UCONN Professional Athletes

The WNBA's final weekend before the Finals was written largely by UConn alumnae — one closing the book on a painful chapter, the other quietly authoring a historic one.

Breanna Stewart's First Sweep — and a Controversy to Match

It started with a historic night and ended with a blunt reckoning. In Game 2 of the Liberty-Dream semifinal series on Wednesday, Breanna Stewart put up 35 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in a performance that made WNBA history — and still wasn't enough. New York lost 101-98 in overtime, and Stewart left the court furious, alleging that referees incorrectly told the Liberty they had no reset timeout remaining in the final seconds, leaving the team to run a hopeless last possession without the ability to advance the ball to half court. The Liberty filed a formal complaint with the league. The pool report that followed only deepened the confusion.

Then came Game 3 on Friday. Stewart scored 26 points with 6 assists and 4 rebounds in an 85-83 loss at Barclays Center, completing a stunning sweep that marked the first time in her career she had been eliminated without winning a single postseason series game. Postgame, she was characteristically direct: the Liberty, she said, simply were not ready for 2026. Over the three-game series, Stewart averaged 26.7 points while doing everything short of winning — a sequence that will define the Liberty's offseason as much as any roster move.

Kiah Stokes and the Valkyries' Quiet Coronation

While Stewart's exit dominated headlines, Kiah Stokes was doing the unglamorous, essential work that has Golden State on the verge of a first-ever Finals berth. The UConn center posted a monster Game 1 against Las Vegas on Sunday — 14 rebounds and 4 blocks in a 71-60 Valkyries win — before anchoring Golden State's frontcourt through a tense Game 2 (7 rebounds, 1 block in an 83-81 win) and a decisive Game 3 closeout on Saturday (11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, +18). The Valkyries swept the Aces to reach the Finals.

Stokes won't be the name on the MVP ballot — teammate Gabby Williams, another UConn alumna, is drawing that attention after averaging 20.3 points across the series, with Sports Illustrated noting her Finals MVP odds have edged ahead of A'ja Wilson. But Stokes' 14-rebound, 4-block opener and her steady physicality throughout were the kind of contributions that make those offensive stars possible. The Sporting News called her the Valkyries' unsung hero as the Finals approached.

Also contributing off the Golden State bench: Tiffany Hayes scored 11 points with 4 assists, 2 steals, and a +20 in the closeout, while Kaitlyn Chen chipped in 6 points and a +4.

The Bigger Picture

UConn's playoff week told two very different stories. Stewart exits carrying the weight of a dynasty that stalled — her individual brilliance undeniable but her team's ceiling suddenly unclear. In the Bay, Stokes and the Valkyries' UConn contingent are playing for something the franchise has never touched. One alumna's run is over; another's biggest moment is still ahead.

The 2026 WNBA first-round playoffs were, in large part, a UConn reunion — and the Huskies' alumni did not disappoint. From Breanna Stewart's ironman sweep of the top seed to Gabby Williams' career night and Paige Bueckers' bittersweet debut, Storrs had fingerprints all over the bracket.

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Stewart Sweeps the No. 1 Seed

Breanna Stewart didn't just show up for the Liberty's stunning first-round upset of the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx — she carried it. In Game 1 on Sunday, Stewart posted 34 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in a 91-75 win. She followed that with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in Game 2's 87-71 closeout, logging heavy minutes in both contests. Liberty coach Chris DeMarco confirmed the strategy was intentional: lean on Stewie and don't flinch. The result was history — New York became the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in WNBA first-round play.

Also caught in the sweep: UConn forward Dorka Juhasz, whose Lynx never found their footing. Juhász finished a combined minus-8 across both games with minimal offensive contribution as Minnesota's season ended in heartbreak for the third straight year.

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Williams Catches Fire, Then Closes the Door

The Wings-Valkyries series was the week's most chaotic basketball, and Gabby Williams was at the center of it. After scoring 20 points in Golden State's dominant Game 1 win (104-80), Williams erupted for a career-high 36 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals in Game 2 — and still lost, as Arike Ogunbowale's WNBA playoff-record 45 points powered Dallas to a 108-100 overtime victory. Williams bounced back where it counted: in the deciding Game 3, she scored 19 points and hit the go-ahead shot with 1:17 remaining in a dramatic 77-73 comeback win that sent Golden State to the semifinals.

Tiffany Hayes was just as pivotal across the series. She dropped 21 points in Game 1, cooled off in Game 2 (6 points), then delivered 18 points and a plus-15 in the clincher. Kiah Stokes anchored the interior, pulling down 13 rebounds with 3 blocks in Game 3's decisive stretch, and Kaitlyn Chen contributed steady minutes and a plus-4 in the closeout.

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Bueckers' Debut: Historic, Heartbreaking

Paige Bueckers showed exactly what she is in this series — and also what the Wings still need around her. She opened with 21 efficient points in Game 1 before Dallas fell apart around her (minus-23). A quiet 10-point Game 2 was followed by a gutsy 17-point, 6-assist effort in the elimination game, but Dallas couldn't hold a 16-point second-half lead. Golden State won 77-73 to end the Wings' season.

Teammate Ogunbowale publicly backed Bueckers afterward, calling any major-award snub "rigged." The basketball world largely agreed: Bueckers made history in her postseason debut, but the conversation immediately shifted to whether she has enough support to go further next year.

For UConn's WNBA diaspora, the week was a reminder of the program's extraordinary reach — two teams advancing to the semifinals, one eliminated in a three-game thriller, all with Huskies at the center of the action.

It was a week that reminded the WNBA exactly what UConn produces. In Dallas, Paige Bueckers broke a league scoring record and powered the Wings to a franchise-best 26th win. In New York, Breanna Stewart passed Sue Bird on the all-time scoring list and delivered a vintage double-double in a critical playoff-positioning win. Two Huskies, two history books, one week.

Bueckers Puts the Wings in Uncharted Territory

Paige Bueckers did not ease back into the regular-season grind — she torched it. Against the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, Bueckers dropped 26 points (20 of them in the first half alone), added 5 assists, 3 steals, and a block in an 87-82 Dallas win. The performance broke a WNBA scoring record and secured the Wings' franchise-record 26th victory of the season.

The win was also Dallas's sixth consecutive, a streak that has the Wings jockeying for improved playoff seeding heading into the postseason. Context makes it even more impressive: Wings head coach Jose Fernandez had placed Bueckers on a minutes restriction before tip-off, managing her patellar tendinitis heading into the playoffs. She went out and broke a record anyway.

Bueckers had already posted 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals in a 97-77 blowout of the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday — Dallas's fifth straight win at the time. The Wings' closing schedule has set up a potential major jump in the standings, and Bueckers is the engine driving all of it. The Wings have also submitted her name for MVP consideration, where she joins A'ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell as candidates.

The week did carry one somber UConn note from Dallas: fellow Husky Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick who had averaged 13.1 points in 30 games this season, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and is done for the year. Fudd said she plans to be "the best cheerleader I can on the side" as the Wings make their playoff run.

Stewart Rewrites the WNBA Record Books in Minnesota

While Bueckers was making noise in Dallas, Breanna Stewart was making history in a different arena. In Friday's 93-81 Liberty win over the Minnesota Lynx, Stewart scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished 4 assists, and recorded 3 steals — a dominant double-double that also came with a milestone: she passed UConn and Seattle legend Sue Bird on the WNBA's all-time scoring list.

The timing could hardly be better for New York. Stewart returned to the Liberty fresh off winning FIBA World Cup MVP, and the Liberty desperately needed her — the team had been navigating a potentially dangerous slide in playoff seeding. The win over Minnesota, the league's top team, was a statement. Stewart's defensive impact was equally noteworthy; she was vocal in orchestrating the Liberty's defensive scheme against Minnesota's Olivia Miles, a performance that drew a reaction even from teammate Sabrina Ionescu.

With the postseason approaching, Stewart's form gives the Liberty genuine championship momentum at exactly the right moment.

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Fellow Husky Dorka Juhász was on the other side of the Stewart masterclass, posting 4 rebounds and 2 assists in Minnesota's loss. It was a tough night to be a Lynx — and an even better one to be a UConn fan watching from anywhere else.