Rank and file
Where does UConn place on Adamec’s latest AP Top 25 ballot?
Two of the top women's college basketball players in the country were welcomed home Wednesday.
In Toronto, UConn forward and Canadian Olympian Aaliyah Edwards had 26 points and 10 rebounds as the 17th-ranked Huskies rolled past Toronto Metropolitan 111-34 in front of a sellout crowd of 2,734 at Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Meanwhile in her hometown of Baltimore, LSU All-American forward Angel Reese had 26 points and five steals as the No. 7 Tigers defeated Coppin State 80-48 in front of a sellout and record crowd of 4,100 at the Physical Education Complex Arena on the Coppin State campus.
“You do these things because there is a
NFL value to it that goes beyond what you want to get out of the game,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said after the Huskies defeated Butler in their Big East opener Monday. “You want people to see, ‘Hey this is our program. This is our brand. This is who we are.' Aaliyah has helped us for four years now so have fun, celebrate the whole thing.”
It was UConn's second visit to the old Maple Leaf Gardens, having beaten Duquesne there six years ago in a homecoming game for guard Kia Nurse. Edwards — who lives about three hours away in Kingston, Ont. — attended that game and Nurse returned the favor Wednesday. Though UConn could have played a game in the United States against an NCAA team closer to Edwards' home — Amari DeBerry's home in Williamsville, N.Y., is closer to Toronto than Edwards' home — it was much, much more important for her homecoming game to be in Canada, where Edwards has already made an impact at a young age.
The game counts on UConn's record and in its statistics but won't have an effect on its NET ranking/postseason standing. The Huskies had hoped to play Pittsburgh in Toronto and Panthers' coach Lance White was all in last winter. But White was fired in March and with a new coach (Tory Verdi) and no contract signed, the deal fell through.
“You showcase your program to way more fans than you normally would, and a lot of them are going to come back win or lose,” Auriemma said. “They like what they see so you make a lot of fans.”
Pittsburgh ended up playing Georgia in the final game of the Sun Coast Challenge in Tampa, Fla, Wednesday and fell 65-59 before
Top 25 continues on B3