Women's Fastbreak On SI

Geno Auriemma Anxious to See 'Killer Instinct' From UConn Team

UConn Huskies legendary coach Geno Auriemma is expecting to see more from his team during their next stretch of tough contests.
Grant Young|
Dec 3, 2024; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma watches from the sideline as they take on the Holy Cross Crusaders at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Dec 3, 2024; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma watches from the sideline as they take on the Holy Cross Crusaders at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team has essentially cruised to an undefeated 7-0 record to this point in the 2024-25 season.

While they didn't play well in the first half of their most recent game against Holy Cross, they ultimately bounced back and dominated in the second half of that contest, ultimately winning by a score of 88-52.

Past success aside, the No. 2 ranked Huskies have an extremely tough schedule over the next couple of weeks. Their next game is the No. 22 ranked Louisville Cardinals on December 7, which is part of the inaugural Women's Champions Classic.

After that, they face Hannah Hidalgo and the No. 10 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on December 12, Georgetown on December 15, the No. 20 ranked Iowa State Cyclones on December 17, and then JuJu Watkins and the No. 6 ranked USC Trojans on December 21.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma is surely content with his team's performance to this point. But he's also expecting more from them as the season progresses — which he conveyed in a December 6 article from CT Insider's Maggie Vanoni.

“I’m anxious to see whether or not we have, like, a killer instinct in us because everybody says, ‘You have such a bunch of nice kids,’” Auriemma said in the article. “… You got to have some (aggression). And these are games where you find out if you have that. You better have it.”

Given the generational talents and offensive threats that Auriemma has on his roster, we'd assume they'll hear these words and take them to heart during this next stretch of games.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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