UConn supported by player families in Cayman Islands
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — The UConn women’s basketball team’s game against UCLA was the last game of the night on Day 1 of the Cayman Islands Classic Friday.
Kim and Mike Arnold had sat in the gym’s bleachers at John Gray High School all evening waiting to watch their daughter KK and the rest of the Huskies play against the Bruins.
With a quick break between the Kansas-Virginia
Tech game and UConn’s game, Mike got up to grab waters for them. What he didn’t realize was that the nearest concession stand was outside of the gym across the street. He began the trek, thinking he had time.
Moments later, inside the gym, the UConn fan section roared in celebration when KK was introduced in UConn’s starting lineup for the first time in her career.
When Mike came back — and without the waters since there was no food or drinks allowed in the gym — he didn’t realize he
missed his daughter’s first collegiate start until Kim told him. He was crushed.
Thankfully, KK, just a month into her collegiate debut, wasn’t too upset and told him not to worry.
“We got a whole four years, right? I’m sure that’s not going to be her last start,” Kim told CT Insider Sunday morning in the Cayman Islands. “Luckily somebody got it on camera. But yeah, it was a surprise for us. And they called her name first because she was first with No. 2 (jersey). I was like, ‘Wow.’ Looking back, I was thinking if I jumped up and yell, she was gonna be like, ‘MOM.’ So, I tried to stay calm.”
The Arnolds were among a handful of families to make the trip to the Cayman Islands this Thanksgiving to support the team.
Azzi Fudd had nine family members in attendance. Arnold had four while Ashlynn Shade, Ice Brady and Amari DeBerry also had family in town