Young at heart
Down early against Providence, Auriemma looked to his underclassmen; who provided a much-needed spark
Saturday afternoon in the Huskies’ home game against Providence, it didn’t take Geno Auriemma long to realize he needed to switch things up. The third-ranked UConn women trailed Providence early, 7-1. They didn’t make their first basket until the 4:56 mark and committed six turnovers in the first five minutes.
Four minutes into the game, out went starters Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook and Aaliyah Edwards, and in came Nika Muhl, Anna Makurat and Aubrey Griffin. About a minute and a half later, Olivia Nelson-Ododa was sent to the bench in favor of Mir McLean.
Using a lineup consisting entirely of freshmen and sophomores, the Huskies were able to change the game’s trajectory. In the 6 ½ minutes UConn played without its three
juniors, the team turned a 7-3 deficit into a 23-18 advantage and would ultimately go into the break with a 17-point lead.
“When they came into the game, things changed,” Auriemma told SNY at halftime about the second unit. “There was an uptick in our level of intensity and our level of work ethic. We’ve got to keep finding who works best together and who’s going to provide that kind of energy for us. I was really disappointed in that first group when the game started.”
By the game’s end, with UConn taking down the Friars 87-50, UConn’s trio of juniors finished with 24 points (13 for Westbrook, 11 for Nelson-Ododa and zero for Williams), but the bench chipped in a season-high 30 points and demonstrated yet again the depth this young team has.
Aubrey Griffin
No reserve shined brighter than sophomore Griffin. After showing promising flashes on the defensive end and as an offensive rebounder last season, Griffin hadn’t fully found her stride so far this season, at least in part because she’s recently dealt with back spasms that have limited her minutes.
Against the Friars, though, Griffin showed no signs of malaise: She made an immediate impact on the offensive glass, scoring first on a putback and then a pair of free throws. She finished with eight offensive rebounds (more than the rest of her teammates combined) and scored eight of her season-high 18 points from crashing the offensive boards.
Griffin made some great plays on defense, especially guarding Providence’s primary ball-handler Chanell Williams, and looked more confident looking to score on the offensive end, whether that meant moving without the ball, driving to the basket or pulling up for a 15-footer.
“It’s a game where you try to take advantage of the talents that you have, and certainly Aubrey showed that today, what she can do and the different ways that she can help your team win,” Auriemma said. “She’s a kid that works really, really hard. And there’s some things that she’s still learning. But the energy level that she brought today, especially and how she just impacted the game in so many ways, [was good].”
“I think for me, it’s just [about] staying consistent,” said Griffin, who also posted her best totals to date in rebounds (nine) and minutes (25). “Practice has been good so far, so I’m just able to carry it into the games.
Anna Makurat, Nika Muhl, Mir McLean
Makurat admitted that the beginning of the season was “pretty tough” for her. Though she looked strong as a facilitator, her shot wasn’t falling like she’s used to. She entered Tuesday’s game only making 7 of 26 attempts from beyond the arc. Whether it was to take some pressure off her or to start two true post players against a team with size in Providence, Auriemma opted to replace Makurat with Aaliyah Edwards in the starting lineup Saturday for the first time this season.
When she came into the game, Makurat sank her first two shots, both 3s, giving UConn its first lead of the afternoon. She finished 3-for-5 from deep — the most 3s she’s made in a game this season — and managed to play a season-high 36 minutes despite coming off the bench.
“I’m still looking for a rhythm,” Makurat said. “It’s hard when a lot of games are canceled, but it was fun to play today, and I think we should build on that. I’m going to keep working. I think for me, the mental thing, it’s really important, so I’ll try to still be confident.”
Though their impact isn’t shouting from the box score, Auriemma was also pleased with how two other freshmen did off the bench and were able to turn the momentum in UConn’s favor early on. In addition to their defensive energy, Muhl found Makurat for her first 3 and recorded three additional assists on the afternoon, while McLean took an early charge and crashed the offensive glass.
“We need their energy, and they bring that,” Auriemma said. “That’s the one thing I know I’m going to get from the two of them every day, every practice, every drill. We’re going to get that energy from the two of them. The other stuff, we may or may not, but I think the two of them when they get in, hopefully they do the things that [they do] in practice, come out as energy players. For now, that’s what we need. That’s good.”
Paige Bueckers
Bueckers was the only starter not to get yanked early on. And the longer she stayed out there, the more she showed growth in one aspect of the game Auriemma has been hounding her about: looking to shoot instead of pass more. She was taking shots that she wouldn’t necessarily have taken earlier in the season and was incredibly efficient, scoring 23 points off 8-for-10 shooting.
“There’s a little bit of a difference between being tentative and being stubborn and not very bright,” Auriemma said. “She’s usually not tentative. I’ve never seen Paige be tentative. But I have seen her be stubborn and not very bright. And today, she was less stubborn and less not bright. For somebody like her, she should never pass up opportunities, and the more she takes advantage of those opportunities, the more she looks at the basket, the more she looks to score, the more opportunity she gets to make a play for somebody else.
“She scored 23 points on 10 shots. That’s pretty good. Some guys need 22 shots to get 23 points.”