Going into the season, the UConn women’s basketball team was set to be led by Paige Bueckers ,who was coming back from her ACL injury and Azzi Fudd, who would be entering her junior season. The duo would be followed by the veteran leadership of Nika Mühl and Aaliyah Edwards. Aubrey Griffin and Caroline Ducharme were still healthy at the time, as well looking ahead to a new season. However, things took a turn for the worse for the Huskies, as Fudd went down with a season- ending ACL injury back in November. In the midst of all this unfortunate situation for the Huskies, Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold rose to the occasion as just freshman.
Shade has become one of the Huskies more dependable offensive weapons, and she has been the team’s top scorer in several games. The Indiana native has an impact on the game both offensively and defensively with plays being made for Shade to get the ball. She has built up confidence since November and has made a difference for the Huskies way earlier than they expected her to as she’s only in her rookie season.
“I think I’m a totally different player than I was at the start of the season, and that’s because of my confidence and how I’ve grown throughout the season,” said Shade. “I couldn’t have done it without the leaders we have on the team with Nika, Paige and all of the coaches just building me up and showing me that I can go out there and compete just like everyone else can and even more.”
Shade was named Big East Player of the Week for the fifth time this season. In two games last week, she averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Last Saturday against DePaul, she led the team on offense with 21 points and seven rebounds. With having limited options off the bench, Coach Geno Auriemma had to make some adjustments in order to put the team in the best position to succeed. At the start of the season, it was sometimes difficult for more than one freshman player to be on the court at the same time. As time has gone on, all the freshman players have grown and have played valuable minutes for this UConn team in spite of five players being out for the season. Shade and Arnold are now starters for this Huskies team alongside seniors Mühl, Edwards and Bueckers.
“I’ve almost forgotten that they are going through this for the first time,” said Auriemma. There was a time during November when it was really hard to function with them on the court. We tried to limit it to one at a time whether it was Q [Qadence], whether it was Ash or whether it was KK, even Ice, you throw Ice in there, she’s a freshman for all intensive purposes. And little by little now I don’t even look at them that way. — I don’t even look at them as the new guys anymore, I just expect the same things from them as I do from our veterans.”
Arnold has also had her fair share of Big East Honors. She’s been named Big East Freshman of the Week four times just this season. The Wisconsin native has been a consistent starter in the Huskies lineup. This season, Arnold has averaged 9.8 points, 3.1 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. She currently leads the Huskies this season with 48 steals, with Bueckers right behind her with 46. Last week against Seton Hall, Arnold had one of the best games of her young career as a Husky. She hit a season-high five 3-pointers on six attempts which totaled 15 points. In addition, Arnold had four assists, two rebounds and a steal in the Huskies win over the Pirates on the road. In that game, Arnold showcased a lot of materiality with taking the right shots at the right time. She is usually the player creating lanes for her teammates, but her taking three-pointers 3-pointers for herself and tallying points is huge for elevating her game and capabilities.
Arnold has grown into a very signating role for UConn in just her freshman season. She made her first career start against No. 5 UCLA in the Cayman Islands back on Nov. 24 after Fudd’s season ending injury. She has persistently been in the starting lineups ever since Dec. 6.
“I don’t know where we would be without her,” said Auriemma on KK Arnold following the Huskies win over Marquette on Tuesday.
“KK is such a great player and we’re starting to figure each other out on the court better. It’s fun to see and it’s fun to play with her so much just cause she’s a great person, great player,” said Shade on Thursday. “It’s been really exciting.”
The Huskies are still afloat and a lot of credit is due to the freshman players with their constant standout performances. UConn has made adjustments through the adversity and having four guards in their lineup has worked for them so far. The Huskies have a huge rivalry game coming up this Saturday for a top-15 matchup against Notre Dame. A white-out game at Gampel Pavilion will be a huge non-conference test game for the Huskies in the middle of Big East play. It will definitely measure where UConn is at in terms of the NCAA March Madness Tournament that is less than two months away. In the end, the resurgence of the freshman players with Shade and Arnold has been a huge lift for the Huskies when they needed it the most.