The No. 2 UConn women’s basketball team scored as many points in the second half as they did in the first during their 86-49 victory over the USF Bulls on Sunday. 30 of the Huskies’ 43 points in those final 20 minutes came in the third quarter.
Redshirt senior Paige Bueckers, who scored a game-high 22, only collected three of them. Five different underclassmen provided the other 27 points. Ashlynn Shade (10 points), Sarah Strong (nine) and KK Arnold (four) led Connecticut’s charge. Jana El Alfy and Ice Brady dropped two points apiece on their lone shot attempts from the field.
Eight out of the Huskies’ 10 available players through their first two games so far are freshmen or sophomores. The two non-underclassmen, Bueckers and Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen, have the most assists on the team.
UCONN BASKETBALL MESSAGE BOARD | THE HUSKY HOUSE FORUM | UCONN BASKETBALL 2025 RECRUITING CLASS | UCONN FOOTBALL RECRUITING
All three true first-year students have already made an immediate impact. Strong has already won a Big East Freshman of the Week honor. San Jose native Morgan Cheli is a perfect 3-3 from downtown and has hauled in five rebounds. Wisconsin native Allie Ziebell is also shooting 60% from the field this season, though she has one deuce and two three-pointers.
“They are gamers. That is the only way you can explain how quickly they have picked up some things,” head coach Geno Auriemma commented about his young nucleus after Sunday’s 37-point win. “You want them to get better every game, and [Sunday] was a perfect example of that.”
Such has been the case for the No. 3 UConn men’s basketball team. Three out of UConn’s five starters appeared in their second-round clash with the Saint Mary’s Gaels in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The other two, as well as most of head coach Dan Hurley’s top bench pieces, however, are top-100 recruits from his past two classes.
No. 17 recruit Liam McNeeley, the first Husky with two season-opening double-doubles since Jeff Adrien in 2006, headlines that squadron. Solomon Ball and Jayden Ross, who combined for 51 field goals and 56 rebounds last year, have both made sophomore strides. Ball is averaging 14 points and has made seven triples in three starts. Hurley noted last week that Ross, who has eight boards, would have started the season opener if not for an ankle injury.
While he is only averaging 2.7 points, sophomore forward Jaylin Stewart should become an integral bench piece again. The Big East Coach of the Year mentioned following yesterday’s clash with the Le Moyne Dolphins that Stewart’s minutes will “elevate” as the season progresses. What the Seattle native can do on the glass (four offensive rebounds) could make him another quality depth option in a stacked frontcourt.
Connecticut has produced four lottery picks, all underclassmen, over the past four seasons. That streak should continue, but not just in 2025 with McNeeley. The Huskies bring in an Australian guard and three top-30 recruits in next year’s class. At least one, perhaps two, could go pro after one year.
Fresh faces have turned the UConn football team’s reputation around during the fall. Head coach Jim Mora’s program welcomed 28 transfers and 20 true first-year students to the roster. While the defense has consistently stood strong, the dynamic run game has been UConn’s calling card throughout Mora’s three-year tenure.
The Huskies average 200.3 rushing yards per game, which currently ranks 23rd in the nation, and 4.86 on each attempt. Durell Robinson and Cam Edwards lead Connecticut with over 520 rushing yards apiece and a combined 12 touchdowns. Both of them have crossed the century mark at least once this season.
On top of being one of the primary backs, Edwards ranks fourth in receiving with 130 yards on only nine catches. Although he has not caught a pass in almost four weeks, the Norwalk native has had three outings with 25+ receiving yards. Two of those games came with redshirt sophomore Nick Evers under center.
When he is healthy, Evers is as much of a threat on the ground as he is through the air. The former Oklahoma Sooner’s 918 passing yards might not look impressive, but his 234 rushing yards provide a further headache for any opponent’s run defense.
Young talent has additionally propelled the No. 3 UConn Field Hockey team’s turnaround from their 5-13 2023 campaign. Heading into their first NCAA Tournament since 2020, the Huskies currently sit at 17-3 in 2024 with a Big East Regular Season and Tournament crown. UConn is also 4-1 against ranked foes.
Making their first dance since 2020 has involved a dynamic freshman duo only Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper could rival.
All-Big East Second Team forward Sophie Perschk led the Huskies with 13 goals and 34 points in her rookie campaign. Big East Offensive Player of the Year Juul Sauer, meanwhile, supported her teammate with a 12-goal, 30-point campaign. The first-year phenoms, Sauer in the regular season and Perschk in the postseason, scored Connecticut’s game-winning goal in their meetings with the Liberty Flames.
Big East Goalkeeper of the Year Natalie McKenna, meanwhile, is only a sophomore. In just one season, McKenna went from winning five games to 17 while saving 65 shots and recording eight shutouts. Two of those clean sheets came against the Temple Owls; the second of them gave the Huskies their first Big East Tournament title since 2020.
Despite the instant impact from the underclassmen, one should not ignore what the programs' veterans have done. Bueckers and Alex Karaban are both preseason All-Americans. Aubrey Griffin and Samson Johnson are their respective basketball teams’ longest-tenured players.
Juniors Sol Simone and Julia Bressler finished third and fourth on the field hockey team in scoring with 20+ points apiece. Tui Faumuina-Brown is second in the football program with 82 tackles, while Malik Dixon-Williams has a team-high three interceptions.
Although UConn Athletics possess several veteran players with a winning pedigree, the new kids have been the ones in the spotlight throughout the fall. Their success, and that of their programs, will only grow in the years ahead.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
