UConn’s Auriemma claims NCAA all-time wins record

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma and associate head coach Chris Dailey receive recognition from UConn president Radenka Maric, left, during a pregame ceremony Wednesday. JESSICA HILL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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By Doug Feinberg

The Associated Press

STORRS, Conn.>> Geno Auriemma soaked in the moment. The UConn Hall of Fame coach now stands alone atop the NCAA college basketball all-time wins list.

Auriemma broke a tie with former Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, earning his 1,217 career victory with an 85-41 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday night.

“We never sat down and said hey let’s make a 40-year plan and see if we can make this happen,” Auriemma said. “It’s about coming here every day and trying to be better than we were yesterday.”

He has spent four decades building UConn into the standard for women’s basketball. The school celebrated those 40 years Wednesday night.

Surrounded by the greatest players in UConn history, including Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Rebecca Lobo, Auriemma and longtime assistant Chris Dailey took in the incredible achievement in a postgame ceremony.

“It’s not very often in life you get to experience something that’s never been done before and that you get to experience something that will never be done again,” Lobo said.

More than 60 alums of the program were in attendance. Nearly two dozen of them played in the WNBA. The former UConn players were part of the record 11 national championships that the school has won. UConn has reached the Final Four 23 times, including in 15 of the past 16 seasons.

Auriemma and Dailey received ladders from Nike and Connecticut governor Ned Lamont presented a sign that said “Welcome to Connecticut, home of the winningest coach in basketball history.”

Auriemma began his journey with UConn in 1985 and currently is 1,216-162 in his career. He has only had one losing season in his career — his first one with the Huskies. Before he came to the school from Virginia, the program had only one winning season.

VanDerveer offered her congratulations to Auriemma after the game.

“This is yet another outstanding milestone in a career filled with them for Geno Auriemma. The level of success he has maintained at UConn over four decades will never be duplicated,” she said in a statement. “But his tremendous legacy extends far beyond any number of wins. It lives in the lives of the countless young women he has positively influenced throughout his career. Congratulations to Geno and Chris on this incredible accomplishment.”