REBOUNDING RED FLAGS STILL ABOUND
The Uconn women’s basketball team earned its eighth straight win with an 83-55 rout of Georgetown on Sunday, proving the Huskies can survive without Aubrey Griffin.
Griffin, a crucial senior presence for Uconn (12-3, 4-0 Big East), suffered a non-contact left knee injury in a 94-50 win over No. 22 Creighton (11-3, 2-2) and was using crutches while sidelined against the Hoyas (12-3, 2-2). The injury left the Huskies with just nine available players, but the team delivered with all five starters scoring in double-digits.
Uconn seems to be hitting its stride as it returns home to face Providence (8-8, 2-1) at XL Center in Hartford on Wednesday (6:30 p.m., SNY). But the Huskies have a difficult path through the end of the regular season with No. 18 Notre Dame and No. 1 South Carolina on the horizon, and Griffin’s absence exposed several new issues that they have limited time to address.
Shade, Arnold are playing like veterans
Top recruits don’t always hit, but it looks like the Huskies landed rising superstars in Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold. Shade was the team’s No. 2 scorer against Georgetown with 16 points, shooting 6-of10 from the field with two blocks, two assists and a steal, while Arnold logged a team-high four steals plus 12 points and five assists. Arnold is also mastering her offensive versatility, striking an effective balance between high-speed drives and more controlled facilitating that was reflected in her well-rounded stat line.
Shade’s performance plus her 18 points and five rebounds against Creighton earned her third Big East Freshman of the Week honors, but her scoring only tells part of the story. What’s most impressive about both Shade and Arnold is how quickly they have adapted to defense at the college level. Despite how undersized the Huskies are, the freshmen defend with a fearlessness that makes their impact much bigger than their frames.
Rebounding struggles could hurt Uconn in March
In its first game without Griffin, who averaged six rebounds per game, the Huskies’ performance on the boards left a lot to be desired. They were out-rebounded by Georgetown 44-27, the first game in which an opponent led the category since No. 20 North Carolina grabbed 43 boards to Uconn’s 33 on Dec. 10.
Aaliyah Edwards led the way with six rebounds, but four of those were on the defensive glass. The team combined for only four offensive rebounds with just two secondchance points, while Georgetown put back 16 second-chance points on 17 offensive boards.
Uconn can get away with that production against the middle tier of the Big East. But five of the top 10 teams in the AP poll also rank top 10 nationally in rebounds per game, and South Carolina and No. 2 UCLA are both led in scoring by players over 6-5. If the Huskies want to contend for a title this year, better paint presence is critical.
Samuels still settling into bigger role
While Arnold and Shade are getting comfortable after nine starts, Samuels was thrust into a more demanding role against Georgetown after Griffin’s injury. The freshman was the first player off the bench but had one of her worst shooting performances of the season, going 3-of-10 from the field and 0-of-4 from 3-point range. Her six points were a season low in games where she played at least 15 minutes.
“Aubrey is very reluctant to look at the basket and shoot it, and Q has been sitting on the bench taking that all in. She figures there were probably 30-some shots in the last two weeks that Aubrey didn’t take, and she was going to make up for that,” coach Geno Auriemma said postgame. “When we put Aubrey in, our defense gets better. Rebounding gets better … and we didn’t have the opportunity to do that today, so what we got was more shots, and that killed our 3-point field goal percentage.”
Auriemma has expressed high expectations for Samuels, and she’s proven capable of meeting them. She had an impressive performance just days before with eight points and six rebounds in 16 minutes at Creighton, and even when her shooting went cold she found ways to contribute. Samuels logged five rebounds, all defensive, against the Hoyas, and she also picked up just her fifth steal of the season.
Why isn’t Deberry ready to contribute?
On a guard-heavy roster with just three healthy forwards, it’s surprising to see 6-6 junior Amari Deberry spending most of her time on the bench. The former Mcdonald’s All-american is averaging just 4.4 minutes per game this season and has only taken multiple shots twice, against Toronto Metropolitan and Marquette.
“Here’s my theory on basketball: The object for any coach, I think obligation for any coach, is to put their five best players on the floor at all times,” Auriemma said after Georgetown. “If I can do that every single time and rotate amongst … however many, as long as we’ve got the five best players that I can put out there at that time on the court. Right now, that’s what we’re doing.”
Auriemma didn’t offer specifics about how Deberry could earn more minutes, but it’s concerning that he isn’t comfortable putting her on the floor even in a 28-point victory. Forwards Jana El Alfy and Ayanna Patterson are already out for the year, and Ice Brady is only a year removed from a season-ending knee injury. If Brady or Edwards have to miss time this year, Uconn may not have a backup plan.
Ball movement remains key for offensive efficiency
As has been the case for much of the season, Uconn is at its best when it is racking up assists. Point guard Nika Muhl had another stellar day, dishing out eight assists, but five apiecefromarnoldandpaigebueckershelpedthehuskiestoatotalof23 assists. The team has logged at least 20 assists in five of its last six games, andallwerewinsbyatleast20points.
Uconn struggled early against the Hoyas, trailing by as many as seven points in the first quarter, but passing fueled an explosive third quarter that put the game out of reach. Five of the team’s first six baskets out of halftime were assisted, and the Huskies went on to outscore Georgetown 21-8 in the third quarter.