The 2025-26 Huskies Give and Take

[ucmiami2]

So before the start of the NCAAs just a status update on this teams Giving (Assists) and Taking (Steals)

Total Assists: 806 good for 8th place. The record is 863 set in 2016-17. Their current average per game is down to 23.7 so they will likely break the season record in the S16 if they get there.

Additionally KK has 158, Sarah 135, Azzi 101, K9 99, and Ash 98. Presumably, both K9 and Ash will reach triple digits in the first NCAA game and the team will have 5 players with 100+ assists, something that was accomplished by the current assist leading team. (No individual is likely to reach a top 10 individual assist total.)

And KK stands at 158 assists and 38 TO for what would be a record breaking A/TO of 4.18 breaking Paige's record from last year of 3.52.

Total Steal: 531 good for a Uconn single season record passing the 477 previous record by the 1997-98 season. They will continue to extend that record and are currently averaging 15.62/game. If they reach the FF they will likely move the record above 600.

Sarah has been on a personal tear recording 20 in the last 4 games. She stands at 111 steals for the season, good for 3rd place all time, 1 steal behind Jen Rizzotti in 2nd place which she should tie and pass in the first round of the NCAA. Nykesha Sales holds the record of 143, and unless Sarah continues her torrid pace she will not reach that number.

Additionally KK stands at 93 steals and should reach 100 in her 3rd or 4th game, and Azzi is at 85 and might reach 100 if she has a slight spurt in her production. Twice Uconn has had 2 players reach 100 in a single season, they have never had 3 players do that in a single season.

Bonus Points: They have created 834 Turnovers good for 4th place behind 1997-98's record of 887. They should pass that record in the second round of the NCAAs

They have extended their turnovers forced vs opponent field goals made record to 224 double the previous standard

 

[BfromCT]

The regular season and Big East tournaments are now over and now seems like a good opportunity to reflect on some of the team’s players.

Sarah Strong. One can divide up player attributes into several categories. Offense - 3-point shooting, mid-range jumpers, around the basket, driving to basket. Defense - rebounding, blocks, steals, defense one on one. Strong excels in all these categories and is the team’s most complete player since Maya Moore who was in my opinion the greatest player in UConn’s history. Strong is the complete package and should be POY. Her game against Creighton in the BE tournament shows her talents. Mikayla Blakes of Vanderbilt is her greatest competition.

Azzi Fudd. Finally healthy for an entire season, she has been the player we all expected to see when she came to Storrs. Has turned into an outstanding defensive player. Could well be the #1 WNBA pick.

Ashlyn Shade. The energizer bunny, she is this generation’s Kelly Faris. She is a streaky shooter and more of an offensive threat than Faris was. Shade is an excellent rebounder for her size and a solid all around defensive player. Underrated.

KK Arnold. Has been goof all year, but is still weak from the 3-point range. Her offense is going to the basket. Opposing teams do not guard her from 3-point range, but that may change after her game against Creighton on Sunday. Superb on defense and a solid point guard with an excellent assist to turnover ratio.

Serah Williams and Jana El-Alfy. Neither has played up to expectations, although each has shown occasional flashes of excellence. As has been noted on a number of occasions, one or both will need to step up when facing teams with good inside games, like UCLA , Texas, and South Carolina.

Blanca Quinonez. Immensely talented, has shown spurts of brilliance, and has had a handful of terrific games despite missing around a half dozen due to shoulder injury. She reminds me of the immortal Svetlana Abrosimova who came to Storrs in 1997 as a 17 year old from Russia. For those who do not remember her, check out replays from the 1997-98 season. After Nykesha Sales, she was the best player on the team. Blanca has the chance to be an All-American once she consistently plays up to her potential. Hasn’t had any really good games after returning from her shoulder injury until last night’s performance against Villanova.

Kayleigh Heckel and Allie Ziebel. Both have had productive seasons, but thus far Ziebel has not had big games against UConn’s top opponents. If and when we play LSU, Texas, South Carolina, and/or UCLA, the team will need her to step up.

The Wounded. Over the years several potentially outstanding players have had their careers essentially destroyed by serious injury, the three who immediately come to mind are Nicole Wolff, Brittany Hunter, and Caroline Doty. We can add three more players to that list - Caroline Ducharme, Ice Brady, and Ayanna Patterson. Ducharme showed flashes of brilliance in her freshman season after Paige and Azzi both suffered injuries, but then she got injured and has suffered a series of setbacks since then. What might have been!

The Big East tournament did not present much of a challenge and it will be interesting to see what teams the NCAA powers will put in UConn’s bracket. The one potential #2 seed that particularly concerns me is LSU.

 

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Excellent Posts from the TWO posts above. Very informative and concise. Great work and thank you. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!