Lexi Gordon prepares to launch in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at Gampel Pavilion (Charlotte Lao/The Daily Campus)
The UConn women’s basketball team announced Thursday that sophomore guard/forward Lexi Gordon has decided to transfer from the university.
Head coach Geno Auriemma released a statement regarding Gordon’s decision.
“Lexi has been a great teammate in her time at UConn, but we understand that she wants to go somewhere where she will have more opportunities to play,” Auriemma said. “We wish Lex and her family the best as she continues her college career elsewhere.”
Gordon has played 30 games in her career at UConn, averaging 0.4 points and 0.4 rebounds per game. She has played just 10 minutes this season for the Huskies.
“I would like to thank the coaching and support staffs, the fans and most importantly, my teammates, at UConn,” Gordon said in a press release. “I am grateful for my time at Connecticut. I’ve learned what it takes to be part of a championship program and I look forward to taking this experience to the next stop in my basketball and academic career.”
Saturday, the Huskies will take on Seton Hall in their first matchup since UConn joined the American Athletic Conference.
The last time the Huskies and Pirates played each other was Feb. 2013, when then sophomore Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored her 1000th career point in a 90-30 UConn victory.
Seton Hall is on a three-game winning streak after beating St. Francis Brooklyn, UMass Lowell and Saint Peter’s at home. The last time the Pirates defeated UConn was in 1994.
The players to watch on Seton Hall are senior Nicole Jimenez and junior Shadeen Samuels. The 5-foot-2 Jimenez is coming off a career high 33-point game versus Saint Peter’s on Sunday. She also scored a program record nine three-pointers in the game.
Samuels hails from Ossining, N.Y., the same hometown as former Husky Saniya Chong. Samuels ranks in the top five in the Big East with 17 points per game, 9.4 rebounds per game and 57 percent shooting from the field.
The Pirates are coached by Anthony Bozzella who is in his fifth year at the helm of the program. Bozella graduated from Seton Hall in 1989.
The game against Seton Hall will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the XL Center in Hartford.
Mariana Dominguez is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at mariana.dominguez@uconn.edu.
