The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UConn’s Irwin earning trust, gets first start
Junior gets first start after 68 straight appearances off bench
Kyla Irwin sure didn’t sound like someone in need of attention.
Even as she prepared to make her first start at UConn in place of Megan Walker — who was sidelined with strep throat — Irwin went about her day as if it was any other.
“She didn’t say anything to us,” her mother, Bethany, said Wednesday by phone. “When they were out in Missouri when Megan was ill, no we didn’t know at all. In fact, I had gotten a text from someone and it was like, ‘Hey, I think Kyla is starting.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ ”
Irwin, a 6-foot-2 junior, had made 68 straight appearances off the bench. Only hours before tipoff against St. Louis on Dec. 4 did she learn that her role would be changing.
“The morning I heard Megan was sick, I was like, ‘Ok, we’ll figure out who’s going to start,’ ” Irwin recalled last Saturday. “(Napheesa Collier) just kind of looked over at me and was like, ‘So you’re going to go to her.’ I was like, ‘Got it.’ It was really nonchalant, which I liked, because it didn’t make me nervous or anything.”
If Irwin was nervous come tip off, it didn’t show. A defense-first forward with a high motor, Irwin proceeded to fill the stat sheet as the No. 1 team in the country rolled to a 9842 victory.
“She didn’t say anything,” said Bethany, who, despite a short notice, watched the game back home in State College, Pa. “I don’t think she wanted to. She just felt comfortable not saying anything, which was fine. I was proud of her no matter what.”
Irwin’s effort, literally and figuratively, registered with not only her family, but also UConn coach Geno Auriemma. She played only 13 minutes in the blowout win, but they were a productive 13 minutes: a career-high 10 rebounds, two assists and two points.
Though Auriemma remains lukewarm about his bench, Irwin, who also started in place of Walker the next game against Seton Hall, is slowly emerging into someone he can trust.
“The biggest thing is just picking up where Meg left off,” senior Katie Lou Samuelson said. “You worry that when someone’s down in our starting lineup, we’re going to have to change things and we’re going to have to figure out stuff. Nothing changed. We just did the same exact thing but added Kyla in there.
“She didn’t let up at all — that’s the biggest thing. Knowing we can count on her is going to be even bigger for us … when Meg’s back.”
While Walker, the consensus No. 1 player in the Class of 2017, arrived in Storrs with plenty of fanfare, Irwin was considered more of a project. Irwin, who had played for her
mother at State College High School, was unranked by some recruiting services despite a highly productive senior season (averaged 26.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists). She proceeded to make a minimal impact across her first two seasons at UConn, averaging 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds across 62 games.
What the Huskies have noticed lately, though, is a more confident player. In her second start, Irwin contributed six points (including two 3-pointers) and three assists in 29 minutes in a 99-61 rout of Seton Hall.
“I think even the difference between last game and this game (is when) she got an open shot, she squared up and shot that … open 3,” Samuelson said. “We know she can hit that shot, but sometimes it’s nerve-wracking and you don’t want to make a mistake or anything. I think she felt confident out there.”
Added Auriemma: “Kids have confidence in her, so the more playing time she gets, I think the better.”
Despite being given a larger role, Irwin said her mindset hasn’t changed. She’s remained focused on the intangibles such as defense, rebounding and drawing charges.
“Just do the little things and I knew everything else would take care of itself,” Irwin said.
Bethany wouldn’t expect anything less from her daughter.
Said Bethany: “We’ve always tried to tell Kyla … ‘You have to focus on what you can control. You can’t control minutes, you can’t control playing time, but you can control your attitude and your work ethic.’ … I remember coaching her in high school, she just did what she was supposed to do.’ ”