Ten years after one of the most dominant stretches college basketball fans have ever seen, the UConn Huskies head coach, Geno Auriemma, still doesn’t remember it being easy.

On Thursday night at Gampel Pavilion, the University of Connecticut honored its 2015–16 national championship team, a group headlined by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, with induction into the ‘Huskies of Honor’. The ceremony took place before the Huskies’ game against the Villanova Wildcats, as it pulled the program back to an era that looked inevitable from the outside but carried immense pressure on the inside, especially for the head coach, for whom the banners and blowouts never told the full story.

Out of the 12 national championships that the Huskies have won under his guidance, the 2015-16 title still stands apart in his mind. Why? Because the Huskies entered that season with three back-to-back championships and only lost a single game over the previous two seasons.

“I would say the 2016 season, and specifically the 2016 postseason, was probably the most difficult run through an NCAA Tournament, personally, that I’ve ever had,” Geno Auriemma said as per UConn WBB Weekly. “The feeling of ‘This is something that’s really, really, really meaningful and significant and huge for this group of players’ — I felt that. I carried that with me everywhere I went.”

With Stewart returning for her senior season to play alongside Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck, Kia Nurse, Gabby Williams, Katie Lou Samuelson, and a young Collier. The 2015–16 Huskies rolled through the NCAA Tournament, winning every game by double digits and finishing with an average margin of victory of 41.2 points. They even set a record for the highest margin of victory in Final Four history with +60 points.

Yet their dominance game-after-game only amplified the pressure on the head coach.

As the Huskies marched closer to creating history, the possibility of failure loomed larger for Geno Auriemma than the inevitability of success. The stakes weren’t just about another trophy, but about finishing something rare and irreplaceable for a group that had already given everything to the program. While they ultimately secured the championship, the weight finally caught up to him.

“After it was over, I was completely wiped. I had nothing left,” he further added. “I missed, like, a week of life. I was home, and I couldn’t move… I have no idea, I just know that I’ve never felt like that after a season ever in my life.”

The toll for him was physical as much as it was emotional. Auriemma missed the team’s championship parade and celebrations due to health issues, and less than two weeks after the title game, he was admitted to the hospital with an undisclosed illness for several days.

So the ceremony night served as a reminder for him of just how rare that era was. Stewart, Collier, and their teammates stood at center court as the crowd celebrated a group that went 151–5 across four seasons and produced the first trio of teammates ever selected with the top three picks in a WNBA Draft.

Meanwhile, the current Huskies team honored that legacy in their own unique way.

Geno Auriemma’s Huskies vs. Wildcats: Game Overview

The No. 1-ranked UConn Huskies turned the night into a statement, as they cruised past the Wildcats 99–50. On a night dedicated to honoring the legends of the program and even the WNBA, the current Huskies were locked in.

They set the tone of the game from the opening quarter and went on to force 26 turnovers and turn them into 36 points. Inside the paint, the Huskies dominated by outscoring Villanova 58. An imbalance that would give you the overview of their physicality and ball movement throughout the night. By halftime, UConn built a commanding 45–27 lead, fueled by strong inside play from Sarah Strong and early shooting from Azzi Fudd.

Strong went on to finish the game with 24 points, nine rebounds, five blocks, four assists, and three steals. Fudd added 14 points, while KK Arnold chipped in 13 points.

Blanca Quiñonez also reached double figures with 13 points.

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On the other hand, Kennedy Henry led the Wildcats with 12 points, but the deficit only grew as the Huskies opened the second half with another surge, pushing the lead past 30 by the third quarter.

This lopsided win kept the UConn Huskies perfect at 18–0 overall and 9–0 in Big East play, extending their conference winning streak to 56 games and putting on an emphatic performance on a night celebrating one of the most dominant eras in program history.