Winning streaks in sports usually end with a shrug. A bad night, a tough road trip, a hot opponent. The UConn women's basketball team went more than two years without having that night. From November 2014 to March 2017, the Huskies won 111 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in NCAA Division I basketball, men’s or women’s.
A program built to win
By the mid-2010s, the University of Connecticut was already the dominant force in women's college basketball. Coach Geno Auriemma, who arrived in Storrs in 1985 when the program had little tradition, had turned UConn into a machine that recruited the best players in the country and developed them into champions.
UConn already held the previous record. Between 2008 and 2010, the Huskies won 90 straight games, a streak that ended against Stanford in December 2010.
The start
Fittingly, the new streak began right after a loss to Stanford. In November 2014, the Huskies fell to the Cardinal in overtime early in the season. They did not lose again for almost two and a half years.
The core of that team was extraordinary. Forward Breanna Stewart was the best player in the country, a 6-foot-4 talent who could score from anywhere, block shots and handle the ball. Guard Moriah Jefferson ran the offense with speed and control, and forward Morgan Tuck provided versatility and toughness. Around them, Auriemma had a deep roster of high school All-Americans.
Two more titles
UConn won the 2015 national championship without much drama, then followed it with a 2016 title run that was even more dominant. The 2015–16 Huskies won almost every game by huge margins, including a 98–38 victory over Mississippi State in the Sweet 16.
That 2016 championship was UConn's fourth in a row. Stewart was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player for the fourth straight year, something no player had done before. Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck went first, second and third in the 2016 WNBA draft.
Reloaded
The 2016–17 team, led by Gabby Williams, Katie Lou Samuelson, Napheesa Collier and Kia Nurse, kept winning. They were less experienced and less celebrated, but they played the same disciplined, unselfish style. The streak passed 100 games during that season and the Huskies entered the 2017 tournament as heavy favorites once again.
They reached the Final Four in Dallas, extending the streak to 111.
Following the record across seasons
A winning streak belongs to a program even as its roster changes. Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck contributed to the 2015 and 2016 titles, then left for the WNBA. The next team extended the same record into 2017.
That distinction matters when comparing a streak with a championship count. UConn’s four straight titles began before this 111-game run. The streak itself included two national championships and ended in a semifinal, rather than in a title game.
Mississippi State
Their national semifinal opponent was Mississippi State — the same team UConn had beaten by 60 points a year earlier. This time, the teams were tied after regulation.
The game went to overtime. With seconds left and the score tied, Mississippi State guard Morgan William — listed at 5-foot-5, one of the smallest players on the floor — dribbled to her right and pulled up for a jumper just inside the arc. It dropped through as time expired. Mississippi State 66, UConn 64.
The streak was over at 111. Mississippi State lost the final to South Carolina 67–55 two days later.
What the streak means
The record brings together three seasons, changing rosters and two national titles. It also leaves a useful lesson about tournament results: UConn beat Mississippi State by 60 in 2016, then lost to the same program in overtime a year later. A past margin describes a completed game; it does not decide the next one.
When comparing this run with others, keep the scope clear. The 111-game figure is an NCAA Division I record. Calling it a record for every form of college basketball would extend the claim beyond that competition.
