Edwards Emerges as Huskies’ ‘Superstar’

The Story: Three remarkable performances in the Big East tournament have positioned Aaliyah Edwards as the No. 7 UConn women’s most pivotal player as they prepare to begin play in the NCAA Tournament in a little under two weeks.

SHE’S ON TOP: Edwards was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big East tournament after she averaged 19.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in the Huskies’ three (lopsided) wins.

• The junior forward had 19 points and 13 rebounds against Georgetown in the quarterfinals, 20 points and 12 rebounds against Marquette in the semifinals, and 19 points and 15 rebounds against Villanova in the final.

• Perhaps most notably, Edwards helped control Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, the two-time and current Big East Player of the Year, in the final. Siegrist, who entered averaging 29.2 points, the most in Division I, finished with 22 against the Huskies on 9-for-21 shooting.

• All told, Edwards is averaging a team-high 16.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. She leads the Huskies with a 57.3 field goal percentage and, despite a few bumps and bruises along the way — the broken nose in the first week of practice, the rolled ankle while diving into the crowd at Xavier — she still played in all 34 games.

HOW DID SHE GET HERE? It was a season of redemption for Edwards, who blossomed as a freshman but seemingly took a step back last season.

• Edwards averaged 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 21.8 minutes as a freshman, setting her up to earn a spot with Canada in the Tokyo Olympics. But when she returned for her sophomore season, she consistently looked off and averaged just 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 24.9 minutes.

WHAT DID GENO SAY? “There’s an element she brings that, if you don’t have that element it’s hard to win tournament championships. It’s hard to win in the postseason.”

WHAT’S NEXT? It’s not too much of an overstatement to say that the Huskies will only go as far in the NCAA Tournament as Edwards can take them.

• There are wild cards, of course — how well Azzi Fudd continues to reacclimate after returning from a right knee injury is chief among them — but Edwards has emerged as one of the Huskies’ constants and will need to stay sharp given that some of the nation’s toughest teams have dominant frontcourts.

• Fudd’s return can benefit Edwards immensely as she provides a lethal perimeter shooting threat that the Huskies didn’t have much of the season. Her presence will pull defenses out of the paint and better allow Edwards to get to work.

— Zac Boyer

Morning Reads

• Adama Sanogo was named to the Associated Press’ all-Big East First Team and Jordan Hawkins received all-Big East Second Team honors from the organization yesterday afternoon. (UConnHuskies.com)

• The UConn men will enter the Big East tournament at No. 11 in the AP poll. (Associated Press)

Top photo: Aaliyah Edwards attempts a layup in a game against Texas. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)