Winter Storm UConn heads to Providence

The UConn bench goes crazy after Caroline Ducharme hits the game-winning point against DePaul on Wednesday. Credit: Jake Aks. 

The No.10 UConn Huskies travel to Providence after Winter Storm Kenan almost forced a cancellation. The Huskies are the No.1 team in the Big East conference, coming off of three back-to-back wins. Now it’s time to face the Friars at Alumni Hall this evening. The game was originally scheduled at 11 am at the Dunkin Donuts Center but was pushed back due to weather. The Huskies are coming off a nail-biting win against DePaul on Wednesday. The Friars lost to Creighton Friday evening.

Many skeptics say that Big East play is not as challenging for the Huskies as the American Athletic Conference was. Wednesday night’s game between the Huskies and the DePaul proved that there is some tough competition for the Huskies. UConn earned the win in the last two seconds by a layup by freshman Caroline Ducharme. The game was close, with both teams leading throughout the game. The clock was down to 8.6 seconds when Coach Geno Auriemma called his last timeout. The game was tied 78-78.

Freshman Azzi Fudd was at the baseline hash mark ready to inbound the ball. She passed the ball to sophomore Nika Mühl who handed it off to Ducharme. Taking a pause here, Ducharme was told to take the final shot. The question was which is the smartest way to shoot and score. She can hit a three and the pull-up, but under this immense pressure, she chose a layup. Ducharme went around her defender and scored with the clock stopping at 1.5. Unfortunately for DePaul, even if they inbound the ball at the end line before 1.2 seconds, their shot would not have counted.

Azzi Fudd goes for a three against Arkansas in her debut for the Huskies. Credit: Stephen Slade. 

Fudd played her first game since November 22nd after dealing with an ongoing stress injury to her foot. Senior Christyn Williams got into the starting lineup after missing the previous games due to Covid protocols. Fudd connected superbly well to the team, going 3-6 on the arch, and scored 15 points her first game back with the team. Graduate student, Dorka Juhász almost earned a double-double by scoring 8 and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Now let’s take a look at last year’s meeting. The Huskies only faced Providence once last season when UConn returned to the Big East. The other games were canceled due to Covid and could not be rescheduled. UConn currently has a 29 game winning streak in previous meetups with Providence. The Friars are currently 9-10 on the season, going 4-6 in Big East play. Providence is currently sixth in conference play, defeating Villanova, Georgetown, St John’s, and Xavier.

Aaliyah Edwards (L) and Evina Westbrook (22) defend against DePaul's Aneesah Morrow. Credit: Ben Zebrowski.

Meeting on January 9th last season, the Huskies outscored the Friars in every area. The Friars caused 19 turnovers which led the Huskies to score 23 of their 87 points. Providence struggled on the arch and in the paint. Winning 87-50, the Huskies managed to keep the Friars at a 38% field goal range. The Friars struggled from the arch shooting 25% scoring, making 5 out of 20 attempts. Only to Friars got into double-digits in the game. Alyssa Geary and Kyra Spiwak each scored 10 apiece.

For the Huskies, now sophomore, Paige Bueckers led her team to victory scoring 23 points. Four freshmen, from last year, got time against the Friars. Alongside Bueckers was Aaliyah Edwards, Mir McLean, Piath Gabriel, and Nika Mühl all saw action. Junior Aubrey Griffin had a strong offensive presence. She scored 18, added 9 rebounds with 8 being offensive, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. The starters for this game, besides Bueckers and Evina Westbrook, got limited minutes. Senior Christyn Williams could not produce offensively with no points in her 24 minutes on the court.

The Huskies have to closely guard Providence’s Janai Crooms, a transfer from both Ohio State and Michigan State. Crooms’ is the Friars leading scorer and rebounder. She also leads in assists and steals. The 5’10 guard will be a great matchup against former teammate, Dorka Juhász as they played two seasons together for the Buckeyes. The Friars are also back to a full bench, returning four injured players on January 11th. The Friars are also one of the best shot-blocking teams in the nation. They lead the Big East with 6.4 blocks per game. 6’3 forward, Mary Baskerville leads the Friars and had six blocks against Georgetown last week.

Caroline Ducharme (33) defends DePaul's Sonya Morris (11) during another stellar performance for the Huskies. Credit: Ben Zebrowski. 

The Friars need to look out for Caroline Ducharme, the team’s best scorer. Ducharme can hit shots from all aspects of the floor and is the team’s best free-throw shooter. With the return of Williams and Fudd, the Huskies play a fast-paced game with Mühl at the point. Mühl is extremely vocal and points out the direction of plays. Olivia Nelson-Ododa has to play strong at the post, keeping her arms straight up when defending layups. The Friars will put up a fight, so it will be hard to know if Aaliyah Edwards, Piath Gabriel, and Amari DeBerry will earn minutes. They have been developing into stronger players and it would be the game to test their skills.

The Huskies were supposed to face the No.1 South Carolina Gamecocks this past Thursday. Coach Dawn Staley spoke with Auriemma about canceling the game to focus on conference play within the SEC. The two coaches are working on sealing a non-conference meeting for future seasons. The Huskies are currently back to the No.10 spot this week and are No.1 in the Big East.