UConn women’s basketball opened the 2026-27 season with a 100-35 win over the Cornell Big Red on Monday at PeoplesBank Arena.
The Huskies stuck with the same starting lineup from the preseason — KK Arnold, Jovana Popovic, Ashlynn Shade, Sarah Strong and Jana El Alfy — despite Blanca Quiñonez making her debut after missing all three exhibitions with a shoulder injury. Marine Dursus (foot) also played in her first game at UConn after watching the entire preseason from the bench. Morgan Cheli (undisclosed)
was the only Husky unavailable.
Popovic shined again with 19 points to go with three steals and three rebounds. Strong also had 19 points and set a career-high with eight steals alongside five assists and four rebounds. KK Arnold and Marine Dursus joined the pair in double figures with 11 points apiece while 11 of 12 UConn players scored in the victory. Olivia Vukosa led the team with eight rebounds.
As a team, the Huskies shot 55 percent from the field (39-71) and from three (11-20). They also forced 25 steals, two short of matching the single-game program record.
Jana El Alfy scored UConn’s first points of the season, though Cornell came back and hit a 3-pointer to take a brief lead. From there, the Huskies ripped off a 21-0 run and forced nine turnovers over the next 6:23 to go up 23-3. Geno Auriemma went to his bench early and often, deploying 10 players in the first 10 minutes.
At the end of the opening quarter, UConn led 27-5.
It didn’t get much better for the Big Red. They failed to score in the first 7:41 of the second quarter as the Huskies’ lead ballooned to 39. Then Cornell found a groove and closed the half on an 8-2 spurt. UConn still went into the locker room ahead 46-13.
The Huskies appeared to take their foot off the gas out of the break. They pulled back the full-court press and gave up 16 points in the third quarter — more than it allowed in the entire first half. Despite that, UConn still pushed the gap over 40 for the first time, thanks in part to 10 points from Popovic in the frame.
In the fourth quarter, the Huskies finished strong. They scored 33 points — most of any period — and closed the game on a 30-2 run to claim a 65-point victory.
With the win, UConn improves to 1-0 on the new season. Next, the Huskies will hit the road to face No. 5 Michigan for their first big test of the year.
