—
819 Days.
That’s how long it’s been since the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team last tasted defeat.
In the 2 years 2 months and 27 days since the Huskies took an L we’ve said hello and goodbye to Ebola in the U.S. Jon Snow and Llamapalooza—never forget. Gone is our first black president, here is our first celebrity president.
Through it all, the only thing Connecticut has done is win. 100 straight times.
For too long sports’ records have been spotlighted by male dominance. The truth is now more than ever the game is for the females—don’t you dare call them the weaker sex.
Since UConn last found a blemish on its record, Serena Williams has won 5 more Grand Slam titles bringing her total up to 23 now at 35 years old, heating up Greatest Athlete of All Time discussions. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Simone Biles turned in one of the finest performances in the Games’ history cementing her status as the greatest gymnast of all time. In 2015, the US Women’s Soccer team won an unprecedented third World Cup title.
It may be time to view Beyonce as the next Nostradamus. In 2013, she released the single “Who Run The World (Girls)” and nothing seems to be more prophetic.
Everyone is supposed to lose. It’s what we teach our children. With the stream of talent headed to Storrs, Connecticut and the remaining schedule for the Huskies, Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy may be earning her first Grammy before UConn notches another loss in the results column.
This was supposed to be the year that Head Coach Geno Auriemma’s team came crumbling down. The first three picks in the 2016 WNBA draft were from Connecticut, giving the allusion there were weaknesses abound in the Huskies armor. Yet UConn doesn’t rebuild or reload. Like Wolverine, they regenerate.
Sophomores Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier have taken the torch from Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck. On Monday night it was forward Gabby Williams who stepped up with a career-high 26 points and 14 boards. The 5’11” junior led a scrappy effort in defeating sixth-ranked South Carolina 66-55.
Now Connecticut has won 147 games out of 148 games. During its current 100 game winning streak, ninety-eight of UConn’s 100 victories have come by double figures. Seventy-one have come by at least 30 points. Twenty-five have come by 50 or more. Against premier competition, the Huskies’ average margin of victory in nine games against top-5 opponents has been 14 points.
This isn’t just a win streak it is a dominance never before seen at any level. Auriemma needs to be discussed as one of the greatest coaches ever. Connecticut should be argued as the greatest collegiate dynasty ever. Women and sports should no longer be thought of as a secondary option to the men’s game.
The proof is in the pudding, or as Auriemma concluded after the game, “Sometimes, it’s just meant to be.”
—
—
Photo credit: Getty Images