That’s the question ahead of a Tuesday afternoon matchup that will see the Huskies travel to New York’s capital city to take on the University of Albany in their final non-conference road matchup of the season.
UConn is not a team that the Great Danes are looking to face, especially with two losses to ranked opponents this season and an overall 2-4 record on the season. They’re looking to turn their season around and a win against a surging UConn lineup would certainly be a huge boost to the team.
On the positive side, they’re coming off a win at Canisius, where they put up 13 points in the first half and held the Golden Griffins to 0 points in the first quarter. That game also saw Sarah Falk lead the team with five goals and an assist. She’s been a force on the scoring end for the Great Danes this year where she’s provided quality scoring, especially on Feb. 26 where she scored seven goals in a loss at Yale. She’s also the leading scorer for this Great Danes squad.
Then, there’s Katie Pascale, the reigning American East Rookie of the Year. She brings selflessness to the team with 14 assists along with some quality scoring with 16 points. Pascale leads the team in points and scored four goals in their last matchup against Canisius. Look for the sophomore to be attacking UConn’s defense at every moment on Tuesday.
Despite the impressive offense that the Great Danes bring to the table, it’s going to be pretty hard to stop a UConn team that just reentered IWLCA poll last week and sits at No. 22 before Tuesday’s matchup. A big part of that has been due to their killer defense in the second half, and the team will look for that same effort on Tuesday. The team has held opponents to an average of five points in the second half this season.
The Huskies have had plenty of defensive leaders across their lineup, but you can’t talk about defense without referring to Landyn White. She leads the Big East in saves and has played a huge part in UConn’s lockdown defense this season. The Huskies remain in second place in the Big East in saves.
UConn is also second in the Big East in ground balls and draw controls. While White has been a big part in the team’s high ranking in the Big East in ground balls, Sydney Watson has grabbed plenty of draw controls, averaging 8.71 per game.
The Huskies will face the Great Danes at 3 p.m.
