Four games is just a fraction of what we’ll see from the No. 2 UConn women’s basketball team by the end of the 2021-22 season.
The past two and a half weeks have offered fans and coach Geno Auriemma some insight into what the Huskies are working with as they begin their quest for national title No. 12. Moreover, UConn’s 73-57 loss to No. 1 South Carolina in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game last week showed there’s plenty of work to be done between now and March/April.
Here’s some of the good, bad and ugly we’ve learned from this season’s start.
Depth a work in progress
This season’s UConn team was billed as one of the deepest and most talented Auriemma has fielded in awhile. It’s certainly possible things will trend in that direction, but the Huskies’ depth on paper has yet to translate to the court thus far.
Sophomore Paige Bueckers, senior Christyn Williams and redshirt senior Evina Westbrook are responsible for two-thirds of UConn’s points this season. Only one other player, freshman Azzi Fudd, has had a double-figure game, when she hit six 3s for 18 points against No. 13 USF.
Fudd was limited against South Carolina (zero points in 10 minutes), both in playing time and in what she was able to achieve when she was on the court. Auriemma said she didn’t see the floor much because she couldn’t get going offensively, and South Carolina’s players went right at her when she was on defense.
The biggest issues with depth have come in the post. Senior Olivia Nelson-Ododa, sophomore Aaliyah Edwards and graduate transfer Dorka Juhász combined are responsible for just 21% of UConn’s scoring and are averaging just 12.8 rebounds in all. Nelson-Ododa stepped up against South Carolina, particularly on the defensive end, but Auriemma wants to see her attempt more shots. Edwards has seemingly taken a step back from where she was in her breakout 2021 NCAA Tournament, and Juhász often looks rushed or off-kilter. She had a team-high five turnovers against South Carolina.
Other than that, sophomore Nika Mühl’s minutes are way down (8.3 per game), and when she’s out there she hasn’t been as effective as she was last season. Freshman Caroline Ducharme also has played sparingly and didn’t see the floor at all against the Gamecocks. UConn’s depth issues also have been exacerbated by the fact that junior Aubrey Griffin is still recovering from a high-ankle sprain and hasn’t yet suited up for the Huskies.
Paige Bueckers is still good, and the Huskies need her to be
Because UConn was expected to have more depth, most assumed Paige Bueckers would have to do less work, particularly on the scoring front. So far, that hasn’t been the case. In fact, both her scoring average and usage rate are currently higher than last year’s.
Bueckers’ career-high 34 points in UConn’s season opener propelled the Huskies over Arkansas, and she was their leading scorer with 21 and 19 respectively in gritty battles against USF and South Carolina. She was shooting a ridiculous 81.5% on two-pointers across UConn’s first three games, though that mark has since fallen to a still impressive 67.4%. While her 3-point shooting was excellent most of her freshman season, her 27.8% clip from the arc this year is uncharacteristically poor. Meanwhile, her assist numbers are up (she’s averaging 6.5 dimes per game), and she has shown growth on the defensive end.
Auriemma was not pleased with how Bueckers’ effectiveness tapered off in the second half of the South Carolina game, but her 13 points before the break were a big reason why the Huskies led the Gamecocks most of the first half. Even after that loss, Bueckers re-affirmed that she’s the Huskies’ best player, their go-to option when little else is working and among the upper-most echelon of players across the country.
Areas of improvement: Defense, half-court offense, post presence
Early on, UConn’s defense was a cause for concern, particularly when they gave up 80 points to an unranked Arkansas team. The Huskies actually did a respectable job on that end of the floor, especially in the first half, against a team full of weapons in South Carolina. Auriemma went as far to say the team “accomplished our job defensively but not offensively.” The unit should only improve as the season goes on, and it’ll help once they get Griffin back, too.
UConn’s 20-2 first-quarter run against the Gamecocks largely worked because of its ability to get out in transition. Improved defense/rebounding would only help spur more offense, but in reality the Huskies can’t rely solely on beating opponents up the floor — their half-court offense needs a lot of work. Auriemma said it himself: “Right now our half-court offense isn’t very good. Again, it’s early, but it’s not very good.”
The fact that some of the Huskies’ rebounding stats are among the worst in the country is shocking for a UConn team. Despite being dominated on the glass most of the South Carolina game, the Huskies trailed by just 3 going into the fourth, at which point they were -12 on the boards. Auriemma assured that rebounding is “always fixable.” That would significantly help the Huskies on both ends.
Auriemma has also discussed that Bueckers needs more reliable help around her, particularly in another guard who can knock down shots. And for as impactful as Nelson-Ododa was against the Gamecocks, she needs more support alongside her as well. Once the posts are able to establish themselves as more of a threat, that’ll open up more 3-point opportunities, where UConn can really thrive.
Still many positives
Even after the disappointing outcome of the South Carolina game, there’s no reason to ring the alarm bells. It’s not as if the first four games haven’t been without their positives.
On the net, Williams and Westbrook have upped their level of play. Williams was particularly unstoppable against Minnesota and, in general, looks much more aggressive getting to the rim than much of last year. Westbrook’s 3-point shooting has already been much better than last season.
That’s a great basis off which they can continue to improve for the rest of the season. The next step for both of them is to establish the day-in, day-out consistency Auriemma demands, and to come through even more in big games.
Fudd’s emergence against USF marked a step in the right direction, even if she wasn’t totally ready yet for a high-stakes 1-vs-2 showdown in just her fourth collegiate game. Moreover, UConn’s close win over USF looks better by the day, as the Bulls proceeded to take down Oregon and Stanford, the defending national champs, in back-to-back games.
Nelson-Ododa also did a lot of great things defensively against South Carolina that she didn’t demonstrate last season, a definite sign of progress. For three-quarters against the clear No. 1 team in the country, UConn was right there. While the final 10 minutes defined the game, the first 30 shouldn’t be forgotten either. Even Auriemma saw the bright side in that.
“For 30 minutes, I thought we did everything we set out to do,” he said.
There may be inherent flaws to his team that can’t be fixed, but the next four months will be about addressing the ones that are. After all, it’s not how you start, but how you finish that counts at UConn.
Alexa Philippou can be reached at aphilippou@courant.com