{"id":789618,"date":"2026-05-11T21:41:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T21:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/789618\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T21:41:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T21:41:16","slug":"how-former-uconn-star-performed-in-wnbas-opening-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/789618\/","title":{"rendered":"How former UConn star performed in WNBA’s opening weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saturday\u2019s matchup between the Dallas Wings<\/a> and Indiana Fever<\/a> was a battle between the last four No. 1 overall picks in the WNBA Draft, and a pair of former UConn women\u2019s basketball<\/a> stars emerged victorious from the season opener.<\/p>\n

Paige Bueckers<\/a>, drafted No. 1 by Dallas in 2025, began her sophomore campaign on a dominant performance, putting up 20 points plus four assists, three rebounds and a steal to lead the Wings to a 107-104 victory over the Fever. The superstar guard shot 80% from the field and gave up a single turnover in 32 minutes on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s special. She is, she\u2019s just special,\u201d Wings coach Jose Fernandez said postgame. \u201cShe reads how she\u2019s being guarded. Having coached against her and seeing her now, she sees things two or three times ahead of stuff, and that\u2019s remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Azzi Fudd<\/a> made history when she was selected No. 1 by Dallas in 2026, joining Bueckers as the first pair of college teammates<\/a> ever drafted with the top pick to the same franchise. Coming off of a grueling final season at UConn, the Wings are easing Fudd into her new role. The All-American guard came off the bench against Indiana, becoming the first No. 1 pick to do so in their debut since Kelsey Plum in 2017, and played just 18 minutes in the victory.<\/p>\n

Fudd scored her first professional points in signature fashion, knocking down a 3-pointer from the left corner early in the second quarter, and she added an offensive rebound and a steal to her final stat line.<\/p>\n

\n

UConn great Paige Bueckers voted best player to start a franchise in WNBA general manager survey<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Huskies lead Liberty, Valkyries to 2-0 starts<\/p>\n

After a down year in 2025, UConn legend Breanna Stewart<\/a> reminded the WNBA that she\u2019s still one of the best players in the world in the New York Liberty\u2019s season-opening rout of the Connecticut Sun. Stewart put up 31 points plus 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists in the 106-75 win, marking the 16th 30-point double-double of her career and her first since Sept. 2024. The two-time WNBA MVP also surpassed 6,000 career points, and her 31 points were the second-most ever scored by a Liberty player in the season opener.<\/p>\n

Stewart continued to impress in New York\u2019s second win Sunday, an overtime battle with the Washington Mystics. She came just shy of another double-double with 23 points and nine boards plus four assists, two steals and two blocks. She surpassed fellow UConn great Tina Charles for 13th on the WNBA\u2019s career blocks list, helping lead the Liberty to a 98-93 victory.<\/p>\n

The only other team to come out of opening weekend with 2-0 record was the Golden State Valkyries, who have a league-leading four Huskies on their roster. Former UConn point guard Kaitlyn Chen<\/a> had a career performance in Golden State\u2019s opener, logging 14 points and two assists in 16 minutes to help the team to a 91-80 win over the Seattle Storm.<\/p>\n

Gabby Williams<\/a> was Golden State\u2019s marquee free agency signing, and the former Huskies star delivered in the Valkyries\u2019 95-79 victory over the Phoenix Mercury. After shooting just 2-for-9 for seven points in Seattle, Williams dropped 19 points plus five rebounds, three assists and a team-high four steals at home against Phoenix. She connected on four 3-pointers for just the fifth time in her WNBA career and surpassed 1,600 career points in the win.<\/p>\n

Kiah Stokes<\/a>, who played with Williams at UConn in 2014-15, also started in both of Golden State\u2019s wins. The veteran center averaged 3.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and a steal in 18.5 minutes across the two games.<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, left, talks with guard Kaitlyn Chen (2) on the sideline during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Seattle Storm, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo\/Lindsey Wasson)
\nSerah Williams, Aubrey Griffin make WNBA debuts<\/p>\n

Serah Williams<\/a> made her official professional debut Saturday in the Portland Fire\u2019s 96-83 loss to the Chicago Sky, recording two rebounds and an assist in eight minutes on the court. The former Huskies center, who was selected in the third round of the 2026 WNBA Draft, will look to log her first points as a pro on Tuesday against the New York Liberty.<\/p>\n

Aubrey Griffin<\/a> also logged her first WNBA minutes Friday after a whirlwind few days that ended in her signing a hardship contract with New York the morning of her debut. Griffin was picked by the Minnesota Lynx in the third round of the 2025 draft but didn\u2019t report to camp last year to rehab a lingering knee injury from the college season, and she was waived by the Lynx during training camp this season. New York picked Griffin up on a seven-day deal with three of its players out due to injuries, and the former UConn forward played five minutes and scored her first professional points on a layup in the fourth quarter of Friday\u2019s win over the Sun. Griffin did not appear in the Liberty\u2019s overtime win against Washington.<\/p>\n

\n

This former UConn women\u2019s star answered a call and in 24 hours was playing in her first pro game<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Several UConn alums on injury reports<\/p>\n

There are 17 former Huskies currently on WNBA rosters, but six were inactive during opening weekend due to injuries.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier<\/a> underwent surgery on both ankles in January to repair injuries she suffered during the 2025 WNBA season. The Lynx announced during training camp<\/a> that Collier is on track to return to play by early June. Former UConn center Dorka Juhasz<\/a> is also sidelined for the start of the season due to a right mid-foot sprain that occurred during her run in the EuroLeague playoffs with her Turkish club Galatasary. There is currently no timeline for her return<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Katie Lou Samuelson<\/a>, Collier\u2019s UConn classmate, missed the 2025 season after tearing her ACL during training camp with the Seattle Storm. Samuelson re-signed with the Storm for 2026 and is expected to return to the court this season, though she also does not have an official timeline.<\/p>\n

Azura Stevens<\/a> signed with the Chicago Sky in free agency after a breakout season with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2025, but Stevens has yet to appear in a game for her new team. She missed the team\u2019s season opener against Portland with a knee injury that is expected to keep her out for several weeks.<\/p>\n

Aaliyah Edwards<\/a> started in the first preseason game for the Connecticut Sun<\/a> on April 29, but the former UConn standout missed the second preseason game as well as the first two matchups of the regular season with a left thigh injury. Sun coach Rachid Meziane said Edwards\u2019 status is day-to-day, and her absence isn\u2019t expected to be long term.<\/p>\n

Veteran guard Tiffany Hayes<\/a>, entering her 14th season in the WNBA, played just four minutes in Golden State\u2019s opener against the Storm before exiting the game with a dislocated left pinky. She missed Sunday\u2019s game against the Mercury, and her status is day-to-day.<\/p>\n

\n

Which UConn women\u2019s basketball alumni made WNBA opening day rosters \u2014 and who got waived<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How other former Huskies fared during opening weekend<\/p>\n

Stefanie Dolson, Seattle Storm:\u00a0<\/strong>Dolson started in both of the Storm\u2019s games averaging six points on 50% shooting from the field plus 4.5 rebounds and a block in 24 minutes. Seattle dropped its opener against the Valkyries before earning its first win over the Sun.<\/p>\n

Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Connecticut Sun:\u00a0<\/strong>Nelson-Ododa averaged 13.5 minutes across Connecticut\u2019s first two games. She scored a single point but had three assists in a loss to the Liberty on Friday, then put up five points plus a steal and a block in Sunday\u2019s loss to the Storm.<\/p>\n

Kia Nurse, Toronto Tempo:\u00a0<\/strong>Nurse played a limited role in the Tempo\u2019s first official game as a new expansion franchise this year. She logged two points, a rebound and an assist in Toronto\u2019s 68-65 loss to the Mystics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Saturday\u2019s matchup between the Dallas Wings and Indiana Fever was a battle between the last four No. 1…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":789619,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[9778,307256,68016,5336,2076,2738,2470,320323,9769,2473,7001,9770,201814,2336,1520,2471,60094,130336,62,9767,9766,67,132,68,232,3357],"class_list":{"0":"post-789618","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-aaliyah-edwards","9":"tag-aubrey-griffin","10":"tag-azzi-fudd","11":"tag-breanna-stewart","12":"tag-college-basketball","13":"tag-connecticut","14":"tag-dallas-wings","15":"tag-dorka-juhasz","16":"tag-gabby-williams","17":"tag-golden-state-valkyries","18":"tag-hartford-courant","19":"tag-kaitlyn-chen","20":"tag-max-image-preview","21":"tag-napheesa-collier","22":"tag-new-york-liberty","23":"tag-paige-bueckers","24":"tag-portland-fire","25":"tag-serah-williams","26":"tag-sports","27":"tag-uconn-huskies","28":"tag-uconn-womens-basketball","29":"tag-united-states","30":"tag-unitedstates","31":"tag-us","32":"tag-wnba","33":"tag-womens-basketball"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116558121376101314","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}