1995–96 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team

1995–96 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball
1995–96 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball
Big East tournament champions ; Big East regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3
Record	34–4 (17–1 Big East)
Head coach	Geno Auriemma (11th season);
Associate head coach	Chris Dailey
Assistant coaches	Tonya Cardoza; Charlene Curtis;
Home arena	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion

1995–96 Big East Conference women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 †	17	–	1	.944	34	–	4	.895
No. 21 Notre Dame	15	–	3	.833	23	–	8	.742
Villanova	13	–	5	.722	21	–	7	.750
Seton Hall	9	–	9	.500	16	–	13	.552
Miami (FL)	9	–	9	.500	14	–	13	.519
Syracuse	9	–	9	.500	14	–	14	.500
Providence	9	–	9	.500	12	–	15	.444
Rutgers	8	–	10	.444	13	–	15	.464
Boston College	7	–	11	.389	13	–	14	.481
Georgetown	7	–	11	.389	12	–	15	.444
West Virginia	7	–	11	.389	12	–	15	.444
St. John's	4	–	14	.222	6	–	21	.222
Pittsburgh	3	–	15	.167	6	–	24	.200

† 1996 Big East Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1995–96 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 11th season at UConn, played their home games at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and were members of the Big East Conference.

UConn finished their regular season with a record of 27–3, including 17–1 in the Big East to win the conference regular season championship. They also won the Big East tournament. Then, in the NCAA Tournament, they defeated Howard, Michigan State, San Francisco, and Vanderbilt to make a return trip to the Final Four. In the National semifinals, UConn was beaten by Tennessee as the Lady Vols avenged their loss in the National championship from the prior season.

Roster

1995–96 UConn Huskies women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Hometown
G	5	Kim Better	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Sr	Suitland, Maryland
G	10	Missy Rose	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Scranton, Pennsylvania
G	21	Jennifer Rizzotti	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	Sr	New Fairfield, Connecticut
G	23	Rita Williams	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	So	Norwalk, Connecticut
F	25	Brenda Marquis	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	So	Moosup, Connecticut
F	31	Carla Berube	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Jr	Oxford, Massachusetts
F	33	Jamelle Elliott	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Washington, D.C.
F	34	Kelley Hunt	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	So	Londonderry, New Hampshire
F	42	Nykesha Sales	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	So	Bloomfield, Connecticut
F	44	Sarah Northway	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Sr	Brainerd, Minnesota
C	52	Kara Wolters	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	Jr	Holliston, Massachusetts

Head coach

Geno Auriemma

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season^[1]
Nov 19, 1995*	No. 1	vs. No. 4 Louisiana Tech Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic	L 81–83 ^OT	0–1	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
Nov 24, 1995*	No. 3	vs. Northern Arizona Wahine Classic	W 87–63	1–1	Special Events Arena Honolulu, HI
Nov 25, 1995*	No. 3	vs. Oregon State Wahine Classic	W 88–70	2–1	Special Events Arena Honolulu, HI
Nov 26, 1995*	No. 3	at Hawaii Wahine Classic	W 65–48	3–1	Special Events Arena Honolulu, HI
Dec 2, 1995	No. 2	vs. North Carolina Central Fidelity Invitational Tournament	W 77-62	4-1	Richmond Coliseum Richmond, VA
Dec 3, 1995	No. 2	vs. No. 23 Alabama Central Fidelity Invitational Tournament	W 81-67	5-1	Richmond Coliseum Richmond, VA
Dec 7, 1995	No. 3	West Virginia	W 79-47	6-1	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
Dec 9, 1995	No. 3	Loyola (MD) Connecticut Classic	W 74-22	7-1	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
Dec 10, 1995	No. 3	Duquesne Connecticut Classic	W 88-60	8-1	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
Dec 22, 1995	No. 2	Rhode Island	W 84-65	9-1	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
Dec 29, 1995	No. 2	Northeastern	W 96-34	10-1	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
Jan 2, 1996	No. 2	at Syracuse	L 59-62	10-2	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY
Jan 4, 1996	No. 2	Georgetown	W 96-64	11-2	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
Jan 6, 1996*	No. 2	at No. 4 Tennessee Rivalry	W 59–53	12–2	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
Big East tournament
March 3, 1996*	(1) No. 2	(8) Rutgers Quarterfinals	W 93–64	28–3	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
March 4, 1996*	(1) No. 2	(13) Pittsburgh Semifinals	W 83–51	29–3	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
March 5, 1996*	(1) No. 2	(2) No. 22 Notre Dame Championship game	W 75–54	30–3	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
NCAA tournament
March 16, 1996*	(1 ME) No. 2	(16 ME) Howard First round	W 94–63	31–3	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
March 18, 1996*	(1 ME) No. 2	(9 ME) Michigan State Second round	W 88–68	32–3	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
March 25, 1996*	(1 ME) No. 2	vs. (12 ME) San Francisco Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 72–44	33–3	Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, IL
March 25, 1996*	(1 ME) No. 2	vs. (3 ME) No. 12 Vanderbilt Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 67–57^[2]	34–3	Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, IL
March 29, 1996*	(1 ME) No. 2	vs. (1 E) No. 4 Tennessee National Semifinal – Final Four/Rivalry	L 83–88 ^{OT^[3]}	34–4	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in EST.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	1	3	2	3	3	2	2	2	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	Not released
Coaches	1	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	3	3	6	5	4	4	4	4	3	3	3

References

^ "1995 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
^ "Resolute UConn Rallies into Women's Final Four". The Chicago Tribune. March 26, 1996. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
^ "UConn's Title Dreams Ended By Semifinal Loss to Tennessee". The New York Times. March 30, 1996. Retrieved June 19, 2024.

[1] "1995 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved June 19, 2024.

[eliteeight-2] "Resolute UConn Rallies into Women's Final Four". The Chicago Tribune. March 26, 1996. Retrieved June 19, 2024.

[semi-3] "UConn's Title Dreams Ended By Semifinal Loss to Tennessee". The New York Times. March 30, 1996. Retrieved June 19, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

UConn Huskies women's basketball
Venues	Hugh S. Greer Field House (1974–1989) PeoplesBank Arena (1975–present) Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (1990–present)
Rivalries	Notre Dame Rutgers Stanford Syracuse Tennessee
Culture & lore	Jonathan the Husky UConn Husky Bird at the Buzzer Blue blood status
People	Head coaches Huskies of Honor Statistical leaders WNBA draftees
Seasons	List of seasons 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics