In partnership with
Sign up to get The Weekly in your inbox every Thursday or subscribe to get our premium coverage which includes game stories, analysis and more.
Top headlines
UConn started the 2026-27 regular season in style, delivering a 100-35 blowout victory over a badly overmatched Cornell Big Red squad on Monday.
Even though Blanca Quiñonez and Marine Dursus returned after missing the entire preseason due to injury, Geno Auriemma stuck with his same starting lineup. Jovana Popovic shined again with 19 points, while Sarah Strong did her thing with 19 points and a career-high eight steals. 11 of 12 Huskies scored in the victory.
Not much could be gleaned from the performance. But it did prove to be a valuable final tune-up for UConn ahead of its non-conference gauntlet.
Four former UConn players were crowned WNBA champions on Saturday night when the Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the finals, 68-63. Gabby Williams, Tiffany Hayes and Kaitlyn Chen each won their first title while Kiah Stokes claimed her fourth. Williams earned Finals MVP honors after putting up 30 points — 28 of which came in the second half — in the clincher.
This is the seventh straight season that a UConn grad has won a WNBA title. Golden State’s four Huskies are tied with the 2015 Minnesota Lynx (Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery, Asjha Jones, Kalana Greene) for most on a WNBA championship team. Stokes’ four WNBA titles are tied with Sue Bird (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020) and Maya Moore (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) for the most by a UConn player.
This week’s take
After three exhibitions and a non-competitive season opener, UConn is finally into the games that really matter. Beginning on Thursday, the Huskies will begin their long-awaited non-conference gauntlet with No. 5 Michigan, No. 10 Iowa, No. 18 Ohio State and No. 7 Louisville — all in quick succession.
That won’t be the toughest stretch of the season — No. 1 South Carolina (Nov. 24) and No. 4 Duke (Nov. 28) back-to-back will be brutal — but it will be the most telling. How the Huskies fare in those first four contests will determine how difficult the rest will be.
If UConn goes 4-0 without much trouble, then it probably won’t be challenged all that much (aside from South Carolina and maybe Duke). But if the Huskies barely squeeze by or lose in the next two weeks, then the non-conference schedule could prove to be even more difficult than expected.
This is when the fun starts. By this time next week, we’ll have a much better idea of what this UConn team is made of.
Featured stories
“Her freshman year and last year, I thought Sarah played like a reluctant star. It’s like, ‘Yeah, maybe I’ll take the shot, but maybe Paige should take it.’ Or, ‘I’ll try this, but maybe I shouldn’t.’ There’s no one to defer to this year. You’re expected to be the number one go-to (player), without question, every single possession.”
Sarah Strong and Blanca Quiñonez will be the Huskies’ engines this season. They’ll need to be great throughout — which didn’t happen this past April against South Carolina. But for UConn to reach its ultimate goal of winning a national title, the duo will need plenty of help from everyone else.
In case you missed it
Tired of news that feels like noise?
Every day, 4.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news fix. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture — all in a brief 5-minute email. No spin. No slant. Just clarity.
This is funny:
UConn’s promotional schedule is out:
Is this good?
UConn hits the road:
The Golden State Huskies:
Miss you buddy:
Last week’s results
Question: This season, UConn will…
70.2% — Win the national championship
15.5% — Reach the Final Four but lose in the national semifinal
9.5% — Lose in the national championship game
4.8% — Lose in the Elite Eight
0.0% — Lose in the Sweet Sixteen (or earlier)
The week ahead
UConn will begin its non-conference gauntlet at No. 5 Michigan on Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1) and then return home to take on No. 10 Iowa at Gampel Pavilion on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, FS1). Azzi Fudd will be inducted into the Huskies of Honor on Sunday as well.
Not Sure What to Believe About AI? Read This.
There's a flood of AI news right now, and most of it is written to scare you or hype something up. But what if there was a way to get the AI news without the spin?
That’s exactly what this free newsletter does. Every morning, they send you the AI news worth knowing and explain why it actually matters for your life and job. After one week of reading this, you'll know where AI really stands, where it's heading, and which headlines are actually worth paying attention to.
It’s called The Rundown, and over 2 million professionals from companies like Apple, Google, and NASA already read it daily.
Social media recap