The 2020–21 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 36th season at UConn, split their home games between Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center and were members of the Big East Conference, which they joined for women's basketball that season. UConn was previously a member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 through 2013, and one of the original women's basketball teams of that league in 1982.
UConn was ranked no. 3 in both the AP and Coaches pre-season polls. During the regular season, they had a record of 21–1, including 18–0 in the Big East to win the conference regular season championship. In February 2021, they defeated no. 1 ranked South Carolina; it was UConn freshman Paige Bueckers' third straight 30-point game. UConn won the Big East tournament, winning all three of their games by over 30 points. They were ranked no. 1 in both polls at that time. As a no. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, they won their region with a victory over no. 5 ranked Baylor in the Elite Eight. UConn then lost to Arizona in the Final Four and finished their campaign with a record of 28–2. Bueckers, the team's leading scorer, won several awards at the end of the season, including the Naismith College Player of the Year.
Offseason
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure 3 F 6'1" Junior Chesterfield, VA Declared for 2020 WNBA draft 5 G 5'5" Senior Murfreesboro, TN Graduated / 2020 WNBA draft 10 G 5'9" Senior Centerville, MA Graduated 14 F 6'1" RS Senior London, England Completed college eligibility 25 F 6'2" Senior State College, PA Graduated 32 F 6'2" RS Senior New York, NY Graduated
Recruits
Recruiting class of 2021
Recruiting class of 2022
Roster
Saylor Poffenbarger was only on the roster for the spring semester, joining the team in January.
Schedule
!colspan=12 style=""| Regular season
!colspan=12 style=|Big East Women's Tournament
!colspan=9 style="|NCAA tournament
Rankings
+ Regular season pollsPoll Pre-Season Week2 Week3 Week4 Week5 Week6 Week7 Week8 Week9 Week10 Week11 Week12 Week13 Week14 Week15 Week16 Week17 Final AP 3 3 3 (2) 3 (1) 3 (1) 4 (1) 4 (1) 4 3 (1) 3 (1) 3 2 1 (26) 1 (28) 1 (27) 1 (22) 1 (23) N/A Coaches 3 3^ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 1 (17) 1 (22) 1 (30) 1 (29) 1 (27) 1 (27) 3 + Legend Increase in ranking Decrease in ranking Not ranked previous week RV Received votes NR Not ranked ( ) Number of first place votes ^ Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll
Player statistics Player Games played Minutes Field goals Three pointers Free throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points Paige Bueckers 29 1049 222 64 73 141 168 11 66 581 Christyn Williams 29 998 187 49 49 124 64 14 27 472 Evina Westbrook 30 920 104 40 35 158 128 20 52 283 Olivia Nelson-Ododa 30 783 152 4 52 234 87 53 19 360 Aaliyah Edwards 29 631 131 0 49 164 26 29 28 311 Nika Mühl 23 562 40 24 8 56 62 4 40 112 Aubrey Griffin 29 486 69 3 40 138 24 23 34 181 Anna Makurat 16 327 21 13 4 52 38 5 15 59 Mir McLean 24 167 26 1 15 51 11 6 6 68 Piath Gabriel 22 55 6 0 3 12 2 5 0 15 Saylor Poffenbarger 12 32 2 1 1 4 0 1 0 6 Autumn Chassion 8 15 3 2 0 2 3 0 0 8"2020-21 Women's Basketball Cumulative Statistics". uconnhuskies.com. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
Awards and honors Paige Bueckers Naismith Player of the Year United States Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year Associated Press Player of the Year John R. Wooden Award"UConn Huskies freshman Paige Bueckers caps standout season, wins John R. Wooden Award". espn.com. April 5, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021. Nancy Lieberman Award Associated Press first-team All-American United States Basketball Writers Association first-team All-American Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American United States Basketball Writers Association Co-Freshman of the Year Women's Basketball Coaches Association Co-Freshman of the Year Big East Player of the Year First-team All-Big East Big East Freshman of the Year Big East All-Freshman Team Big East tournament Most Outstanding Player Olivia Nelson-Ododa Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year Second-team All-Big East Aaliyah Edwards Big East Sixth Woman of the Year Big East All-Freshman Team Christyn Williams First-team All-Big East Geno Auriemma Big East Coach of the Year
See also 2020–21 UConn Huskies men's basketball team
References