The UConn women's basketball team is back, and they wasted no time in showing why they are considered one of the best teams in the country. The Huskies opened their 2023-24 season with an easy 102-58 win over Dayton on Wednesday night at the XL Center.
The biggest storyline of the night was the return of Paige Bueckers, who missed all of last season recovering from an ACL injury. Bueckers made her presence felt immediately, scoring eight points with seven rebounds, four assists and one steal in 21 minutes.
"Regardless of what it is last year, sitting on the bench, I would have done anything just to be out there and get yelled at," said Bueckers, who missed all last season recovering from an ACL injury.
Aaliyah Edwards, last year's leading scorer, led the Huskies with 23 points (10 of 12) and nine rebounds. Five other Huskies finished finished in double figures while freshman KK Arnold led with seven assists and four steals.
UConn led by 11 five minutes in and Auriemma brought in his first sub: Arnold.
The freshman (eight points, three rebounds) kept up the intensity on defense, often leading UConn's full court press. She recorded seven assists in her first 12 minutes on the floor.
"She's not shy. She's not worried about anything. She's just trying to make plays defensively, offensively," Auriemma said. "... I want her to play instinctively and she does. She gets after you on defense, and she attacks you on offense. I think the kid's gonna be terrific. I just really enjoy watching the her play. I'm hoping that is this kinda a normal game for her."
UConn's three other newcomers also made their collegiate debuts. Redshirt freshman Ice Brady (three points, three rebounds), who missed all last season with a dislocated patella, used her size down low to demand a presence under the basket and grab rebounds. The 6-foot-3 forward even looked comfortable attempting shots from the outside as well.
"She was engaged. I think she ran the floor really well. She's good with the ball in her hands," Auriemma said. "Again, she's been around for a year but this her first college game. And I'm sure there's a little bit of all that. But I think you're gonna see that she stretches the floor a lot."
Qadence Samuels (11 points) wasted no time in getting shots up, making her first career points off a corner 3-pointer assisted by Bueckers. Ashlynn Shade was everywhere all at once, finishing with four points, three rebounds and two assists in her UConn debut.
"There were times when it looked like we had a lot of young players on the floor at the same time and the game looked a different way than it did. And that's OK," Auriemma said. "I just want to experiment with as many different looks as I can."
The Flyers couldn't keep up with the Huskies and finished the first half 9 of 30 from the floor with only two players recording four points or more.
UConn was up by 35 less than five minutes into the third quarter and rode out the rest of the way to secure its 28-straight season opening win. Auriemma emptied his bench with nearly six minutes remaining in the game.
"Right now, on paper, they're the No. 1 team in the country," said Williams-Jeter, who played at UConn 1998-2002 and won two national championships with the Huskies.
The Huskies will have their first test of the season this weekend when they fly out to Raleigh, N.C. to face NC State on Sunday at 3 p.m. (ABC).
