Short-handed Huskies hang close but fall to Terps
COLLEGE PARK, Md.— With starting point guard Nika Muhl sitting on the bench with a row of injured players, the UConn women’s basketball team faced the 20th-ranked team in the country with just seven available players.
Despite the short bench, the Huskies were able to hang close to Maryland for much of the game Sunday. But in the end, No. 6 UConn could not overcome Maryland and the Huskies fell 85-78.
UConn (7-2) has lost two of three as the team has been decimated by injuries. Muhl was unavailable Sunday due to being in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury during Thursday’s game against Princeton.
There is no return timeline for the Croatian as she’ll continue undergo testing until she recovers. Dorka Juhasz missed her seventh straight game due to a broken thumb she suffered on Nov. 14 against Texas.
With Paige Bueckers (ACL), Ice Brady (dislocated patella) and Azzi Fudd (knee) also already on the bench, the Huskies had just two subs on Sunday: freshman Ayanna Patterson and sophomore Amari DeBerry.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my team and how we represented ourselves out there. I think it was a gutsy amazing performance by them,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
It was also an emotional day for Auriemma, whose mother Marsiella died on Thursday.
UConn’s oldest veterans Aaliyah Edwards (seasonhigh 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists) and redshirt junior Aubrey Griffin (12 points and 15 rebounds) led the way Sunday. Three others finished in double figures.
Maryland (9-3) finished with 21 points off UConn’s 22 turnovers (Maryland had 5 total turnovers). Per ESPN, The Huskies finished with 20-plus turnovers in back-to-back games for the first time since 2010.
Despite four turnovers in the game’s first three minutes, the Huskies started
Sunday hot and got ahead by as much as eight in the first quarter.
But when Lou Lopez Senechal (16 points) got called for her third personal foul at 8:39 in the second, everything began to go downhill for UConn.
“As the game wore on, you know, I think we got a little bit worn down,” Auriemma said. “But more mentally than physically, you know, not so much physically but more mentally. We made a lot of you know, mental errors.”
Auriemma only used one (out of only two available) sub during the first half and it showed. UConn’s offense was stagnant and clearly out worn out as four players played the full first half. Lopez Senechal, UConn’s current best shooter, played just 11 minutes before taking a seat on the bench in early foul trouble.
In place of Muhl, freshman Ines Bettencourt (2 points, three rebounds, two assists in 28 minutes) earned her first career start.
However, without any solid experience playing with UConn’s starters, it took time for the team to adjust to a new point guard. The freshman had a team-high three turnovers at halftime.
Maryland took advantage of its depth and UConn’s
lack of and drained back-toback 3-pointers halfway through the second quarter to take over the lead. At halftime, the Terps led by seven and had 11 points off UConn’s 12 turnovers.
“For long, long stretches of the game, it was exactly
what we hoped there would be and it was played out,” Auriemma said. “It played out exactly the way we wanted to play out. And unfortunately, we just couldn’t sustain it for the entire 40 minutes.”
Lopez Senechal, Edwards and Caroline Ducharme helped Bettencourt by taking turns bringing the ball upcourt. Bettencourt’s first break was at 5:52 in the third quarter for five minutes as Lopez Senechal returned to the bench to end the third quarter after picking up her fourth foul.
The Huskies trimmed a 12-point Maryland edge to two thanks to a 10-0 run in the third but couldn’t take control of momentum with Lopez Senechal on the bench.
An Edwards’ jumper at 9:01 in the fourth tied the game before Maryland went on a 8-0 run to get its lead back up to double digits.
UConn will get a week’s rest before facing Florida State next Sunday at 1 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.