The No. 1 UConn women’s basketball team is set to make its regular-season debut at the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena on Sunday, Nov. 16. With three games and three wins under their belt, the Huskies are set to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Credit:Connor sharp DC Photo
Connecticut is coming off an 85-31 win over the Loyola Chicago Ramblers on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Freshman Blanca Quiñonez made her debut as a Husky and junior KK Arnold continued playing with her new veteran role.
Quiñonez replaced Serah Williams on the court in the first quarter, immediately taking to the pace of the game. In total, Quiñonez finished the night with five points, three assists and two steals.
“I’m hoping we can just keep ramping up her minutes, you know as we go along, either with Sarah [Strong] or when Sarah’s [Strong] not out on the floor, you know, to have a similar type of presence out there,” said head coach Geno Auriemma after the game. “I think it was a good start for her.”
Despite things looking unstructured on the offensive end, Arnold and the program’s defense were what kept the Huskies in the game.
“I’m not exactly thrilled with where we are offensively right now, so much of our offense comes from our defense.” Auriemma said. “I don’t know if that’s something you’re gonna be able to count on every night.”
Credit:Connor sharp DC Photo
Despite in past seasons where the program had been plagued with injuries, this season the program has lots of versatility throughout its starters and their bench. Out of the 13 players who were available on the roster to play, each had a chance to put points on the board.
For the game Sunday against Ohio State, Quiñonez and Gandy Mamou-Mamel will both be available after returning Wednesday, despite missing the first two games of the season due to injury. Morgan Cheli is still expected to be out against the Buckeyes. Ice Brady missed the game against the Ramblers due to inflammation in her knee, and Auriemma still considers her day-to-day.
A player on the Buckeyes roster that the Huskies should look out for is sophomore guard Jaloni Cambridge. Standing at 5-foot-7, Cambridge averaged 15 points per game in her freshman campaign. In the Buckeyes’ first game of the season against Coppin State, Cambridge tallied 23 points.
In this game against Coppin State, the Buckeyes racked up 15 turnovers throughout the entire game and only shot 23% from beyond the arc. The Huskies will need to stay aggressive on the defensive end of the court and utilize turnovers to their advantage to add more points onto the scoreboard.
The last time the Huskies faced the Buckeyes was in March 2023, where Ohio State took the win 73-61. Since first facing one another in December 2010, that was the only time Ohio State beat the Huskies. Should the Huskies polish up their shooting from beyond the arc and take advantage of their depth up and down the roster, they will have the upper hand in this one.
Tip-off is scheduled for noon, with the banner unveiling occurring before game time. If Husky fans cannot make it to Hartford, they can stream the game on Peacock or listen in on 97.9 FM from Learfield.