Big East play does not begin until approximately mid-December. The 2024-25 women’s basketball season itself does not get underway for another 15 weeks. Although over 100 days separate now and the regular season opener in early November, it feels appropriate to do some scouting on the UConn women’s basketball team’s conference foes.
Over the next 10 weeks, I am going to provide you, the reader, with some statistical insight on each of UConn’s Big East opponents. Not only will I highlight several star players on each opposing team, but I also intend to break down how the Huskies can top all of them. Sure, Connecticut went undefeated in Big East play and dominated every conference contest en route to their fourth-straight Big East regular season and tournament crown. Even with some significant losses affecting the league’s top teams, though, the conference got much more competitive during the offseason. Buckle up.
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There is no better place to start than the city that had the first overall pick in each of the last two Women’s National Basketball Association drafts. Rather than highlighting the Indiana Fever, though, our attention turns to the Butler Bulldogs and the rebuild head coach Austin Parkinson is constructing.
Butler won four more games last year (15) than they did during the 2022-23 season (11), and participated in the women’s NIT for the first time since 2019. The Bulldogs played two contests at Hinkle Fieldhouse, topping the Bowling Green Falcons before falling to the Purdue Boilermakers in the second round.
Coincidentally, the lone confirmed game on Butler’s 2024-25 schedule so far is a home tilt with the national powerhouse Indiana Hoosiers. It is too early to chalk up a non-conference win for the Hoosiers. The venue for this early-season bout has nothing to do with this precaution.
Four out of the Bulldogs’ top five scorers and three out of their top four rebounders return to Indianapolis. That includes All-Big East Second Team selection Caroline Strande, who is exercising her COVID-19 year of eligibility after averaging 15.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Strande, Butler’s first player to lead the team in all three categories, thrived as a steady scorer and a menace in the post.
The 5-foot-11 guard had 11 games where she grabbed 9+ boards, including her two double-doubles, and had fewer than five on just five occasions last year. Strande complemented her tenacious rebounding with 42 steals and four blocks, the former of which ranked second on the team. The 2020 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Player of the Year did it all, but will not be alone when it comes to enforcing the Bulldogs’ physical play.
Senior forward Sydney Jaynes started only 15 of Butler’s 32 games last season. Most of her starts were in non-conference action, but expect Jaynes to be a rotation regular next season because of her consistent ability to crash the glass. Building on her 114 total rebounds from last year should turn the 2021 Indiana All-Star into a potential All-Big East candidate.
The same could apply to Big East All-Freshman Team selection Riley Makalusky, who found her footing toward the end of her rookie campaign. Over her final 14 contests, Makalusky crossed double figures and made at least four field goals nine times. No one had a higher three-point percentage than the Indiana native, and if she collects more rebounds, she could soon succeed Strande as the team’s top all-around player.
Butler is not necessarily the first program Big East fans might think of when it comes to three-point heavy teams. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs led the conference with a 38.3% clip from downtown and had four players who shot better than 40%. Junior guard Jordan Meulemans, who landed 61 threes on 144 tries, should fill that Rachel Kent-sized hole with her potent long-range stroke.
Butler earned a major victory this offseason by returning most of their top talent from last year’s WNIT team. Parkinson further capitalized on this triumph by adding Belmont transfer Kilyn McGuff, a durable veteran guard who can impact multiple parts of the game.
McGuff averaged nine points and 5.3 boards in 30.1 minutes during the season but really turned things up a notch in the Bruins’ two WBIT games. Perhaps motivated by her All-Missouri Valley Conference Team snub, the Columbus, Ohio, native led Belmont with 21 points and 7.5 rebounds across the inaugural tournament. If McGuff extrapolates her postseason efforts into Big East play, the Bulldogs should improve tremendously on both ends of the floor.
Four-star forward Mckenzie Swanson and the rookie class will further boost the team’s competitive aspirations. Swanson averaged a double-double, 1+ blocks, 1+ steals and 1+ assists per game over three straight high school seasons. Very few forwards can get on the box score in five different ways like she can, especially with assists. It should not be a surprise if the 2024 McDonald’s All-American nominee becomes a regular in the starting lineup this year.
Butler should be in the middle of the pack following two straight No. 8 seeds in the Big East Tournament. For a team that went 6-12 in conference play last year, underrated may be the perfect way to describe the Bulldogs going into this season. It might make sense to overlook Parkinson's squad now, but Butler has several multifaceted wings and three-point threats that can make considerable noise in the Big East.
How the Huskies can defeat Butler next season
UConn bested the Bulldogs in the Big East opener in their lone head-to-head meeting last season and beat them by 33 when they last went to Hinkle Fieldhouse. It will be a completely different story, notably on defense, if the conference schedule has the Huskies going to Indianapolis this time around.
Hinkle’s intimidating environment should add fuel to the fire that is Butler’s ability to wear their opponents down. Connecticut unleashing their potent offense will not douse the Bulldogs’ flames; they can counter that initial punch with a three-point barrage. What will work for the Huskies, though, is trading blows with Butler through their own defensive intensity.
UConn forced 396 turnovers and rejected 151 shots—both higher marks than what the Bulldogs’ opponents recorded—while surrendering 57.2 points a night. Rising sophomore KK Arnold, redshirt senior Paige Bueckers and sixth-year veteran Aubrey Griffin are the three Huskies that will do damage defensively on this year’s squad. The latter two in particular could make it difficult for Butler’s dual-attack guards to get into their routine. Arnold, meanwhile, will cause headaches in the transition game because of her speed.
While they have the defensive pieces to take down the Bulldogs, Connecticut needs everyone to be on their A-game. One small misstep versus a gritty foe could mean the difference between victory and defeat, especially in the final minutes of a defensive chess match. Driven by their chase for a 12th national title, though, the Huskies should be able to deliver that intensity.
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