KEEP AN EYE ON

⏩ Hitting their stride: After missing the previous two games due to the flu, freshman Megan Walker didn’t get into Sunday’s conference opener in the first half. Walker certainly looked healthy when she got onto the court. She had 12 points and four rebounds in 13 minutes. It was her first double-digit scoring game in more than a month and one shy of her career high. There figure to be a few friends and family members in attendance as Walker grew up about 2 1⁄2 hours away. Mikayla Coombs was the first freshman to get into the game and played a career high 11 minutes, so she has a chance to earn a more significant role moving forward.

⏩ Moving on up: UConn senior forward Gabby Williams is coming off her best shooting game of her career making all 10 of her field-goal attempts. She also recorded four steals to move past Sue Bird and tie Ketia Swanier for 11th on UConn’s career steals list. Her next steal would tie her with Rita Williams for 10th while she is only five away from tying UConn assistant coach Shea Ralph for ninth. The versatile Williams is also seven rebounds shy of moving into a tie for 11th in that category with Leigh Curl and Jessica Moore. Currently with 827 rebounds, she has some work to do to catch Swin Cash’s total of 910 for the No. 10 spot. If she does that she will join Maya Moore as the only UConn players in the top 10 in both rebounds and steals in program history.

⏩ Ch-ch-changes: The top six scorers from last year’s East Carolina team are gone as the Pirates lost 77 percent of their scoring. Returning players Thais Oliveira, Dominique Claytor, Raven Johnson, Alex Frazier and Justice Gee have already combined for more points than they had all of last season. Ariyana Williams is third among AAC freshmen in scoring while junior-college transfer Destiny Campbell and Liberty transfer Mickayla Sanders are among the top scoring options.

⏩ Cupcakes on the early-season menu: UConn has already played five ranked teams and two other nonconference foes who have spent time in the national polls this season with three more ranked opponents awaiting in the final three non-conference games. East Carolina’s scheduling hasn’t been quite as challenging. The Pirates have one victory against a team currently with a winning record with the Pirates’ strength of schedule ranking is 325th according to one of the RPI databases. The combined won-loss record of the eight teams East Carolina has beaten is 22-69 with an average RPI (combing three RPI services) of 268 among 349 Division I programs.