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UConn women’s basketball will finally be at full strength when it opens the regular season on Monday. Blanca Quiñonez (shoulder), Marine Dursus (foot) and Morgan Cheli (undisclosed) are all expected to be available after missing time in the preseason.
“I'm expecting everyone to be available for at least something,” Geno Auriemma told reporters on Saturday.
Quiñonez and Dursus sat out all three exhibitions while Cheli played in the first but not the latter two. Saturday marked the first day all season that the Huskies’ entire 13-player roster practiced.
“Not 100% full but they were all there and they all did something,” Auriemma said. “Some did more than others.”
Quiñonez missed eight games across two stints due to a shoulder injury as a freshman and underwent surgery to repair a torn left labrum on May 18. She then had a second “small procedure,” per the head coach.
Dursus has dealt with a pre-existing foot injury since she arrived on campus.
“She's rehabbing a foot that she brought with her in her suitcase from France,” Auriemma quipped in September.
Meanwhile, Cheli had ankle surgery to repair a stress fracture in February 2025 and missed the entire 2025-26 season as a result. She returned for UConn’s preseason opener against Syracuse but didn’t play against either Texas or Army. The school didn’t provide any additional details about Cheli’s absence beyond listing her as day-to-day.
All three players project to be contributors for UConn this year, though Auriemma doesn’t expect them to be in midseason form on Monday.
“Let's take Blanca. No matter how many minutes she plays, it's going to look whatever and you gotta be prepared for whatever. She hasn’t touched a basketball on the court for six months, that's a long time to be away from the game,” he said. “Same with Marine. You don't know what you're going to get. Same with Morgan Cheli. You don't know what you're going to get. So hopefully, whatever they can give us will be a start to what's coming after Monday.”
The Huskies will kick off the regular season on Monday, Nov. 2 against Cornell at PeoplesBank Arena. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBC Sports Network.
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