Muhl’s growth on full display

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two years ago, then-freshman Nika Muhl sat on the bench for the entirety of UConn women’s basketball’s game at rival Tennessee.

She wasn’t injured and her absence from the game was written as a “coach’s decision.”

On Thursday, in the No. 5 Huskies’ 84-67 win over the Lady Vols in Knoxville, the point guard from Croatia played the full 40 minutes and led the game with four steals and 14 assists. The latter is one shy of UConn’s single-game assist record — set by Muhl in November.

A lot has changed for Muhl over the past two years. She’s grown up and matured. She’s bettered her skills on the court and become a leader on and off the hardwood. Her role has not only become vital for the Huskies, but is the main focal point for the team’s offense this season. Who’s to say if UConn hadn’t gone through its roller coaster of injuries both this season and last that Muhl wouldn’t have developed into who she is now.

But right now, she’s what UConn needs the most.

“Nika’s grown up from being all emotional all the time and never considering the consequences of her emotions,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “And her emotions were a big reason why she’s in the starting lineup, eventually. They’re a big reason why we played the way we play, how hard we play. And she’s channeled those emotions into a positive and that’s what’s allowed her to become the kind of player that she is right now.”

When Muhl arrived in Storrs in the summer of 2020 she was expected to take on the role of backup point guard to star Paige Bueckers.

She played 23 games with 15 starts and averaged 4.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Yet, she struggled with foul trouble and sometimes butted heads with Auriemma. That became evident when Auriemma benched her in UConn’s game in Knoxville.

“When we went down there last time I wasn’t expecting not

to play,” Muhl said Monday about sitting out UConn’s game at Tennessee her freshman year. “I was expecting to get at least a minute or two or something. But I remember I was having a bad stretch in practice and me and Coach were not on the same page. He just decided to bench me for the whole game. I was very mad and very disappointed.”

Everything changed for Muhl last season.

Bueckers injured her knee on Dec. 5 against Notre Dame and was out for 19 games. In her place, Muhl became the Huskies’ starting point guard.

She led the offense to a 15-4 record in Bueckers’ absence. But more than that, Muhl showed she can play with a controlled passion.

She was UConn’s biggest spark on defense, poking out steals (she led the underclassmen and was third on the team with 47) and pressuring defenders into bad shots. She was named the Big East Defensive Player

of the Year on top of dishing out 87 assists (the third most on the team and the most by an underclassman).

“She plays with, generally speaking, with so much confidence,” Auriemma said. “And it’s infectious for the other players.”

Muhl is again directing UConn’s offense this season as Bueckers is out for the year due to an offseason ACL injury.

And the now-junior has reached another level of her game.

On Nov. 20, she set the UConn single-game record (previously held by Bueckers) with 15 assists against NC State. She recorded double-digit assists in four straight games, becoming the first Husky ever to do so.

Against the Lady Vols on Thursday, it was Muhl’s 3pointer that got UConn on the board first less than 20 seconds into the game.

By the end of the first quarter, she had seven assists.

While the team was getting called for fouls left and right (six of the seven Huskies who played had gotten called for fouls by halftime),

Muhl was the last Husky to get called for one and that didn’t happen until the 9:30-minute mark in the third.

She finished the game with 14 assists for her ninth game of the year with double-digit assists and improved her nation-leading assists-per-game-average to 9.05.

“Oh, she’s a big part to our success tonight,” fellow junior Aaliyah Edwards said. “The spark that we needed. The energy that we needed and also her ball pressure was amazing tonight and helped us getting open and going on offense for transition.”

UConn has 10 more games left in the regular season, including Sunday’s matchup against No. 21 Villanova at 2 p.m. at XL Center.

As of now, Muhl is only nine assists away from cracking the program’s top-10 list of all-time singleseason assists. Sue Bird owns the record with 231 (2001-02) and Gabby Williams is No. 10 with 190 (2016-17).

She’s currently tied with She Ralph at No. 4 with 181 total assists in UConn’s junior classmen single-season assist top-10 record list. Crystal Dangerfield owns the record with 225 during her junior season in 2018-19.

Whether she rewrites these records or not, she’s already become one of UConn’s most iconic point guards.

“She’s unique,” Auriemma said. “I’ve only had a few players like her in my career.”

Fisher commits

UConn women’s basketball got its first commitment of the Class of 2025 Friday afternoon.

Point guard Kelis Fisher committed to the Husky program via her Instagram account.

She captioned her post: “I would like to thank my family, friends and coaches. I’m taking my talents to UCONN.”

Fisher is the No. 22 recruit in the Class of 2025 according to ESPN and hails from Baltimore, Maryland. The 5-foot-9 guard is currently a sophomore at Roland Park Country School.

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