Finally, Huskies Catch Their Breath
The Story: After encountering all kinds of problems in its first three games, the women’s basketball team coasted to a relatively easy 83-44 win over Virginia at the XL Center last night.
TOTAL TEAM EFFORT: The Huskies, especially their starters, desperately needed last night’s performance. Crystal Dangerfield, Megan Walker, Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa averaged 37.9 minutes each over the first three games, and Walker, who led UConn with 19 points and nine rebounds against the Cavaliers, played a team-high 33 minutes.
Williams had 17 points in 32 minutes (but went 1-for-6 from the perimeter), and Dangerfield had eight points and four rebounds, yet just one assist, in 31 minutes. Nelson-Ododa, limited by first-half foul trouble and a cut on her left arm, played only 19 minutes but still had nine points, six rebounds and four blocks.
CLEAR THE BENCH: A mix-up at the scorer’s table late in the first quarter, when Nelson-Ododa received treatment for the cut, led to Geno Auriemma putting Kyla Irwin into the game instead of Anna Makurat. Irwin made the most of her opportunity, scoring a career-high 13 points off 4-of-4 shooting (with two 3-pointers). She also grabbed six rebounds and tied with Makurat for the team-high with five assists. Much has been made of the need for Makurat and fellow freshman Aubrey Griffin to step up for the Huskies this season, but if Irwin can establish herself as a reliable presence, it will only help the the Huskies in a pinch.
Makurat, who again started, ended her 0-for-10 start to the season from 3-point range by making two of her six attempts to finish with 10 points. Griffin was all over the court yet again, scoring six points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals, and even Evelyn Adebayo and Molly Bent got in on the action. It seems unlikely the Huskies’ 20 bench points will be topped this season.
HOOS CAN’T SHOOT: Virginia took a 9-5 lead with 6:37 remaining in the first quarter and quickly said goodbye to any chance of winning, giving up a 17-0 run over the next five and a half minutes to fall down 22-9. The Cavaliers made just two of 14 shots in the second quarter and shot 24.6 percent overall, while the Huskies shot 50.8 percent.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “Little by little, our practice yesterday was a little bit different than it was last week. The Temple win really gave them a little pick-me-up. It carried over into today’s shootaround and it carried over into tonight’s game.”
UP NEXT: The fourth-ranked Huskies (4-0, 1-0) are back at it on Sunday when they hit the road to face Ohio State.
Will We See A New QB?
The Story: Steve Krajewski at quarterback, saying goodbye on Senior Day and where is Kevon Jones? The football team’s final home game of the year, against East Carolina, isn’t without intrigue (hey, we are trying here).
IS IT TIME FOR SPECIAL K? Krajewski played one game for the Huskies, rescuing Jack Zergiotis from the abyss against UCF in late September, and threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns. Randy Edsall named him the starter after the game, then he promptly lost the job when he discovered he played with a broken clavicle. Why are we talking about Krajewski? He is cleared to play for the first time in two months. His name was on the participation chart yesterday in advance of the game against the Pirates.
WHO STARTS AT QUARTERBACK? Zergiotis is a study in baptism by fire. He’s shown enough ability to not get totally down, but his 1,114 yards and five touchdowns are dwarfed by his nine interceptions. Zergiotis has also struggled with accuracy, making it all a frustrating combination. Is Krajewski an option? According to Edsall, we’ll see. Our thing is, why put him on the squad if he isn’t going to play? Don’t tease us like that.
NO JONES: We won’t see Kevon Jones for the final two games of the season. He got on Edsall’s naughty list by not taking care of his responsibilities. What those were, we don’t know, but the Huskies do lose an experienced piece on the defense. Jones, who moved to defensive end from linebacker after last season, presumably will get a chance to earn back his position this spring.
SENIOR DAY SATURDAY: The Huskies will honor 15 players for Senior Day. We don’t know all the names yet, but Edsall indicated there are a handful of fourth-year seniors who won’t return next year. One who will be returning is tight end Donovan Williams, who has missed most of the year with injury and will take a redshirt this year but is aiming to play in the final two games.
Morning Reads
ONTO THE NFL: Even though Matt Peart will play his last games for UConn this month, they won’t be his last playing football. The right tackle is projected as a high-round NFL draft pick. (The Athletic)
A SECOND CAREER: It was by posting video clips of insightful breakdowns of plays on Twitter that led to UConn legend Dan Orlovsky taking a role as a football analyst with ESPN. (Sports Business Daily)
