UNCASVILLE — It was a promising night for freshmen as the UConn women’s basketball team breezed through a 88-60 victory over Syracuse before 5,012 at Mohegan Sun Arena in the first of the Huskies’ three preseason tuneups.
Jovana Popovic and Olivia Vukosa each scored in double figures in their first action in a Huskies’ uniform.
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Popovic, who started at guard, went 5-for-7 from the floor and played an effective all-around floor game, so much so that she played a team-high 31 minutes, and with a plus/minus of 26. Vukosa, the 6-foot-5 center, came off the bench and showed the positional size and athleticism that made her one of the most coveted recruits of 2026.
Sarah Strong scored 15 to lead UConn, and KK Arnold added 11 and Jana El Alfy 10. The Huskies jumped out to a 12-2 lead and never trailed, though Syracuse was within five points at times in the third quarter, during the span Strong was on the bench with four fouls.
Strong hit a 3-pounter on UConn’s first possession, but the Huskies finished 3 for 22 on 3-point shots.
“They were anxious to play, and you could see it, you could feel it,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “But when the shots don’t go in, everybody gets kind of wonky. ‘How come they’re not going in?’ Like they’re supposed to go in all the time. Now, they’re supposed to go in more than three times out of 22 from the 3-point line, but I’m kind of glad that that happened, too. All these things that happened are good, because they’re opportunities for us to get better.”
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Popovic, the 5-9 freshman from Serbia, got the start in the backcourt, joining veterans Strong, Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and El Alfy in the lineup and she looked like a veteran herself. She made her presence felt in the opening minutes, driving for a layup and getting a steal, scoring on the play to give UConn a 12-2 lead, then drew an offensive foul guarding much bigger Sarah Rambus.
UConn led 23-8 after one quarter, punctuated by Olivia Vukosa’s first bucket, a pretty reverse layup. Syracuse had the better of play in the second quarter as Geno Auriemma started using more players. UConn led by nine at the half.
Popovic continued to stand out, reaching 10 points midway through the third quarter as the Huskies restored order and reopened a 15-point lead. Sophomore Kelis Fisher, who scored nine in impressive late-game action, got into the act with a three-point sequence late in the third as UConn extended the lead to 63-43. Shade also scored nine.
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UConn beat Syracuse 98-45 when they met last March in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Coming into the game, we didn’t know much about Syracuse, they have a whole new roster,” Strong said. “It helped us stay together, figure out things during the game. You can’t really replicate it (in practice). You’ve just got to talk through it and figure it out.”
The UConn Foundation is actioning off seats next to the Huskies’ bench for the exhibition game against Texas at PeoplesBank Arena on Oct. 19. Contact the UConn Foundation or visit to e.givesmart.com/event/QO4/i for more info or to bid.
