WOMEN’S COLLEGE GAMEDAY
XAVIER at No. 10 UCONN
When: Saturday, noon
Where: XL Center
Records: UConn (8-3, 3-0 Big East), Xavier (6-8, 1-4)
TV: SNY
Radio: UConn Sports Network
KEEP AN EYE ON
Seniors take charge: Following UConn’s win over Creighton, Geno Auriemma told his upperclassmen it was time they start stepping up. He told Christyn Williams that he wanted to see her impact the game more than just by scoring. He told Evina Westbrook that he wanted her to become a spark off the bench.
Against Butler, all three seniors finished in double figures. Williams had 19 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven steals. Olivia Nelson-Ododa had a season-high 19 points, seven rebounds. And in her first game off the bench, Westbrook had 13 points and four assists for her best performance since Dec. 11 against UCLA.
“I just know that when you play a lot of basketball, when you’re a senior, I think the expectation that you have for yourself, and that your teammates have, is that you consistently play at a certain level,” Auriemma said.
Lineup change: Auriemma debuted a new lineup at Butler, swapping out Westbrook for sophomore Nika Mühl. It was the first time in her UConn career that Westbrook did not start. Auriemma was pleased with with the offensive spark she provided off the bench. Starting the game with Mühl’s high energy allowed the team to immediately gain control of the pace.
“She’s going to bring tremendous energy, defensive intensity. She’s going to push the ball up the floor harder. So, there’s all the things that she did last year for us and you noticed it right away today,” Auriemma said of Mühl. “The other way was we weren’t really getting any offense off the bench so I think Evina can be somebody that brings offense off the bench and can jumpstart some things if it’s not going well. So, I think we fixed two things that I wanted to get better at by changing the lineup.”
Return of Aaliyah Edwards: It’s been a rough sophomore season for Edwards, who lost her starting spot seven games into the season. Twice she was held scoreless and twice she had four or more turnovers. The 6-foot-3 forward had no rebounds against Notre Dame and was averaging just 6.4 points per game compared to 9.9 during the first seven games last year.
The sophomore has looked to turn a corner the last two games since UConn’s resumption following the holiday break and its COVID-19 shutdown. Against Creighton on Sunday, Edwards finished with season-highs in points (12) and steals (3). At Butler, she played 27 minutes (her most since Dec. 3 and the second-most minutes she’s played all season) and again finished with 12 points along with a season-high seven rebounds.