2005–06 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team

The 2005–06 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2005–06 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Coached by Geno Auriemma, the Huskies played their home games at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, and were a member of the Big East Conference. They returned the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, and finished the season 32–5 (14–2 Big East).

2005–06 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball
Big East tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 8
Record	32–5 (14–2 Big East)
Head coach	Geno Auriemma
Associate head coach	Chris Dailey
Assistant coach	Jamelle Elliott
Home arena	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion
Seasons ← 2004–05 2006–07 →

2005–06 Big East Conference women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 9 Rutgers	16	–	0		1.000			27	–	5		.844
No. 8 Connecticut †	14	–	2		.875			32	–	5		.865
No. 13 DePaul	11	–	5		.688			27	–	7		.794
St. John's	11	–	5		.688			22	–	8		.733
Louisville	10	–	6		.625			19	–	10		.655
Marquette	9	–	7		.563			22	–	11		.667
Pittsburgh	9	–	7		.563			22	–	11		.667
Villanova	9	–	7		.563			21	–	11		.656
South Florida	9	–	7		.563			19	–	12		.613
Notre Dame	8	–	8		.500			18	–	12		.600
Cincinnati	7	–	9		.438			17	–	12		.586
West Virginia	4	–	12		.250			15	–	16		.484
Georgetown	3	–	13		.188			10	–	17		.370
Providence	3	–	13		.188			8	–	19		.296
Seton Hall	3	–	13		.188			6	–	21		.222
Syracuse	2	–	14		.125			9	–	18		.333
† 2006 Big East Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Roster

2005–06 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 2 Tahirah Williams 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Immaculate Heart Academy Montclair, New Jersey G 20 Renee Montgomery 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Fr South Charleston St. Albans, West Virginia G 21 Nicole Wolff 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Walpole Walpole, Massachusetts G 25 Mel Thomas 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Mount Notre Dame Cincinnati, Ohio G/F 33 Barbara Turner 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr East Technical Cleveland, Ohio G 43 Ann Strother 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Highlands Ranch Castle Rock, Colorado F/C 51 Cassie Kerns 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Valparaiso Valparaiso, Ind.	Head coach Geno Auriemma Assistant coach(es) Chris Dailey Jamelle Elliott Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 12, 2005*	No. 9	Marist	W 71–45	1–0	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Nov 14, 2005*	No. 9	Indiana State	W 86–43	2–0	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Nov 17, 2005*	No. 9	Boston College	W 60–46	3–0	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Nov 25, 2005*	No. 8	Oklahoma	W 82–60	4–0	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Nov 27, 2005*	No. 8	at Cleveland State	W 85–51	5–0	Wolstein Center  Cleveland, OH
Dec 1, 2005*	No. 8	Hartford	W 72–47	6–0	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Dec 5, 2005*	No. 8	No. 7 North Carolina Jimmy V Classic	L 54–77	6–1	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, CT
Dec 8, 2005	No. 8	at Villanova	W 72–56	7–1 (1–0)	Palestra  Philadelphia, PA
Dec 19, 2005*	No. 8	Holy Cross	W 81–54	8–1	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Dec 22, 2005*	No. 8	Hofstra	W 86–49	9–1	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Dec 29, 2005*	No. 8	Albany	W 78–44	10–1	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Dec 31, 2005*	No. 8	Army	W 85–46	11–1	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Jan 2, 2006	No. 7	Georgetown	W 80–38	12–1 (2–0)	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Jan 7, 2006	No. 7	vs. No. 1 Tennessee	L 80–89[1]	12–2	Gaylord Entertainment Center  Nashville, TN
Jan 10, 2006	No. 7	at Seton Hall	W 93–53	13–2 (3–0)	Walsh Gymnasium  South Orange, NJ
Jan 12, 2006	No. 7	Cincinnati	W 92–71	14–2 (4–0)	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Jan 14, 2006	No. 7	St. John's	W 70–53	15–2 (5–0)	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Jan 16, 2006*	No. 5	No. 3 LSU	W 51–48	16–2	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Jan 21, 2006	No. 5	at Pittsburgh	W 65–54	17–2 (6–0)	Petersen Events Center  Pittsburgh, PA
Jan 24, 2006	No. 5	USF	W 77–47	18–2 (7–0)	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Jan 28, 2006	No. 5	at No. 12 DePaul	W 84–75	19–2 (8–0)	McGrath-Phillips Arena  Chicago, IL
Jan 31, 2006	No. 4	at Louisville	W 75–68	20–2 (9–0)	Freedom Hall  Louisville, KY
Feb 4, 2006	No. 4	West Virginia	W 58–50	21–2 (10–0)	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Feb 7, 2006	No. 4	No. 8 Rutgers	L 56–60	21–3 (10–1)	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Feb 12, 2006	No. 4	Texas	W 71–58	22–3	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, TX
Feb 15, 2006	No. 8	Providence	W 84–58	23–3 (11–1)	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Feb 19, 2006	No. 8	at Notre Dame	W 79–64	24–3 (12–1)	Joyce Center  Notre Dame, IN
Feb 22, 2006	No. 8	at Syracuse	W 65–36	25–3 (13–1)	Manley Field House  Syracuse, NY
Feb 25, 2006	No. 7	Marquette	W 74–59	26–3 (14–1)	Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, CT
Feb 27, 2006	No. 7	at No. 6 Rutgers	L 42–48	26–4 (14–2)	Louis Brown Athletic Center  Piscataway, NJ
Big East tournament
Mar 5, 2006*	No. 9	Notre Dame Quarterfinals	W 71–60	27–4	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, CT
Mar 6, 2006*	No. 9	No. 13 DePaul Semifinals	W 69–57	28–4	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, CT
Mar 7, 2006*	No. 9	West Virginia Championship game	W 50–44	29–4	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, CT
NCAA tournament
Mar 19, 2006*	(2 BPT) No. 8	vs. (15 BPT) Coppin State First round	W 77–54	30–4	Bryce Jordan Center  State College, PA
Mar 21, 2006*	(2 BPT) No. 8	vs. (7 BPT) Virginia Tech Second round	W 79–56	31–4	Bryce Jordan Center  State College, PA
Mar 26, 2006*	(2 BPT) No. 8	vs. (3 BPT) No. 12 Georgia Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 77–75	32–4	Bridgeport Arena at Harbor Yard  Bridgeport, CT
Mar 28, 2006*	(2 BPT) No. 8	vs. (1 BPT) No. 4 Duke Regional Final – Elite Eight	L 61–63 OT[2]	32–5	Bridgeport Arena at Harbor Yard  Bridgeport, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. FRS=Fresno Region. All times are in Eastern Time.

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Rankings

Main article: 2005–06 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	9	8	8	8	9	8	8	7	7	5	5	4	4	8	8	7	9	8	Not released
Coaches	7	7	6	6	9	9	8	8	7	7	5	4	3	3	6	6T	7	7	6

See also

• 2005–06 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team