The UConn women’s basketball game Thursday at South Carolina has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.
The No. 9 Huskies (11-4, 6-0 Big East) will travel to DePaul and make up a Dec. 31 postponed game Wednesday at 8 p.m.
“(South Carolina head coach) Dawn Staley reached out to me about postponing the series for this season,” said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma in a Sunday news release. “It’s a priority for South Carolina to make up SEC games, so this is the best decision for them right now. We know a lot of fans were excited for this game, but we look forward to continuing the series with South Carolina in future seasons.”
The No. 1 Gamecocks (17-1, 5-1) have rescheduled an SEC game Thursday against Ole Miss.
“I know our fans always enjoy the UConn game, and our team enjoys the rivalry; but I have always said that our conference season and especially our goal of another SEC championship is more central to our program,” Staley said. “As we approach the second half of league play next month, it has become more important to complete our SEC schedule to keep ourselves in the running for a conference title. This Thursday is one of the few dates Ole Miss has open, so, with my team’s best interest at heart, I started the conversations that led us to this point.”
UConn’s news release added, “Thursday’s game was the last in the previous home-and-home agreement with UConn, and a new agreement for the next two seasons was signed this summer. UConn and South Carolina will work to reschedule the game in a future season.”
The Huskies and Gamecocks already faced off once during the 2021-22 season, doing so Nov. 22 in the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship Game.
UConn lost 73-57.
Facing the Blue Demons (16-4, 8-1) instead, the Huskies still eye a three-game winning streak on the heels of a 75-57 win Sunday at St. John’s.