The 2014–15 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies, led by thirtieth-year head coach Geno Auriemma, played their home games at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win their third consecutive NCAA championship.

This was UConn's second season as a member of the American Athletic Conference, known as The American or AAC. The Huskies entered the season as the two-time defending national champions. The 2014–15 Huskies repeated last year's success in The American by winning the regular season championship outright. They placed an 18–0 record in the 2014–15 regular season and a 3–0 record in the 2014–15 AAC Tournament. They are a combined 42–0 (including AAC tournament wins) over two years in the conference. The closest game between the Huskies and another AAC opponent over the last two years was this year's AAC tournament championship between #1 seed UConn and #2 seed South Florida. UConn won 84–70 to win its second straight AAC tournament championship.

Media Every single Connecticut game was expected to be televised. Excluding exhibitions, every Connecticut home game and most conference games aired on SNY with a simulcast on Husky Vision. Select games aired on ESPN3, another ESPN Network, or CBS Sports Network. Every game was once again broadcast on the UConn IMG Sports Network with an extra audio broadcast being available online to listen to through Husky Vision.

Off-season

FIBA Connecticut basketball players, past present and future, were active in FIBA events during 2014. Katie Lou Samuelson has a verbal commitment to Connecticut, and played on two USA squads over the summer. In June, she played for the USA under 17 team which competed in the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship For Women. The official events were held in Klatovy and Plzeň, Czech Republic, although some friendlies were played in Nogent-sur-Seine, France. Samuelson helped the team to a 7–0 record to win the gold medal, and earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

Samuelson, along with future Huskies teammates De'janae Boykin and Napheesa Collier, made up three of the four players on the U18 3x3 team invited to play at the Youth Olympic Games, held in Nanjing, China 16–28 August 2014. Samuelson had turned an ankle, and was unable to play in some games, forcing her three teammates to play without substitution in some games. Despite the challenge the team won all nine matches to finish with a perfect record and the gold medal for the event. Samuelson competed in the shoot out event, one of the individuals skills competition, placing third out of 158 contestants to win the bronze medal.

Collier was one of the twelve players selected to play on the USA team invited to play at the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from August 6 to 10. In the game against the undefeated team from Canada, Collier was the leading scorer, recording a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The team went on to win all five games, earning the gold medal for the event, and an automatic bid to the U18 Championships in 2015, scheduled to be held in Russia.

Kia Nurse played on the Canadian national team in the 2014 FIBA World Championship. The team lost to Australia in the quarterfinals, then beat France and China to finish in fifth place. Nurse averaged almost 22 minutes per game at the point guard position, averaging almost seven points per games, fourth most on the roster, while being the youngest player on the roster.

The United States women's national basketball team participated in the 2014 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. Auriemma served as the head coach of the team, which won all six games to win the World Championship and the gold medal. Current and former UConn players on the team included: Breanna Stewart Sue Bird Diana Taurasi Tina Charles Maya Moore

Moore was named the MVP of the tournament.

Roster changes Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley were selected in the first round of the draft in consecutive picks. Dolson was chosen 6th, by the Washington Mystics. Hartley was the next player chosen, initially by the Seattle Storm, but traded an hour later to Washington, so the teammates continue to be teammates.

Briana Banks chose to transfer to Penn State University, where she will have one year of eligibility remaining.

The team has four incoming freshman and one incoming transfer. Natalie Butler is a 6' 5" center from Virginia who played for Georgetown last season before deciding to transfer to Connecticut. Per NCAA rules she will have to sit out one season, and will be eligible to play in the 2015–16 season. Sadie Edwards is from Meriden Connecticut and played one year in Middletown Connecticut before transferring to Blair Academy in New Jersey, although in early December, she chose to leave the team, with plans to transfer to another school. Courtney Ekmark is from Phoenix Arizona, although played for nationally ranked St. Mary's in California, winning three state titles and one national championship. Her family moved to Arizona, and she completed her last year of school as a home schooled student. Kia Nurse is from Hamilton, Ontario, and earned a spot on the national team of Canada. She will be playing against her future coach when the USA National team plays an exhibition game against the Canadian National team in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Connecticut's Geno Auriemma is the head coach of the USA national team. Gabby Williams is from Sparks, Nevada, and is a track star as well as a basketball player. She finished fifth in the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials for the high jump at the age of 15, although she is planning to concentrate on basketball rather than track in college. The incoming class of freshman was ranked fourth by ESPN.

Roster

Games

Exhibition games

West Chester University UConn opened their season with an exhibition game against West Chester University, the alma mater of head coach Geno Auriemma. All twelve players received playing time, and all twelve scored. None played more than 26 minutes, as all got a chance to play against someone other than their teammates in months. All five starters scored in double digits, as well as freshman Kia Nurse, who scored 12 points. Kiah Stokes recorded seven blocks in addition to 13 points. The Huskies hit all but two of their first fifteen field goal attempts to open up a 40–10 lead. The final score reflected the mismatch in talent, with UConn winning 115–26.

Post University The second exhibition game was played against Division II Post University. Last year's player of the year Stewart scored 27 points to lead the scoring for the Huskies, one of five players with double-digit scoring. Stokes had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Tuck came off the bench to record her own double-double, with 22 points and 15 rebounds. The tone of the game was set early: UConn scored the first nine points, then after giving up one basket, scored 15 straight. The final score, in favor of the Huskies, was 114–44.

Regular season games

UC Davis

For the first time in 15 years, the Huskies opened their season on the road, playing their first game in California, the home state of Mosqueda-Lewis. The arena set an all-time record for attendance at a women's basketball game. Mosqueda-Lewis had 25 friends and family members in the stands, who came to cheer her on. She gave them plenty to cheer about, tying the school record for three-pointers made in a game with Maya Moore. Both hit ten three-pointers. The Huskies hit their first four shots of the game, all three-pointers, but UC Davis hung in there for some time, until the Huskies started a long run. They scored the final 23 points of the first half, and continued with the first 16 points of the second half, to complete a 39–0 run, believed to be one of the longest in NCAA history. Mosqueda-Lewis went to the bench for the final 11:31 after tying the record.

Stanford UConn's second trip on the west coast trip was against Stanford, the number six team in the country. Stanford had snapped UConn's 90 game winning streak, the longest in NCAA history, in 2010. The Huskies were bringing in a 47-game winning streak to this contest. However, after tying a UConn record days earlier, Mosqueda-Lewis did not score for the first three-quarters of the game. Despite this, UConn built a ten-point lead with under seven minutes to go, but gave it up, allowing Amber Orrange to hit a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds to go in the game to send the game to overtime. Tuck and Nurse fouled out, and the Cardinals outscored the Huskies in the overtime period to take the win 88–86, and hence end the winning streak.

Creighton The loss to Stanford brought back interest in one of the more unusual streaks in sports—the number of games since the team lost back-to-back games. The last time UConn lost back to back games was on the 7th and 17th of March 1993.

Mosqueda-Lewis was out with the flu, so Morgan Tuck started in her place. Freshman Kia Nurse had been playing so well that she earned her first start. Nurse delivered, hitting six of seven field goal attempts, including all four three-point attempts, and ended with 22 points. Tuck also did well, with 15 points and seven rebounds.

It was the first home game for the Huskies, so the players were presented with their National Championship rings in a brief ceremony before the game. As well as Nurse and Tuck played, Stewart still out-did them, going ten for ten from the field, only one basket removed from an 11 for 11 performance by Rebecca Lobo in 1994. Connecticut won 96–60, extending the streak without back-to-back losses to 775.

College of Charleston

Connecticut traveled to Florida, to take part in the Gulf Coast Showcase Tournament. Mosqueda-Lewis returned to the starting line-up. Tuck stayed in the starting group, replacing Stokes, while Nurse also remained as a starter. Connecticut scored eight points before Charleston managed to score, and the game was never close. The Huskies held a 50–13 lead at halftime, then held Charleston scoreless for six and a half minutes in the second half.

The final score was 85–24, with Mosqueda-Lewis leading the scoring with 21 points.

Vanderbilt

Saddled with early fouls, the Huskies needed to look for offence beyond reigning national player of the year Stewart, and once again Nurse and Tuck stepped up, each scoring 16 points, and probably securing their position in the starting line-up. All five starters scored in double digits, as UConn pulled out to a 53–27 lead at halftime, and coasted to a 91–52 win. The win set up a match with the other semi-final winner, Green Bay.

Green Bay

The Green Bay Phoenix were not in awe of the Huskies as they opened up a 9–3 lead early in the game. UConn responded with a 10–0 run, but Green Bay refused to wilt, and tied the game at 26 points each. The Huskies went on an 11–0 run, and went to halftime with an eleven points, lead, but it wasn't until the opening of the second half, starting with a UConn 14–2 run, that the result seemed assured. Five UConn players reached double digits in scoring. Jefferson was the scoring leader with 19. Stewart followed with 17. Connecticut won 89–53, to win the tournament championship.

Nurse's 16 points, coupled with her results in the first two games, were enough to earn her the Most Valuable Player of the Gulf Coast Showcase Tournament.

Notre Dame