FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MARCH 29: Blanca Quiñonez #4 of the UConn Huskies holds the Fort Worth Regional Championship trophy after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 70-52 in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 29, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MARCH 29: Blanca Quiñonez #4 of the UConn Huskies drives to the basket against Malaya Cowles #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second quarter in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 29, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
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UConn forward Blanca QuiÃonez reacts after scoring a three-point basket against the Notre Dame during the second half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
LM Otero/AP
FORT WORTH, Texas — Blanca Quiñonez didn’t overthink it.
Sure, it was her first Elite Eight and first NCAA Tournament, and the tension from playing UConn women’s basketball’s most heated rival hung around the court like a low fog, but none of that mattered to the freshman.
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She made her first three shots, scored 10 points in under five minutes, and was the most poised player on the floor. While the rest of the Huskies struggled to get around Notre Dame’s physical defense, Quiñonez ended the first quarter outscoring everyone – including the entire Fighting Irish team.
“She’s not worrying about, ‘What if I miss this shot? What if I turn the ball over?’ That doesn’t bother her,” said Geno Auriemma. “She just is out there trying to impact the game, and that, to me, is the secret of being really good. You can’t worry about the outcome. … There’s no fear in her, and it’s refreshing, because she’s so young and has that. I really admire that in her.”
Quiñonez gave UConn its biggest spark off the bench in its Sweet 16 and Elite Eight wins in Fort Worth. Across the two regional games, she averaged 18 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 assists. On Sunday, with 20 points and a season-high eight rebounds against Notre Dame, she became the first Husky to ever score 20 points off the bench in an Elite Eight or later round of the NCAA Tournament.
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While National Player of the Year Sarah Strong was named the Fort Worth Region 1 Most Outstanding Player, Quiñonez was right there with her, earning Regional All-Tournament team honors.
UConn forward Blanca QuiÃonez dribbles up court against Notre Dame during the first half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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The Huskies are off to their 25th Final Four. They’re no strangers to the bright lights and big stages that come with playing in college women’s basketball’s Madness Madness games. They are the defending national champs and heavy favorites to win it all again.
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And when the Huskies play in the national semifinals on Friday, Quiñonez is sure to remain unfazed. She is used to playing with pressure, and thanks to the support of her teammates, she knows this is nothing she can’t handle.
“They really trust me, and I think that’s what gives me so much comfort and confidence to just go in there and do what I have to do,” said Quiñonez. “…I think just to be with this group, I think we have, like, something special that makes us different from other teams. And I’m just happy and grateful to be here and experience all of this with them.”
Quiñonez, originally from Ecuador, arrived in Storrs this fall still mainly unknown. The majority of fans hadn’t seen her highlight clips from her time playing on professional-level teams in Italy while in high school. They didn’t know of her speed, agility and fearlessness. As an international prospect, she wasn’t ranked in the freshman class and didn’t earn any preseason honors.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MARCH 29: Blanca Quiñonez #4 of the UConn Huskies takes a shot against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish f during the first quarter in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 29, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
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But after UConn’s first month of games, everyone knew her and her game. She scored 18 points with four rebounds in UConn’s win over Ohio State before scoring a season-high 21 and pulling down five boards a week later against Utah.
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Quiñonez’s length gave the Huskies a new, flexible option off the bench. She’s big enough to hang with forwards, yet agile and quick to score from all three levels and thread through defenders. Soon, she was making headlines and earning the attention of WNBA scouts – even though she’s not draft eligible for another three years.
Despite missing six games in February with a shoulder injury, Quiñonez averaged 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2.1 assists through Big East play. She became Auriemma’s first option off the bench, no matter the opponent, as she’s quick to spark scoring and gives UConn movable size.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MARCH 29: Blanca Quiñonez #4 of the UConn Huskies is interviewed after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 70-52 in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 29, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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Auriemma sees similarities in Quiñonez among some of his former top international players. And that includes Diana Taurasi, who was raised by immigrant parents and spent a portion of her childhood living in Argentina.
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“(She’s) a combination of Diana, Svetlana (Abrosimova). I think maybe those two. Nika (Mühl). You notice I’m hitting on a theme, right?” said Auriemma. “A bunch of international kids brought up differently, very stubborn, very hard-headed, very sure of themselves, won’t back down to anybody any time ever.
“… They have one thing in common. Two words you’ll never hear come out of any of those people’s mouths: ‘You’re right.’ They are just so hard to coach, and at the same time, they’re so rewarding. It’s such a rewarding feeling coaching them because you’re not kind of fighting with them.
“You are kind of give and take, you know, tug-of-war, I want what I want from you, they want what they want from me, and it’s back and forth. The finished product usually is just an unbelievable competitor, who has so much pride in themselves.”
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – MARCH 29: Blanca Quiñonez #4 of the UConn Huskies rebounds the ball against Cassandre Prosper #8 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first quarter in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 29, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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Her teammates are just as impressed with the freshman’s ability not to buy into the pressure amid the biggest games of the year. Quiñonez is averaging 17.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game in the NCAA Tournament.
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“She just hasn’t changed who she is,” said Ashlynn Shade. “She hasn’t let the outside noise or any spotlight get to her at all. She’s just playing how she knows how to play, and that’s at a high level. And she’s scoring the ball so efficiently, getting to the basket, knocking down shots, everything we’ve seen Blanca do since the moment she arrived on campus.”
She may have never played in the Big Dance before, but she’s used to playing under pressure thanks to playing with older, stronger women on the professional stage in Italy and for Ecuador’s Senior National Team (she averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in the 2022 South American Women’s Championship for her home country).
Still, Auriemma is surprised at how well she’s handled the pressure of her first NCAA Tournament.
“If you’ve never been in this environment, it’s hard to, you know, just say, ‘Yeah, it’s just another game,’ because she knows it’s not,” he said. “… Each day, each week in practice, from November to now, she’s gotten better. She’s gotten more comfortable with what we’re doing. She sits on the bench, and she pays attention, and she’s always on the attack. … She plays with a poise and an aggressiveness that are a little more mature than her age.”
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Back in April 2024, it was watching the Final Four that first convinced Quiñonez to open her NCAA college recruiting instead of staying overseas and beginning her professional career early. She saw how fun the Final Four looked and how popular the women’s game had become in the United States and wanted to experience it herself.
Now, two years later, she’s not only headed to her first Final Four with the most dominant team in the nation, but just two wins away from winning the ultimate prize.
“I’m going to my first Final Four,” said Quiñonez, when asked what the most surreal part of her freshman season has been. “I expected it, yes, but I think living this with them, like all this fun that we have playing together, it’s just something crazy.”
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