returners take ownership, holding each other accountable for what they’re responsible for individually every day, and getting 1% better. That’s all we’ve been talking about.”

The Flyers have something they needed all of last season: Depth. With a small roster last year, Dayton’s players were playing back-to-back 40-minute games with little to no rest. Now with a bigger squad full of five new additions, the Flyers believe that both their offense and defense can improve. 

“Definitely more defensive pressure,” Williams-Jeter said. “We have more bodies. So for us just having more bodies [means we’re] able to add more pressure. There were games that we were in and we were winning, and we had to go to zone because everybody played 40 minutes a game. So this year we have some depth, that’s where we’re different.”

Among the Flyers’ five new additions, the only non-freshman is junior transfer Ivy Wolf. In her sophomore season at Miami University (Ohio), the guard averaged 17 points, 3.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds a game. With Wolf and the four freshmen, Williams-Jeter believes her squad can play in a different style defensively and make the stops they need to win some games. 

“We can play more high-low because we have two bigs,” Williams-Jeter said. “We have more athleticism. We’re quick, the faster we can press more defensible to get that number down. Our goal is under 60 points per game.”

Dayton’s season begins at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday, Nov. 8, where Williams-Jeter will take on her alma mater.