Three teams who could end UConn’s conference win streak

The balance of power in the Big East for women’s basketball isn’t a mystery. UConn likely will be favored, perhaps unanimously, when the conference releases its preseason poll Thursday morning at its virtual media day.

The Huskies, even with six freshmen on their roster, figure to be legitimate Final Four contenders in 2020-21. Again.

But that doesn’t mean they won’t run into a few tests along the way, maybe even in conference. The Big East — which ranked sixth in RPI last season, behind the Power Five — figures to be significantly stronger at the top and deeper than the Huskies’ former home, the American Athletic Conference.

The Huskies made a mockery of the rest of the AAC over the last seven seasons, going 129-0 in league play. And most of those games weren’t even close.

To find the last time UConn lost a conference game, one must go all the way back to March 12, 2013 — the Big East championship against Notre Dame.

Will that change anytime soon? Will anyone from the Big East beat the Huskies? Odds are, probably not. But here are the three teams that stand the best chance.

DEPAUL

For starters, the Blue Demons have one of the game’s most venerable coaches and a winning pedigree. They’ve been the class of the Big East since UConn left, averaging 27 victories over the last seven seasons to go with three straight conference championships.

They must replace Chante Stonewall, their leading scorer and Big East Defensive Player of the Year, but guards Lexi Held and Sonya Morris are experienced and should help fill the void.

DePaul coach Doug Bruno has never beaten his good friend Geno Auriemma. In fact, the Blue Demons are 1-17 all-time in the

series dating to 1983.

Again, the odds are stacked against DePaul, but all it takes is one hot shooting day to put UConn on the ropes. Only one team shot — and attempted — more 3-pointers than the Blue Demons last year.

MARQUETTE

This much we know about Megan Duffy, Mar

quette’s second-year coach: She’s been on the right side of history before against UConn.

Specifically, Duffy played on the Notre Dame team that snapped UConn’s 112game Big East home-court winning streak in 2005. She was also an assistant under Kim Barnes Arico when St. John’s shocked the Huskies in 2012, ending a run of 99 straight victories at home.

That’s not to say, of course, that Duffy is any sort of miracle worker. But

she does happen to have a pretty good program on her hands.

The Golden Eagles won 26 games and made a fourth consecutive Big East final last season and would’ve been in the NCAA Tournament if not for the coronavirus. They return their No. 1 scorer, senior guard Selena Lott.

ST. JOHN’S

Losing Tiana England to Florida State was a huge blow. The graduate transfer

— and Stamford native — has 509 career assists, most among active Division I players.

But St. John’s — which, as previously discussed, has traditionally played UConn tough — was able to retain some offensive firepower, including Big East Sixth Woman of the Year Leilani Correa.

Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press Marquette coach Megan Duffy signals during a game against DePaul in the Big East Tournament.