The adjustment to playing with the UConn women’s basketball team came with more growing pains than expected for Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams, but the senior center looks closer to finding her footing as she strings together more consistent performances.
Williams had her first double-digit scoring game of the month on Wednesday in the Huskies’ 89-53 victory over Marquette with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting plus six rebounds and three assists. That showing came on the heels of her season-high nine boards at USC, where she also scored the first six points of the game for UConn and had a pair of blocks.
Star guard Azzi Fudd said after the win against USC that she saw a different level of confidence in Williams, and the center said Wednesday that she’s finally starting to figure out her role within the offense.
“It’s definitely just wanting more for myself and wanting to contribute to the team more,” Williams said. “I know I can do that. Also, Coach says something about how good can you be when you don’t have the ball in your hands, so I’m just trying to figure that out in the system.”
Coach Geno Auriemma has repeatedly stressed the need for patience with Williams’ transition into a completely different style of play at UConn, but after she had just four rebounds in the team’s rout of DePaul on Dec. 7, he said he wanted the senior center to have a more dominant mindset when she gets in the paint. Since then, it seems she’s taken that message to heart.
“She’s had a little more aggressiveness,” Auriemma said after the Marquette game. “I think she’s rebounding the ball more consistently, and that’s something that we’ve talked about. She’s becoming more comfortable as a passer. So all in all, I think a little bit at a time the improvement is obviously very noticeable. We’re going to need it down the road, and I think she’ll keep getting better.”
Williams’ growth will be put to the test when the Huskies face No. 11 Iowa in a nationally televised matchup at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday. The game is part of the Women’s Champions Classic, a four-team showcase established in 2024. Last season, UConn beat Louisville in the event and Iowa lost an overtime thriller against Tennessee. This year, a matchup between No. 16 Louisville and No. 17 Tennessee will precede the Huskies and the Hawkeyes.
Iowa is dominant in the frontcourt, currently ranking top 10 nationally in both defensive rebounds and rebounding margin. Its leading scorer is 6-foot-4 sophomore Ava Heiden averaging 15.2 points and 7.9 rebounds plus 1.3 blocks, and 6-2 senior standout Hannah Stuelke is close behind with 13.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and a team-high 1.5 steals per game. The Hawkeyes also have 6-5 freshman Layla Hays coming in off the bench averaging 7.8 points and 3.8 boards.
On top of their post presence, Iowa is one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the country averaging 37.1% from the perimeter on more than 20 attempts per game. The Huskies held Marquette, which ranks top 5 nationally in 3-point percentage, to just 5-for-16 beyond the arc on Wednesday, and they’ll need an equally dominant defensive performance to slow down the Hawkeyes.
“They’re really good because they’re really well-balanced,” Auriemma said. “Their post players are really good. They’re smart, they’re tough, they finish around the basket. … They can score with their bigs in the lane, and their transition offense is really good. A lot of times when you have a great transition offense you’re not throwing the ball in the lane a lot.
:So yeah, I think they’re going to be a real challenge. They’re going to be a real test for us to see how good our defense really is, especially our post defense.”
The Huskies would never admit it if they are thinking about it, but there’s also redemption on the line from their last meeting with Iowa. Seven members of the current roster were on the team when the Hawkeyes eliminated them from the 2024 NCAA Tournament in a heartbreaking two-point Final Four loss, and then-freshman Stuelke was a key piece in that win. Though superstar guard Caitlin Clark was still playing for Iowa, Stuelke led the team with a game-high 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting, plus three rebounds.
But it’s easy to forget old grudges after hoisting a national championship trophy in 2025, and UConn has remained steadfast in its commitment to taking one game at a time as it continues its quest for a repeat.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. (Coach) expects us to play the same way, with the same intensity, every single day,” Fudd said. “Him holding us to that expectation, that standard, we then hold each other to that standard. It doesn’t matter if we’re up, we’re down, who we’re playing. We’re trying to play UConn basketball, trying to get better, trying to learn, trying to just play together.”
How to watch
Site: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Time/date: 1:30 p.m., Saturday
Team records: UConn 11-0, Iowa 10-1
Series record: UConn leads 4-1
Last meeting: 71-69 Iowa, April 5 in Cleveland, Ohio
TV: FOX
Streaming: FOX Sports app
Radio: UConn Sports Network on FOX Sports 97.9