UConn's Aaliyah Edwards name Big East Freshman of the Week

UConn's Aaliyah Edwards as named Big East Freshman of the Week in women's basketball on Tuesday after helping the No. 1 Huskies finish the regular season with three more wins.

The 6-foot-3 Edwards averaged 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds, shooting an impressive 83 percent from the field in victories over Creighton, Butler and Marquette. She had career highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds a win over Butler.

Also Tuesday, fellow freshman Paige Bueckers was named one of 11 semifinalists for the 2021 Naismith Trophy which is presented annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the nation's top player.

The point guard led UConn to a 21-1 regular season by leading the Huskies in scoring (19.8), assists (6.2) and steals (2.4) per game while ranking fifth nationally with a 47.6 3-point field goal shooting percentage. Bueckers broke UConn's single-game record for assists (14) in a win over Butler on Feb. 27 and holds the single-season assist record for a UConn freshman with 131.

The other semifinalists are South Carolina sophomore forward Aliyah Boston, Iowa freshman guard Caitlin Clark, Texas junior center Charli Collier, N.C. State junior center Elissa Cunane, Louisville senior guard Dana Evans, Michigan junior forward Naz Hillmon, Kentucky junior guard Rhyne Howard, Arizona senior guard Aari McDonald, UCLA senior forward Michaela Onyenwere and Baylor junior forward NaLyssa Smith.

UConn, meanwhile, begins Big East tournament play on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena with a quarterfinal game at noon. The top-seeded Huskies will play the winner of Friday's firstround game between No. 8 St. John's and No. 9 Xavier.

Big East officials also announced that with approval from the Mohegan Tribal Health Department, a limited number of tickets will be provided to each of the participating teams. All tickets will be specifically designated for use by the members of each school's official travel party to permit families and guests of student-athletes, coaches, and team staffs to attend games.

There will be no public sale of tickets to this year's tournament.

UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards, a 6-foot-3 forward, was named Big East Freshman of the Week on Tuesday. The top-ranked Huskies will open play in the Big East tournament on Saturday at noon with a quarterfinal date against the winner of Friday’s first-round game between No. 8 St. John’s and No. 9 Xavier.