Murray State grad Evelyn Adebayo on way to UConn for rebounding help
Geno Auriemma went the graduate transfer route to land some much-needed help in the frontcourt.
Evelyn Adebayo, a 6foot-1 forward from Murray State, announced her commitment
to UConn on Thursday.
“I am grateful and thankful to announce my commitment to play at UConn!! I thank God, and give All the Glory to him! I also thank my family, and everyone that has helped me and been a part of my journey! The grind continues, and I’m happy to be a Husky!! #BleedBlue,” Adebayo wrote on Twitter.
Adebayo, 22, averaged a team-high 18.2 points and 11.4 rebounds across 30 starts last season, earning All-Ohio Valley Conference honors. She’ll be eligible to play this season, giving the Huskies another body in
the paint.
Her commitment comes less than 48 hours after the Huskies landed Anna Makurat, a 19-year-old guard from Poland. The team’s roster now sits at 10 players for next season, with Aubrey Griffin, a 6-1 guard from Ossining, N.Y., representing the other new addition.
Adebayo, who is from London, sat out the 2017-18 season after transferring from Gardner-Webb. She played in 56 games (seven starts) with Gardner-Webb, averaging 4.0 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Adding a skilled rebounder into the mix fills a glaring need for the Huskies, who entered this offseason with few options behind projected starters Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Megan Walker. The other two forwards on the roster, Batouly Camara and Kyla Irwin, played limited roles last season.
Napheesa Collier, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, graduated, as did fellow All-American Katie Lou Samuelson. Collier was the first Husky since Rebecca Lobo to average a double-double over a full season, recording 20.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
Adebayo posted a schoolrecord 19 double-doubles last season, including seven straight in January. She scored a career-high 28 points against Tennessee and pulled down 20 rebounds versus Eastern Illinois.
Murray State went 13-17 (9-9) and lost in the first round of the OVC Tournament.