The Connecticut Huskies (12-2, 3-0) will continue their Big East road trip as they head to Philadelphia to take on the Villanova Wildcats (7-7, 1-1) Sunday afternoon at Finneran Pavilion.
UConn is coming off a feisty 77-45 win on New Year’s Day over Marquette. In her sophomore year homecoming, KK Arnold matched her career high of seven assists and attained 13 points and four rebounds.
In addition to Arnold’s breakout performance, red shirt freshman Jana El Alfy notched 10 points in her second start of the season, despite a scary moment early in the second frame when she collided with Marquette’s players in the defensive zone, resulting in a lower back spasm.
According to the squad’s head coach Geno Auriemma, El Alfy has been fine, has not faced repercussions and participated in practice all week.
El Alfy has been Auriemma’s go-to center as of late, after sitting out most of last season from rupturing her achilles tendon.
“I thought there were a lot of good things that came out of that game.” Auriemma said to the media over zoom on El Alfy’s performance. “It makes it a little bit better when there’s a big kid that she has the opportunity to guard and match up against. The ability to make some easy baskets, I think she’s getting more confident with that.”
The last time these two Big East foes faced one another was on Feb. 28, 2024, where the Huskies took the dub, 67-46. In this game, Paige Bueckers had a dominant performance racked up 31 points in just 34 minutes played.
The Wildcats are coming off a heartbreaking 56-55 loss against Seton Hall, where graduate student Faith Masonius of the Pirates chucked the ball to the net from behind to beat the buzzer.
“Given the fact that they have had to go through so many changes, they don’t look like the team we saw last year.” Auriemma said to the media when asked about Villanova’s squad. “Villanova has a long history and a long reputation of their style of play, how they play and how well they execute and take care of the ball.”
Auriemma further explained to media personnel that despite the adversity the team has faced, not having the season they had originally hoped for the style of play and execution has not changed.
A player on the Wildcats the Huskies should keep an eye on is freshman Jasmine Bascoe who averages 15.6 points per game. The Milton, Ont. chalked up 16 points against the Pirates.
Tip-off for the Huskies’ second match of 2025 is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and Husky fans can tune into the matchup through SNY.