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The University of Connecticut Huskies are a women’s basketball dynasty. But sometimes, there is no avoiding hard times. UConn has learned that this season after losing several key players to season-ending injuries and being counted out by many when it came to making a deep NCAA Tournament run. Yet, the Huskies find themselves in the Final Four again. With just eight available/healthy players, UConn has shocked many during the course of March Madness.
So, the most revered program in women’s basketball history are now the underdogs. Casual, newer women’s college basketball fans may not be expecting much from this UConn team. But if you’ve followed the sport for any amount of time, you’ll know how skilled these players are, how well coached they are and how they are always going to have a fighting chance.
Sure, count ‘em out—but the UConn Huskies are inevitable. They’ll be fine with or without the general population’s faith.
Now, they’ll face maybe their toughest challenge yet in the Final Four, as they see Caitlin Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes for a spot in the championship game. The Hawkeyes and Huskies have faced off twice during the college careers of Clark and Paige Bueckers, and both times it’s been UConn who has made it out. It’s going to be a tough battle regardless, as these two basketball greats meet for the last time as college athletes.
Everything is coming up Paige
Paige Bueckers is a generational basketball talent. That was known when she came to UConn as a freshman and took the women’s college basketball by storm. Unfortunately, she spent the next two years fighting and recovering from injuries. Now as a redshirt junior, Bueckers is reminding the basketball world who she is. She has rocketed this UConn team to victory in the postseason, winning the Big East Tournament and now helping her team to her third-career Final Four appearance.
Bueckers is averaging 28 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in the tournament while shooting over 50 percent from the field.
While this is not her last March Madness, as she has decided to stay at UConn and use her extra year of eligibility, that doesn’t mean she wants to win any less. Bueckers could very well become the best UConn player of all time to not win a championship in her time with the school—but that’s not a reality she wants to exist.
Bueckers has also had to adjust her game quite a lot this season due to all the injuries the team has suffered. At 6-foot-0, she came in to college basketball as a point/shooting guard, but in the tournament has had to step up as a forward. She’s actually played all five positions on the court, stepping into the 5 role when Aaliyah Edwards broke her nose in the Big East Tournament earlier in March. Regardless, she looks fantastic out there on the court, and if the Huskies want to overcome the Hawkeyes, it ultimately will come down to her performance.
Freshmen phenoms
Freshmen have been all the rage this year in women’s college basketball, and UConn’s freshmen have had to step up in big ways. Both KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade have been inserted into the Huskies’ starting lineup and have held down the fort.
Shade is a shooter with ice in her veins—hitting clutch shots and not being afraid of the moment. Arnold has been playing the guard spots along with Nika Mühl, defending and getting some big clutch shots of her own. Head Coach Geno Auriemma is a little notorious for not playing his freshmen much, and this year was possibly going to be the same. But with Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, Amari DeBerry, Aubrey Griffin, Jana El Alfy and Ayanna Patterson all out, Shade and Arnold were called up.
They’ll have to have hold steady and step up to the big moment as they head into their first Final Four.
Almost the end for Edwards and Mühl
Time as a Husky is winding down for both Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Mühl. The two seniors have both decided that they will not use their extra year of eligibility and that this will be their last year at UConn. They head into Friday’s game against Iowa knowing it could be their last with the team.
Mühl has not publicly confirmed if she will be declaring for the WNBA draft, but the point guard out of Croatia could certainly get picked in the second round. In a guard-light draft, the pass-first minded, gritty defender could be a solid rookie for a WNBA team in need of a backup playmaker. Edwards is projected to be a first-round draft pick, possibly going as high as No. 5 overall, maybe higher. Out of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Edwards would offer a WNBA team a dynamic forward who can score, defend and isn’t afraid to be physical. Edwards’ post game is well suited to the WNBA and she could pair well in pick-and-roll actions with many guards in the league.
No matter where they end up, UConn fans will be savoring every second they get with these two Husky legends.
It’ll be an emotional weekend for the Huskies, whether they advance to the championship game or not. After a tough year, they’ve already exceeded expectations for this season and are proving that you can never count out a dawg—or, more specifically, a Husky.