Destruction in Dayton as Huskies Roll
The Story: The women’s basketball team feasted on Dayton in its final game before Thanksgiving, winning 75-37 last night behind Megan Walker‘s 23 points and 12 rebounds.
HUSKIES HURTING: The break is coming at the right time for the Huskies. Olivia Nelson-Ododa is already playing with a broken toe, Crystal Dangerfield missed the game with back spasms and Anna Makurat, who did not start, left in the second quarter with a left ankle injury and did not return. That left Geno Auriemma with seven players to get through the game. Clearly, he didn’t need them.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “I thought we did a great job without Crystal, considering [the circumstances],” Geno said. “We haven’t had to play without her this year — not to say that I want to, because I don’t — but on the road, and short notice, I thought we did a pretty good job.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Walker made 9 of 19 shots and went 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Nelson-Ododa had 14 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks and Christyn Williams, who ran the offense with Dangerfield out, had 14 points and four assists. Molly Bent, a senior who made her first start in her 93rd game, had four points, four rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes, and Kyla Irwin also started, finishing with eight points, six rebounds and six assists over 36 minutes — though her 8-for-8 start to the season ended a little under three minutes into the game when she missed a 3-pointer.
Otherwise, it was as clean and thorough of a win as it could be for UConn, which clearly faced an overmatched opponent, injuries aside.
UP NEXT: The Huskies (6-0) have eight days off before they face past and future conference opponent Seton Hall on the road on Dec. 5.
An Assortment of Options for Hurley
The Story: When Dan Hurley showed up, he wasn’t sure what talent was available and what his players could do. With one year under the belt, Hurley now has a lot of options to consider.
ADAMS STARS: Brendan Adams‘ emergence was the other breakout story at the Charleston Classic. We always thought of Adams as a spot bench player who was one of those program recruits that would set the tone for Hurley’s recruiting efforts. When the Huskies got Jalen Gaffney, James Bouknight and Howard transfer R.J Cole (who is sitting out), we figured Adams was being recruited over. We couldn’t be more wrong. Adams is averaging 9.7 points per game and is a defensive and versatile combo guard who is going to do well in Hurley’s chaotic system. Add in Bouknight, a star in the making, as well as Gaffney, Sid Wilson and Isaiah Whaley and suddenly the Huskies practically look tougher on the pine than they do in the starting lineup.
BOUKNIGHT LEADS BENCH MOB: Bouknight, named the AAC Rookie of the Week after he averaged 13.3 points in his three-game debut in South Carolina, is only at the beginning. Hurley is playing 10 players, and while we saw Bouknight’s potential, don’t expect it every night. Hurley is committed to rotating players and isn’t going to rely on just one player to get things done.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “We have two guys redshirting and one dead scholarship, but we do have 10 guys we can put on the court, and coming out of this tournament, we have a much better idea of how we need to play it. Guys can’t pace themselves. They’ve got to take advantage of their minutes while they are in the game, and no one should probably be north of 30 or 32 minutes.”
IN DEFENSE OF AL: Hurley also doubled down when sticking up for Alterique Gilbert, who was criticized heavily on social media for his performance late in UConn’s games at the Charleston Classic. “If a player isn’t playing in a way that will allow UConn to win, send it my way,” Hurley said. “Or tweet at me. I’ll gladly trend.”
UP NEXT: The Huskies (4-2) will be back on the court on Sunday when they face Maine at the XL Center (1 p.m., SNY). UConn has only lost to Maine twice since 1973 and not since 1978 and has gone 19-2 in those meetings.
The End in More Ways Than One
The Story: The football season comes to an end on Saturday at Temple and with it goes the Huskies’ membership in the AAC as a football program. UConn is 2-9 and 0-8 in the AAC.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: There won’t be any hard feelings about the Huskies leaving the AAC. It’s hasn’t worked out. The Huskies have lost 18 straight AAC games and are big underdogs against Temple. We hate to be honest, but the team can’t compete in the AAC and the independent schedule announced earlier this week looks more fun and likely a little easier than what the Huskies went through in the six years of the conference.
HOW TIMES CHANGE: Here’s a thing to think of as the team moves to an uncertain future as an independent: Fifteen years ago, Temple was kicked out of the Big East so UConn could join. The Owls were one of the worst FBS programs for over a decade before their current run. Temple is 7-4 and has played for the AAC title and has been ranked in the top 25 since it joined the AAC from the MAC. What a difference 15 years makes.
ARE THINGS GETTING BETTER? In the win/loss column? No. The Huskies have one more win than last season. How about the product on the field? We’ll give Randy Edsall and his staff some credit and say it’s better. Edsall made that case on Tuesday during his last press conference of the season. The Huskies have improved, but that improvement hasn’t resulted in wins. Glass half full? UConn has something to work with in quarterbacks Jack Zergiotis and Steven Krajewski as well as wide receivers Cam Ross and Matt Drayton. The defense has been bad this year, which is better than last year’s historically awful performance.
MORGAN WILL RETURN: Linebacker D.J. Morgan, who has 47 tackles and has been a staple at outside linebacker, will play again next season. He transferred from Notre Dame after his redshirt sophomore season but graduated from the university in three years and still has one year of eligibility remaining.
Morning Reads
CHEAP TICKETS: Anyone looking to pick up cheap tickets to the men’s basketball, women’s basketball and men’s hockey games this season can do so with a Black Friday sale through UConn. (UConnHuskies.com)
KEMBA’S OK: After his collision and neck injury on Friday, Kemba Walker is likely to make his return tonight against the Nets. (Celtics on Twitter)
DOWN GOES DUKE: Stephen F. Austin scored on a layup at the buzzer to defeat No. 1 Duke 85-83 at Cameron Indoor Stadium last night, ending the Blue Devils’ 150-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents. (Associated Press)
