UConn Huskies Play for Pride Saturday

UConn's (L-R) Juhász, Westbrook, Nelson-Ododa, Willians, and Ducharne wait for starting lineups against Creighton on Jan. 9th. Credit: UConn Huskies Twitter. 

A dominant, fast-paced group of Huskies took over the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Wednesday. The UConn Huskies earned their eighth win on the season taking down the Butler Bulldogs 92-47. With a starting lineup change that surprised fans, the Huskies played a swift first half to lead the Bulldogs. The Huskies are now 1st in the Big East conference after multiple game cancellations due to Covid.

This will be only the third matchup between the Xavier Musketeers and the Huskies. Many of the teams UConn has faced in the Big East have been new competition after they joined the conference again last season. The Huskies last competed in the American Athletic Conference from 2014-2020.

After the No.1 Huskies earned the Big East win over Butler Wednesday, they take on the No.9 Musketeers today at noon. Xavier’s first conference win was over Butler on December 29th, winning 77-55. Currently 6-8 on the season, Xavier has not faced any current AP teams. Facing the No. 10 team in the nation, the Musketeers are facing a newly electrified Huskie bench.

With a change to the starting lineup Wednesday night, Coach Geno Auriemma switched out his point guards. While senior Evina Westbrook is not a traditional point guard, she has controlled the ball since sophomore Paige Bueckers was injured in early December. Westbrook and sophomore Nika Mühl were switched. This was an interesting move from Auriemma, especially since this was Mühl’s second game back from coming off a foot injury.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa (Blue 20) goes for a pull-up shot against Butler on Wednesday. Credit AJ Mast, AP.

Despite what some might say about the change, the energy Mühl brought to the first few minutes of that game set a fast play tempo for the Huskies. After getting called for her only foul, Mühl was subbed by Westbrook. Did the tempo change? No, it increased to the point where the Huskies were scoring off the quick transitions. The Huskies got the Bulldogs to cause 27 total turnovers and score 43 points alone from those efforts.

What else was different with this Husky team? The three-point shooting. Though it was not pretty at times, three Huskies scored three each. Westbrook, freshman Caroline Ducharme, and senior Christyn Williams. Graduate student Dorka Juhász & senior Olivia Nelson-Ododa added one three-pointer each.

Nelson-Ododa and Christyn Williams both had one of their best games of the season thus far. Career-high points were not met, but their statistics for this game alone were amazing. Williams and ONO both scored 19 points to lead the Huskies. Williams earned 7 rebounds, had 7 steals, and added 4 assists. ONO had 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 steal. Caroline Ducharme had another perfect game in her freshman year campaign scoring 18 points, her game average. She hit back-to-back threes early on in the first half.

We got to see sophomore Piath Gabriel in only her second game this season. She has not gotten any minutes since UConn played Minnesota on November 20th. She scored two points and added a single rebound. Freshman Amari DeBerry appeared for a career-high 18 minutes against Butler. As Auriemma’s “utility player,” DeBerry struggled to make any shots but the time on the court showed that she is improving on the team’s plays. Not having many minutes before Wednesday night, Auriemma got a sense of what he needed to work on with DeBerry.

Christyn Williams (13) at the arch to shoot a three-pointer on Wednesday against Butler. Credit AJ Mast, AP.

With the game in 3 hours, let’s take a dive into the Huskies’ history against Xavier. The two teams first met in Big East play on December 19th, 2020 at Gample Pavilion. The Huskies won 106-59 and Williams was the leading scorer. She scored 24 points, going 4-5 at the arch. Bueckers scored 19, adding 9 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds. ONO was a tough defender against the Musketeers. She had 16 points, 11 defensive rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. Auriemma played his whole bench, except Nika Mühl who was dealing with foot issues.

The Huskies then traveled to the Cintas Center in Cincinnati on February 20th for their second meetup. UConn won 83-32, Williams also led the team with 22 points. Unlike their first matchup, the Huskies did not earn much from the arch. Williams went 2-5 and Bueckers was the only other player to score one. Sophomore Aaliyah Edwards made herself known by scoring 16 points, adding 11 rebounds, and 1 steal. Mühl was back in action that game and earned 5 steals for the Huskies.

Looking at both games against Xavier last year, the Huskies were able to score off of turnovers. Similar to their most recent game, UConn has to keep that intense pace heading into every conference game. Auriemma told his players to be prepared to “shoot quickly” once they were in possession of the ball. Those fast-break points add up quickly.

The UConn Huskies play in their first-ever Pride Game today at noon. T-shirts for the game are for sale and the profit goes to The Trevor Project. The Huskies are currently ranked #10 in the nation and first in the Big East.