1995–96 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team

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.

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 Connecticut †	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

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
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	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	34–4	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in EST.

Rankings

Main article: 1995–96 NCAA Division I women's basketball 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