UConn weathers rare test before blowing out Lady Vols in 2nd - ESPN

HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma had seen his team breeze through the first half of countless games this season. In 21 of their first 22 games, the No. 1 Huskies had gone into the break ahead by double figures.

That wasn't the case on Sunday when they hosted former rival Tennessee: UConn, the only undefeated team remaining in the country, trailed the Lady Vols by four at the 2:08 mark of the second quarter before knotting up the score at halftime, 42-42.

And that's just the way Auriemma liked it.

The Huskies responded to a rare display of adversity by throttling Tennessee in the second half, ultimately knocking off the No. 15 Lady Vols 96-66 to pass their final nonconference test of the regular season.

«I think had it been a 30-point lead at halftime, I would have been really, really disappointed,» Auriemma said. «You play these games to be really tested, to find out a little bit about what your team is made of.… It's good that you have to kind of regroup and find yourself.»

The Huskies now boast 18 straight wins by 25 points, the longest streak by a Division I team over the last 25 seasons. They also own a 39-game win streak spanning nearly a calendar year, with their last defeat coming at Tennessee in Feb. 2025.

«The fact that last year, they all felt like they played poorly, so going into today's game, there was a sense of, 'we've got a job to do, we've got a game to play that means a lot more to us than just a regular season game,'» Auriemma said.

Stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong combined for 53 points to lead the way for the Huskies, who shot 58% from the floor and 50% from the 3-point arc.

It was all UConn to start, as the home team jumped ahead 21-5 before the Lady Vols clawed back,