Westbrook gaining trust of Auriemma
STORRS — Defense can be a thankless job. Scoring is much more glamorous.
Just don’t tell that to UConn’s Evina Westbrook, who is embracing her new role as the fourth- ranked Huskies’ most dogged defender.
“I’ve definitely always enjoyed playing defense,” Westbrook said, “but it’s definitely another level when you have the UConn jersey on. Especially in practice, ( it’s a) much bigger emphasis. We have to get a stop. Your man cannot score or else it’s a problem.”
Westbrook isn’t scoring at the same rate she did in 2018- 19 with Tennessee, when she tied Rennia Davis for the team lead ( 14.9), but she hasn’t needed to. She’s distinguished herself on the other end of the floor, earning UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s trust along the way.
In a Dec. 17 victory over Creighton, Westbrook held Temi Carda, the Bluejays’ leading scorer, without a point in the first half. Five nights later against Villanova, Westbrook helped limit
Maddy Siegrist, the threetime Big East Player of the Week, to 15 points on 6- of- 22 shooting.
“Really being a great energy source on defense and being a lockdown defender, keeping my man in front of me who’s probably going to be a main focus on their team pretty much every game,” Westbrook said, “is going to be important for me.”
The 6- foot guard is averaging 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals ( second on the team behind Paige Bueckers) and her advanced stats are even more impressive. She’s 18th in the country in defensive win shares and is 22nd in individual defensive rating.
“She understands what the competition is like, she understands what I have to do, so from strictly a physical defender and someone who wants to get in there and mix it up, she’s got a little bit of an edge to her, which is really, really good,”
Auriemma said.
Westbrook is still working her way back physically after a lengthy layoff, but knows her offense ( 9.5 PPG) will come naturally as long as she keeps at it.
“I haven’t played in so long. I’m really not trying to go out and force anything,” said the junior, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. “I’m just letting the game come to me. That’s pretty much it.”
MANAGING THE PAIN
“Are you OK?” That’s generally the reaction Westbrook gets when teammates find her on the trainer’s table.
“I’ll give them hints, like, in a couple years you’re going to be doing the same thing,” Westbrook said, smiling. “They’ll laugh at me like, ‘ OK, E.’ I was that 18-, 19- year- old at one time.”
Westbrook is only 22, though she doesn’t always feel that young. She’s had her left knee repaired twice, most recently in Dec. 2019, but still isn’t 100 percent.
Some days, she says, are better than others.
Now that she’s back on the court, she’s trying to be more prudent and careful with her body.
“I feel like a real old lady,” Westbrook said. “You only have one body at the end of the day. I’m only 22 years old. I have to really, really make sure I lock down and take care of it.
“I may have pain here and there, but I’m just making sure I do extra stuff — stretching or talking to my strength coach, limiting my reps in some drills more than others. My coaches know that.”
Auriemma has been cautious with Westbrook in practice, using her only in spurts as she regains strength and stamina. She spent just 21 minutes on the floor in the season- opener against UMass Lowell — her first game in 629 days — but has been used more liberally since, a sign that she’s growing more comfortable.
She’s played at least 30 minutes in four of the Huskies’ other five games, including a season- high 37 against Villanova, and is averaging 30.3. Auriemma called that Villanova performance, in which she collected 17 points, eight rebounds five assists, her best as a Husky.
“I earned those minutes. I felt good,” Westbrook said. “I’m never going to question him whether he takes me out two minutes into the game — he probably has a good reason if that happens — or if he doesn’t pull me out until the last two minutes. We all trust Coach. I trust him wholeheartedly.”
With all Westbrook has been through, the importance of that trust — not just from player to coach, but from player to player, too — cannot be overstated.
“They can tell when I’m in a little bit of pain,” Westbrook said, referring specifically to her teammates. “That means a lot to me that they know that.”