Final Four women’s notes: UConn stays on Taurasi Way, aim for dual championships
PHOENIX — It’s been 21 years since the last time Diana Taurasi competed in a UConn women’s basketball jersey, but the future Hall of Famer’s presence is all over the Huskies’ trip to Phoenix for the 2026 Final Four. As the team bus rolled through downtown, the Huskies realized their hotel is located on 7489 Taurasi Way — the street renamed in her honor after Taurasi broke the WNBA’s all-time scoring record with her 7,489th point in June 2017. UConn held its practice Wednesday afternoon at the Phoenix’s Mercury’s practice facility, where the hardwood is named the Diana Taurasi Court and bears a logo of her likeness wearing her jersey number 3.
“I had dinner with Dee last night. In typical Dee fashion, she’s the story,” Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said with a smile. “In my mind, (she’s) the greatest basketball player to ever play college basketball, and maybe the greatest WNBA player of all time.
So to be here, I know that means a lot to her. I know it means a lot to our players. ” Taurasi’s legend began at UConn, where she led the program to three consecutive national championships from 2002-04.
She was a three-time All-American and the unanimous national player of the year in 2003, and she also earned Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and ’04. Taurasi ranks 10th all-time at UConn in career points with 2,156, and she is top five in career 3-pointers (318) and assists (648). Taurasi was drafted No.
1 overall by the Phoenix Mercury in 2004 and cemented her status as an all-time great over 21 seasons with the franchise. She led the Mercury to three WNBA titles in 2007, ’09 and ’14, and she became one of two guards ever to win WNBA MVP when she earned the honor in 2009. Taurasi retired in 2024 as an 11-time WNBA All-Star, and she remains the only player in league history to score more than 10,000 points.
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