The Road Test: Huskies in Portland

The No.3 UConn Huskies are looking to hold onto their outstanding offense presence with their first road games this weekend. The dominant Huskies have already shown that their scoring abilities come from various players. Their defense has not been matched thus far and that is why Kara Lawson’s Blue Devils are the Huskies' defensive test. The Phil Knight Tournament will be the true test both teams needs in November.

“It’s the first trip for these kids, this team, so I think it’ll be a good experience for us coming on the heels of what we did last week,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Wednesday. “It’ll be a good test.”

Azzi Fudd is on fire in her to start her sophomore campaign. Fudd is averaging 36 minutes and 30 points per game with a limited freshman season. She set her career-high for points with 32 against the Texas Longhorns and matched last Sunday against NC State. One thing to note with her scoring: Fudd is not primarily scoring from long range. Against Northeastern, she scored by taking the ball to the rim or hitting pull-up jumpers. This is a “new” side to Fudd that fans are getting to experience. That being noted, she did score six 3PTs against NC State.

Aaliyah Edwards is having her comeback season and fans are loving it. The 6’3 junior from Ontario has complied two double-doubles, and almost had a third if she had two more rebounds against Texas. Edwards has gotten healthier and is a threat to opponents. She is currently averaging 15 ppg and 10.7 rebounds per game. Edwards will have to work on personal fouls but we have not seen her set an illegal screen, a typical call on her last season. Duke will be her test to play a clean game.

If you thought some of UConn’s long-reigning program records could not be beaten, think again! Nika Mühl is pestier than ever and that is a great thing for the Huskies. While Mühl is not scoring as much as her fellow starters, her work on defense could already earn her another Big East Defensive Player of the Year award. With 31 assists so far this season, about half of those came from the NC State game. Mühl set the UConn women’s basketball program record for assists with 15 on Sunday. She took the title away from Paige Bueckers, who record 14 in a single game during their freshmen season. Mühl has quick feet and hands, a player who can speed up any opponent’s offense.

Guess who’s back, back again? No, it’s not Slim Shady, it is Aubrey Griffin! The redshirt junior has had a tremendous start in her return to basketball. She leads the team in field goal percentage at 69% and is not afraid to take a few threes. She earned her first start this season on Sunday after it was announced that Dorka Juhász would miss the NC State game and Phil Knight Tournament. Griffin looked like a true veteran player on Sunday against the Wolfpack, with a career-high 6 steals. She also scored 16 points, 6 rebounds, and had 2 steals that game. Aubrey is key to the success of the Huskies team.

Lou Lopez Sénéchal is doing well with her new team. A true starter, Sénéchal has had an interesting start with the Huskies. She did great against Northeastern but lost time against Texas with early foul trouble. That struggle lingered against NC State, but Sénéchal had a great second half against the Wolfpack. Friday’s game against Duke should settle those nerves and Geno Auriemma needs his starters to play at the same caliber they have started with.

As mentioned, Dorka Juhász is sidelined for three games. The graduate student broke her thumb against Texas, the same hand that healed this summer from a gruesome wrist injury. Juhász’s height will be missed against a tall Duke roster but her teammates have truly stepped in to fill that missing piece. With no word on when she will be available to play again, the defense has to adjust to a smaller lineup.

The bench is definitely an interesting case as this season has shown already. When Griffin came off the bench in the first two games, she had an impact on her scoring. Auriemma has four players that have yet to make a solid impact on the court. Sophomore Amari DeBerry showed promise against Northeastern when she played 10 minutes and scored 6 points. That was a step up from last season when she only averaged 5 minutes per game. Why not give her another test? Auriemma tested her in the National Championship game and gave South Carolina “deer in headlights” stares when she entered the game in the second quarter. Maybe an early test is needed to see how she can affect the team.

Caroline Ducharme saved the Huskies last season after Fudd and Bueckers were out with injuries. She led the team in points till she was sidelined for four games. It is hard to say that she began this season sidelined too but it is true. Ducharme is dealing with neck stiffness that has gotten better in the past two weeks. Auriemma placed her on a minutes restriction against Texas but gave her more playing time against NC State. Ducharme could become that off-the-bench scoring threat, though the Huskies need her healthy first.

“I think she understands this is a long process and it’s going to be a little bit at a time, progress is going to be measured, slowly, incrementally,” Auriemma said of Ducharme. “But every day in practice she’s doing a little bit more, a little bit more. And so far the reaction has been good, she just has to get back into playing.”

Ayanna Patterson and Inês Bettencourt have seen limited time in their freshman campaigns. While Patterson is averaging 10 minutes per game, she is struggling with foul trouble. One of UConn’s more athletic forwards, Patterson averages 3.3 fouls per game. Some would argue that a few calls were clean but reaching fouls have stuck to her like glue. Patterson has only committed one turnover in their three games, which is almost unheard of with UConn bigs. Bettencourt is currently averaging 3 minutes per game and has seen time in the last quarter of the games. She has the ability to create scoring opportunities that have been shown in practices but Bettencourt has not earned the time to do it on the court. Does she need a test early on in a game?

It was a scary scene for the Huskies when associate head coach, Chris Dailey, went down to the floor after the national anthem on Sunday. Dailey said something did not feel right before the game and was taken to UConn Health in Hartford immediately. The team was distraught after witnessing her collapsing in assistant coach Morgan Valley's arms. Dailey grabbed her and Dorka Juhász before they lowered her to the ground. All her tests came back clear at the medical center and she was discharged within a few hours.

“She stayed back just to make sure,” Auriemma said. “They checked everything out. It’s a long flight. They said, ‘You’re good to go, clean bill of health.”

The Huskies flew out Wednesday afternoon for a long flight to Portland. Dailey stayed behind to make sure everything was clear. She flew out Thursday to be with the team for the tournament.

This is Kara Lawson’s third season with Duke, though this will only be her second full season. The Blue Devils canceled their 2020-2021 season after four games because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Lawson’s team is currently 5-0 on the season and the Huskies are going to be a great early test for them as well.

The Blue Devils, like NC State, play a guard-heavy starting five. Four players have started all their games, with two others earning starting time. Lawson has a long bench with 17 players, but only 15 have earned minutes. One thing that is interesting to note is no Blue Devil player averages more than 25 minutes. The time is equally shared for players to get playing opportunities. This will either be a great thing for Duke or a struggle against UConn’s small rotation.

Who are the players to watch? Kennedy Brown will, without a doubt, keep the UConn forwards busy in the post. At 6’6, Brown towers over the shorten forward bench that UConn uses. She will be a force in the paint and it is critical the Huskies stay out of foul trouble against her. Brown is shooting at 65% in the field, averaging 10.8 ppg. She is not much of a rebounder for Duke as she only averages 5 per game.

Taylor Celeste is averaging 12 ppg for Duke. She is critical to guard on the arc but she has not found a rhythm from long range. Fudd or Mühl will be Celeste’s defender and vice versa. Celeste is averaging 2.2 steals per game with her 24-minute game average.

Why is it a test for both teams? 

For UConn, the Phil Knight Tournament serves as their first road game. The Huskies did not do exceptionally well on the road last year, earning five of their losses away. Duke also struggled in away games last year having 6 out of 13 losses come that way.

UConn will have its hands full on defense. Not only with Brown but with Lawson’s long bench that never ends. The Blue Devils play a guard-heavy lineup with is something the Huskies have handled well against other teams who do the same. Auriemma mentioned that other teams will have a huge height mismatch and this will have his coaching staff adjust to this for every game. The Huskies may play a forward-heavy lineup if Griffin earns her second start of the season.

Probable Huskies Lineup

With Griffin’s success against NC State, it would be key to start her again against Duke. If the Huskies and Iowa Hawkeyes are paired for Sunday’s game, Griffin and Edwards are the only two players who have faced Monica Czinano in the post. That should not be a change for the Huskies as their defense is stronger and more controlling than Iowa’s.

Azzi Fudd: 5’11 Sophomore, shooting guard

Nika Mühl: 5’10 Junior, point guard

Lou Lopez Sénéchal: 6’1 Graduate Student, combo player

Aubrey Griffin: 6’1 Redshirt-Junior, forward

Aaliyah Edwards: 6’3 Junior, forward

Probable Blue Devils Lineup

Taylor Celeste: 5’11 Senior, guard

Kennedy Brown: 6’6 Junior, center

Jordyn Oliver: 5’10 Redshirt-Junior, guard

Lee Volker: 5’11 Sophomore, guard

>> Taya Corosdale: 6’3 Graduate Student, combo player

>> Shayeann Day-Wilson: 5’6 Sophomore, guard

Tonight's game between the No.3 Huskies and the Blue Devils will be at 6 pm EST on ESPN 2. The No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes face Oregon State at 8:30 pm. The winners of tonight's two games will compete on Sunday, with time and network to be determined.