The UConn women’s basketball team will aim to lock up the Baha Mar Women’s Championship title this evening against the 18th ranked Mississippi Rebels (4-1) in Nassau.
The game will be the Huskies’ second in three days in The Bahamas, completing the tournament that started with Monday’s match against Oregon State.
The Rebels defeated Boston College 92-55 on Monday to clinch a bid in the tournament championship game. Connecticut defeated Oregon State 71-52 to punch their ticket to this evening’s title game.
The Rebels have won four straight games since dropping the opener to then-No. 3 USC in Paris, France, 68-66. Despite shooting just 29.7% from the field, Mississippi found itself leading the Trojans by as many as two possessions with under three minutes left before late game free throws pulled USC ahead.
Ole Miss has tallied wins over Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Delaware State, Jackson State and Boston College en route to a top-20 placement in the last two AP Top 25 polls.
Connecticut has notched victories against Boston University, South Florida, No. 14 North Carolina, Farleigh Dickinson and Oregon State to start the season 5-0.
The Rebels are led by a quartet of scorers averaging double digits, including leading scorer KK Deans (13.2 ppg) and Kennedy Todd-Williams (10.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg). Versatile forward Starr Jacobs is an explosive threat on the wing and is capable of scoring in bunches as seen by her double-double in Mississippi’s win over Boston College on Monday.
Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s squad jumped out to fast start on Monday, boat racing the Eagles on a 15-3 run to start the game, leading 20-8 after one quarter and 41-23 at the half. Controlling the scoring of Rebels’ dynamic backcourt will be paramount for Connecticut to seize momentum.
Ole Miss will offer the hardest test for the Huskies on the boards this season, grabbing an average of 45.6 rebounds per game, eight more than UConn’s 37.6 per night average. The post play of Ice Brady, Sarah Strong and Jana El Alfy will be critical in the Huskies’ efforts to grab a second ranked win ahead of the start of conference play.
Wednesday’s match will be the first time Connecticut has matched up with an SEC opponent in the regular season since February’s heavyweight bout in Columbia against the top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. The Huskies are 3-3 against SEC opponents in the regular season since the start of the 2021-2022 season.
Connecticut scoring will be spearheaded by the over 35 ppg churned out from redshirt senior Paige Bueckers (20.6) and freshman forward Sarah Strong (15.4). The Husky scoring duo combined for 36 points in Monday’s game against the Beavers, with a solid contribution from Jana El Alfy (12) coming from the bench. The team shot 43.8% from the field and grabbed 32 rebounds in the 19-point win.
Mississippi will be the Huskies’ first test in a long line of tough non-conference games that includes a stretch of No. 24 Louisville, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 15 Iowa State and No. 6 USC all before Christmas.
Let’s go lady husky’s, on to victory. Stay well and healthy.
🏀❤️🙏