The 2010–11 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2010–2011 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies were coached by Geno Auriemma, and played their home games at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Big East Conference and attempted to win their eighth NCAA championship. The UConn team had won the last two national championships, and extended a win streak to an NCAA record 90 consecutive games.
Offseason
May 12: Coach Auriemma, along with Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the Duke men's basketball program, were the recipients of the "Winged Foot Award" presented annually (since 1996) to the coaches of the Men's and Women's NCAA Division I Basketball Championship. June 11: 1995 graduate Rebecca Lobo inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame June 27: Incoming freshmen Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson played on the USA Basketball U18 team and helped the team win the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. June 30: Senior Maya Moore was named to the United States women's national basketball team which will compete at the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women. As part of the preparation, the national team played the WNBA All-stars in the WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Stars at the Sun Game. Moore's teammates will include former Connecticut Husky players Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Swin Cash and Renee Montgomery. Moore scored 12 points to help the USA team beat the WNBA All Stars. August 8: Moore was selected to play in a basketball game organized by Barack Obama to entertain wounded troops. The players invited included some current and former stars: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Bill Russell and Magic Johnson. August 12: Caroline Doty to miss season. Doty will undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL in her left knee, and will be out for the season.
Regular season
The Connecticut team opened the year ranked #1 in both the ESPN Coaches poll and the AP Top 25 Poll, following two consecutive undefeated seasons. The votes were not unanimous, with Baylor earning a number one vote in the AP poll, and Baylor, Stanford, and Tennessee earning first place votes in the coaches poll.
Roster changes
The regular season began with a number of changes, some expected, some not. The expected changes including the graduation of five seniors from the previous squad, and the addition of five new freshmen. The unexpected change was the loss of starting guard Caroline Doty, who suffered an ACL injury in July, and will be out for the entire season.
Jackie Fernandes is one of the seniors who graduated last year and is no longer with the team. Fernandes averaged six minutes a game during the 2009–10 season. She was the high school teammate of Heather Buck, who will be a redshirt, after sitting out one year for development. Kaili McLaren played twelve minutes a game for the Huskies in the previous season, and has moved on to a professional basketball career with Apollon Ptolemaidos in Greece. Meghan Gardler graduated as well, after a career with UConn that saw her minutes increase each year, playing over thirteen minutes a game as a senior. Kalana Greene was a starting guard, playing almost 26 minutes per game and averaging eleven points per game. Greene was the 13th selection in the WNBA draft, where she was selected by and plays for the New York Liberty. The final graduating senior was Tina Charles who was selected as the overall number one draft pick by the Connecticut Sun. Charles won a number of awards, including both Naismith and AP Player of the Year.
Joining the team were five freshmen: Bria Hartley from North Babylon, New York; Stefanie Dolson from Port Jervis, New York; Lauren Engeln from Laguna Hills, California; Michala Johnson from Bellwood Illinois; and Samarie Walker from West Carrolton, Ohio.
Pre-season
The exhibition games were not competitive, as UConn defeated Franklin Pierce by a score of 112–41 and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks by a score of 100–41. Two of the freshman stood out at the IUP game, when Samarie Walker scored 22 points and Bria Hartey scored 18.
Non-conference games
UConn opened their season against perennial opponent Holy Cross. Uconn prevailed easily, winning by an 80-point margin, 117–37.