Huskies Face Blue Jays in Omaha

UConn's Christyn Williams goes up for a floater shot during today's game against Creighton. Credit: David Bulter II, USA TODAY.

Tonight marks the second meeting of the No.10 UConn Huskies and the Creighton Blue Jays. The two Big East teams last met on Jan. 9th at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs. The Huskies took the win winning 63-55, one of their lowest scoring games of the season. When UConn played Georgia Tech, the loss was 57-44, the lowest-scoring game for the Huskies this season. The first meeting against the Blue Jays was freshman Caroline Ducharme’s second game in a row as the team’s leading scorer as the Huskies had just come off a three-week break.

While the Huskies out-scored Creighton in the first three quarters, the Blue Jays tried to make a comeback in the fourth. They scored two more points over the Huskies trying to close in on a win. UConn was able to hold off Creighton’s 6’1 leading scorer, Emma Ronsiek, to just 10 points. This was Ronsiek’s best scoring game after playing in four games where she could not score in double digits. Since their first meeting with UConn, Ronsiek has been averaging 14.8 points per game. She scored her season and career-high 30 points against St. John’s on January 16th.

This meeting was UConn’s first game of the new year after a three-week-long hiatus due to Covid. They were coming off a close loss to Louisville who had only beat the Huskies in the last 6 minutes losing 64-69. That game sparked Caroline Ducharme to take the lead in scoring for the Huskies. She scored 24 points, most of them in the final 10 minutes of the game. Her points were her then-season and career-high for the first-year Husky.

UConn's Nika Mühl runs the point against Creighton in her first game back with the Huskies. Credit: Stephen Slade

Sophomore Nika Mühl also returned to the active roster on January 9th. Without a solid point guard, Mühl was able to step in and be a vocal leader. She is one of the most knowledgeable players; Mühl knows every play and can call out where her teammates need to be on both offense and defense. This was a great addition to having Mühl come back even though she was on limited minutes. She 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 points against Creighton before reaching her fourth foul.

Playing 38 minutes alongside Ducharme was senior Christyn Williams. She had an offensive presence scoring 13, had 5 rebounds, and 1 steal. Williams had to sit for three games starting with the Oregon loss on January 17th. Despite missing those games, Williams was able to return and have two great performances. She scored 17 against DePaul last Wednesday and had 19 points against Providence on Sunday. She has been a key transition player. Williams can steal and score, or she becomes the scorer off of the steals of her teammates.

Another player who has recently returned is freshman Azzi Fudd. Fudd was the No.1 recruit in the nation coming to UConn. She found her way to join fellow All-Americans and No.1 players, Paige Bueckers and Williams. This will be Fudd’s seventh game of the season, missing two months of games due to a stress reaction in her foot. In her first game back against DePaul, Fudd put on a show. We have not seen her play much in a Huskies uniform but that game showed what a powerful offensive presence she can have. If Fudd can play for most of any game, she will be a superstar.

Senior Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Dorka Juhász are also two key players with successful seasons. While Juhász may be out for tonight’s game (not confirmed), she has found a new love for basketball with this Husky team. Nelson-Ododa has had some great games this season but has not had the best run in the past three games. Her rebounding and blocking presence is something this team needs if they want to survive the March tournament.

UConn's Aaliyah Edwards defends against Creighton's Emma Ronsiek. Credit: David Bulter II, USA TODAY.

Sophomore Aaliyah Edwards is starting her comeback. She has had some struggles this season with fouls or difficult times on offense. The game against Providence, while that was not a pretty game, brought Edwards back into the starting lineup. Edwards had a newfound confidence, a drive that showed through the adversity this team has been facing. Tougher than the game as it should have been, Edwards ended the night with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, and a steal.

After a lackluster final quarter against Providence, the Huskies do not look like the same team that played against Creighton in early January. Whatever it may be, the Huskies are back to being down two players. No timeline on Juhász, but Geno is optimistic she will return this week. Paige Bueckers just reached the 8-week mark from her knee surgery back in early December. There is also no timeline, but that is expected news.

The Huskies remain as the No.10 team in the AP rankings. To some surprise, many people are shocked they have stayed this close to the top teams. The Huskies face one last non-conference team with Tennessee traveling to CT on Sunday. The Huskies face Butler on Friday at home.