Bueckers Is Back, But So Is Edwards
The Story: Paige Bueckers made her long-awaited return last night, but it was Aaliyah Edwards who stole the show in UConn’s 102-58 season-opening victory over Dayton at the XL Center.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Edwards, a third-team AP All-American last season, put on a masterclass performance inside. She scored on an assortment of moves around the basket to finish with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting.
• The 6-foot-3 senior also had nine rebounds and two blocks for the No. 2 Huskies, who raced out to a 59-31 lead at halftime behind Edwards’ 14 first-half points.
PAIGE’S GAME: Bueckers, seeing her first official game action in 584 days, played 21 minutes and ended up with a respectable stat line: eight points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal. She sat out the entire fourth quarter with UConn up by more than 40 points.
• But the 6-foot redshirt junior, who has averaged 18 points per game during her career at UConn, often appeared to be pressing offensively, as evidenced by her 3-of-9 shooting. It’s apparent she might require a few games to regain her shooting touch.
• After the fact, Bueckers even called it “a bad game for me. But I’m grateful to have a bad game right now.”
SCORING DEPTH: Even without Bueckers at her best, that did nothing to slow down the Huskies, who showcased a multitude of scoring options.
• Six players scored in double figures, led by Edwards and Azzi Fudd (13 points), who netted the first two points of the game on free throws before the opening tip due to a bizarre technical foul call. Bueckers was the only starter who didn’t reach double digits, with Nika Muhl and Caroline Ducharme adding 10 apiece.
BENCH STRENGTH: Last season, injuries and ailments left Geno Auriemma with as few as eight healthy players at times. But if last night’s game was any indication, the bench will be one of the team’s primary strengths.
• The Huskies’ reserves, with Aubrey Griffin leading the way (12 points), combined to score 38 points, which is 13 more than the bench scored in any game last season.
• While he’s been questioned in the past about using a short bench, Geno comfortably dipped into the reserve pool against the Flyers. Ten players played double-digit minutes.
FRESH MIX: There were zero first-game jitters among the three true freshmen — KK Arnold, Qadence Samuels, and Ashlynn Shade — who showed right away why they are already deserving of Geno’s confidence.
• Arnold, who entered the game first, led UConn with seven assists and four steals to go with eight points. Samuels sank three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points and Shade added four points.
A FAMILIAR FLYER: Dayton’s head coach is Tamika Williams-Jeter, who played for UConn from 1998-2002 and won national championships in 2000 and 2002. She’s now in her second season as the Flyers’ head coach.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “We talked a lot about Aaliyah making plays that other players can’t make. She’s big enough, strong enough, athletic enough. Now it’s just a matter of like every possession just wanting to be that dominant kind of player. Going out of your area to go get rebounds. Attacking the basket and finishing and getting 3-point plays. Those are the things that I think are going to separate her from a lot of the other players. And a game like tonight that’s I think going to be like a normal game for her.”
UP NEXT: UConn expects to have a bigger test Sunday against N.C. State in Raleigh, N.C. If the Huskies win, they will become the No. 1 team in the country due to LSU’s season-opening loss to Colorado.
— David Kull
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Morning Reads
• The UConn men signed Isaiah Abraham, a 6-foot-7 forward from Gainesville, Va., and Ahmad Nowell, a 6-foot-1 guard from Philadelphia, to national letters of intent. Nowell and Abraham are ranked No. 33 and No. 81, respectively, according to ESPN.
• The UConn women received national letters of intent from Allie Ziebell, a 5-foot-10 guard from Neenah, Wis., and Morgan Cheli, a 6-foot-2 wing from San Jose, Calif. Ziebell and Cheli are the No. 4 and No. 18 ranked recruits, respectively, according to espnW’s HoopGurlz rankings.
• There is a lot of excitement around the James Madison football team in Harrisonburg, Va., where Saturday’s game against UConn (1-8) is sold out. The No. 21 Dukes (9-0) are one of seven undefeated teams in the nation.
• The men’s soccer team plays top-seeded Georgetown in a Big East semifinal match today at 6:30 p.m. in Boyds, Md. The Huskies (9-7-1) have not won a Big East tournament title since 2007.
• Diana Taurasi turns 42 next year, but she’s still trying to win a spot on the U.S. Olympic roster for the 2024 Paris Games in an effort to become the first to win six straight Olympic gold medals.
Top photo: Aaliyah Edwards drives to the basket in the Huskies’ Big East tournament win over Marquette. (Courtesy of UConn athletics)
