Teamwork Becomes the Star Husky

The UConn Huskies stand arm in arm for the National Anthem before their game against Creighton on Jan. 9th. UConn Athletics

The title may be misleading for some fans when talking about the 11-time National Champions in the UConn Huskies. Sure, the team has had plenty of star players that have changed the dynasty of the program. This current season is different, completely different. The Huskies have faced transfers, injuries, and even more unavailable players since December. With 5 losses to the date, critics of the team are unsure why the Huskies remain in the Top 10 on the Associated Press rankings. Their last 5-loss game season was back during the 2011-2012 season when the Huskies were 33-5. That Husky roster was able to work their magic and earn a spot in NCAA Final Four. So adversity is not uncommon with Geno Auriemma’s team, the inconsistent player availability has changed who leads the team each game.

Going back into history, “star” players like Rebecca Lobo, Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird, Swim Cash, and more have led this dynasty team. There are not many dynasty teams in the nation similar to the likes of UConn. The closest has been the great Pat Summit’s Lady Vols, Kim Mulkey’s Baylor Bears, and Tara VanDerveer’s Stanford Cardinal. None of these teams come close to winning eleven National Championships, though Summit won 8 in the years the Huskies lost to them or other teams. Without any national championships since 2016, the Huskies have looked to their squads for multiple leaders who can run the dynamic of the team.

The Huskies had a major switch in records after Diana Taurasi graduated in 2004. Taurasi captained the 2003-2004 squad, with current assistant coach Morgan Valley playing, to three National Championships during her tenure. After her departure, the Huskies went from stellar seasons to a 25-8 record in 2005. This began Geno Auriemma’s rebuilding years. There are many similarities from that season to the current one the Huskies are facing. The team deal with a number of injuries and had top-rated recruits that could not meet the coaches' expectations. On the flip side for this season, the freshmen have stepped up in the absence of returning players to help push the team through this turbulent time.

Those three seasons proved to be inconsistent for the Huskies. No Final Fours from 2005-2007. This started from a loss in the Sweet Sixteen against Stanford in 2005, the lowest placement in the tournament since 1999. The next two seasons landed the Huskies into the Elite Eight, with the team’s record improving each season. So inconsistency is not as uncommon as fans believe it to be. With recruits like Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles arriving in Connecticut, the team became the No.1 seed in the 2007 NCAA Tourney. They eventually lost to LSU in a regional final but had improved to a 32-4 record.

Piath Gabriel (32) goes for a layup against Tennesse's Emily Saunders last Sunday. UConn Athletics.

The Huskies have faced the same struggles in the past as they do now, even after a season with a National Championship. Granted the Huskies did not win the final tournament but they had an All-Star recruited team. Auriemma brought in 7, yes 7 freshmen. He lost six players after the 2019-2020 season who never got a chance to compete in the NCAA tournament due to the Covid pandemic. Hint there; another piece of adversity. So Auriemma only had 5 returners set to come back in 2020. Instead of waiting for recruits to possibly sign on with his program, he scouted long and far.

Auriemma had seven freshmen join his ranks for the 2020-201 season. Paige Bueckers was the No.1 freshman recruit, the next “star” who would change the face of UConn going into a new decade. Then he signed on Canadian player Aaliyah Edwards, Croatian Nika Mühl, No. 23 ranked forward with Piath Gabriel, No.25 recruit Mir McLean, and No. 30 recruit Saylor Poffenbarger. A walk-on freshman is common for Auriemma and his staff, so Autumn Chassion joined the team at the beginning of the school year.

They were the No.1 team in the country with Bueckers leading them to a 28-2 record. With the Covid pandemic still in full swing, the Huskies were one of the only teams who completed their full schedule. Many ranked or non-conference opponent games were canceled, but that did not stop the Huskies. One regular-season loss came in late January to Arkansas and they lost in the Final Four to Arizona. What was different about this Husky lineup was how young Auriemma’s players were. Seven players were fresh from high school, AAU, All-American games. All players got chances to play in different contests.

The relatable thing about last season to this year was a lack of a consistent lineup. For many games, Auriemma worked with different starters. The same consistent starters were Bueckers, Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Evina Westbrook, and Nika Mühl. Then injuries hit sophomore Anna Makurat and Mühl. Mühl was out multiple times due to ankle injuries. Her season ended with an ankle injury against High Point in the first round of the NCAA tournament. A freshman last year, now sophomore Aaliyah Edwards also dipped her toes into the lineup. She was named the Big East Sixth Man award winner for her consistency off the bench. Assistant Coach, Jamelle Elliot developed Edwards to transition seamlessly into the lineup when Mühl went down. Aubrey Griffin, a sophomore last season, also earned six starts.

Mir McLean (11) puts pressure on Fort Hays' Whitney Randall in their exhibition match. UConn Athletics

Now we have to move into the present. The Huskies lost two players before the summer team training began. Makurat decided to go pro back in Poland and walk on Chassion chose to transfer out of UConn. Ok, no problem there. Auriemma had three freshmen and a transfer joining his squad. A squad of 15 players for the season. So they thought. There were injuries in the fall pre-season. Saylor Poffenbarger and Aubrey Griffin were out with injuries but did not choose to redshirt with the hope to play eventually. Poffenbarger was still a freshman, even though she joined the team in January of last year.

After the first few games, Poffenbarger entered the transfer portal in late November. She did not have much playing time joining the team so late in the previous season and transferred to Arkansas. Poffenbarger was unable to obtain eligibility for this season once she transferred. A surprise transfer came from Mir McLean in early December. McLean played in three games for the Huskies before transferring to Virginia. Unlike Poffenbarger, McLean was able to retain eligibility to play after the New Year.

Aubrey Griffin had been suffering from back pain and decided to undergo back/spinal surgery in mid-January. Griffin will not return to play this season to focus on an extensive recovery. Now down to 11 active players; no problem there. On December 5th, UConn was playing Notre Dame when Bueckers suffered a non-contact knee injury in the last minute of the game. Uh oh. Bueckers led the Huskies in scoring, assists, steals, and minutes in the previous season. This was not good, not only for Bueckers but for her teammates. No one expected she could be out for the rest of the season recovering from knee surgery for eight-plus weeks. The next game, two more Huskies were unavailable to play due to foot injuries. Mühl and No.1 freshman recruit, Azzi Fudd, were benched. [This is when McLean had transferred, for context on her departure].

Caroline Ducharme (L) and Dorka Juhász help Paige Bueckers up after taking a charge. UConn Athletics.

No Bueckers, Fudd, or Mühl meant the team had no true point guard. Taking the reigns were seniors Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook. They worked with the rest of the active team members to come back from losing three key players. The Huskies earned their second loss of the season to unranked Georgia Tech, dropping UConn in the AP. No.5 freshman recruit, Caroline Ducharme, became a starter alongside transfer graduate-student, Dorka Juhász. Ducharme stepped up and became the team’s leading scorer. They faced their third loss to No.4 Louisville but that did not stop Ducharme. She scored 24 points to keep the Huskies in that game.

Now with Ducharme leading the team, Juhász on her tail, the Huskies were determined to turn their season around. Big East conference play was about to begin when the Huskies returned from winter break. Covid hit some of the players and games were canceled. When the Huskies returned to play in early January, Mühl became available again. She replaced Westbrook in the lineup. Juhász, Williams, Nelson-Ododa, Ducharme, and Mühl were now the set lineup. Three Big East wins with Ducharme as their leading scorer, but all the wins were a team effort.

Then came the Oregon Ducks. Williams tested positive for Covid and was out for three games. Westbrook moved back into the lineup, another change. Ducharme continued her scoring streak, averaging 18 points per game. Nelson-Ododa was following right behind her with an average of 10 points per game [she was scoring close to 17 points but had some lower scoring games in between]. Then, Ducharme got struck in the face; twice. Once against DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow before scoring the game-winning points and again when they played Creighton on Feb. 2. She has missed the last four games. 

Azzi Fudd became available for active play on January 26th. She had missed two months' worth of games dealing with an ongoing foot injury. Juhász was also out for two games dealing with a foot injury. Aaliyah Edwards replaced her lineup, the sixth change to the lineup. Westbrook was added to the lineup when Nelson-Ododa became unavailable with a groin strain.

Fudd joined the lineup when Caroline became unavailable. Now the lineup consists of Williams, Edwards, Juhász, Mühl, and Fudd, the team’s eighth lineup change. Geno is hopeful Nelson-Ododa returns with Caroline for the Xavier game this Friday. Buecker's recovery is going well and Auriemma gives weekly reports on her progress. She was seen doing light warmups, nothing contact or shooting-based, before the Marquette game Sunday. Auriemma is optimistic that Bueckers could return this season. He prefers that she be fully recovered and cleared by team doctors first.

Caroline Ducharme brings the ball down the court on a fastbreak against Creighton. UConn Athletics.

Going back to asking the question of who is the star player for the Huskies this season, no one can be defined as one. What I mean by this is that I see the whole team as a collective “star.” The amount of adversity this team has faced this season relates back to that 2004-2005 season. Every player has stepped up, excelled in the roles the coaches have given them. Any player can be named a star on this team but a star works as a team player. Paige, Olivia, Caroline, Azzi, any of the Huskies have shown leadership through adversity this season.

Players are still developing too. Piath Gabriel and Amari DeBerry, though they have played limited minutes, have also been contributors on defense. Edwards has had a change in confidence from the December changeup to now.

The Big East tournament is in two and half weeks, but the Huskies have always remained focused on the next game they have to play. The Huskies pulled off an arming victory over No.7 Lady Vols last week that helped push UConn back into the Bridgeport region of the NCAA tournament. Yes, they did lose again but taking a player out last-minute changes everything. They managed to come back in the fourth quarter against Villanova and lost by 3. Records have been crushed by their losses this season but 2021-2022 is in the new decade for the Huskies. This is a year of change and adaptability, a season no one expected from this dynasty.

The UConn Huskies dropped to No.10 in the AP yesterday. They are still the only ranked Big East team while being first in their conference.