The Aftermath: UConn's low post duo passes first test of the season

On paper, Oregon State didn’t pose much of a challenge for No. 2 UConn. The Beavers dealt with an exodus of talent over the offseason and had yet to beat a Division I opponent in four tries coming in. 

That largely proved true. The Huskies came away with a 71-52 win that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated. UConn was in complete control during the first half: It moved the ball well, created open shots and did its job defensively. While Oregon State won the second half 33-29, that can be chalked up to the Huskies’ sudden poor shooting in the third quarter (6-18) and lineup experimentation without their top players in the fourth. 

All in all, the man that matters most, Geno Auriemma, was happy with what he saw during most of Monday night’s victory. 

“What we set out to do, I think we accomplished that,” he said. “For 30 minutes, I thought we played really, really, really fun basketball, really good basketball.” 

The rebuilding Beavers did have something that UConn hadn’t seen yet this season: Size. Sela Heide (6-7) and Kelsey Rees (6-5) gave the Huskies’ low-post duo of Ice Brady (6-3) and Jana El Alfy (6-5) its first real test of the season. 

Defensively, UConn knew it didn’t match up well in the paint against Oregon State’s bigs, so it tried to make it difficult for them to get down low in the first place. 

“We can't get taller,” El Alfy said. 

The pair proved to be up for the task. Rees had 10 points but hit two 3-pointers and scored her other four points late in the fourth quarter. Heide had just four points off a couple jumpers. As a team, the Beavers finished with just 18 points in the paint. 

“I think we did a pretty good job,” Auriemma said of his bigs. “The game plan was to try to be in good position from the beginning so that we weren't trying to play catch up and then get there late. We tried really hard not to let them catch it deep.” 

“We had a hard time getting deep position the whole game. I mean, they did a nice job beating us to spots,” OSU coach Scott Rueck added. “It was difficult to get positioned, bottom line. They did a really nice job keeping us away from the rim.” 

El Alfy’s progression

Not only did El Alfy do her job defensively, she also reached double-figures for just the second time in her career with 12 points on 6-11 shooting. The redshirt freshman didn’t exclusively bully her way inside, either. She showed off a mid-range game by knocking down a couple jumpers. Prior to Monday, every basket she’d scored came inside the paint. 

Though El Alfy still has plenty of work to do — she finished with just two rebounds — Auriemma is happy with her progress to this point. 

“She's a little bit calmer. She wasn't as much of a hurry. I think the pace that she played at was better,” he said. “Her self control and not getting herself in bad foul situations was better. We have to constantly work on finishing, her balance — young player problems that get fixed over time. We're trying to be in a hurry about it but it's just going to take a little bit of time.” 

Fudd for three

For the second straight game, Azzi Fudd hit an important milestone in her journey back from a torn ACL. Last week, she played in her first game since the injury. On Monday, she followed it up by hitting her first 3-pointer since coming back. 

It hasn’t been for a lack of trying, either. Fudd put up three triples in just 12 minutes against Fairleigh Dickinson and started 0-4 in The Bahamas. 

Finally, on her fifth and final attempt of the night, she drilled a lightning-quick catch-and-shoot from the wing. Paige Bueckers — who else? — had the assist.

“We've been trying to get her a three for the past two games. It's more for her. Great for her to see the ball go in. We keep telling her, keep shooting, keep shooting,” Bueckers said. “It was really good to see that first one go in.” 

The Huskies expect plenty more to follow, even if it’s not immediately. 

“It's coming, but she's just saving them up,” Bueckers said. 

“Little by little, you know, she'll find her way. I think we can be patient as long as we know she's on the right track,” Auriemma said.

Passing prowess

Of the 28 baskets that UConn scored against Oregon State, 25 were set up with an assist. At 89.3 percent, that’s the Huskies’ highest assist rate in a single game since the second round of the NCAA Tournament… in 2017. In that contest, they assisted on 30 of 33 buckets in a 94-64 rout of Syracuse. 

Everyone helped out, too. Bueckers led the team with six assists while Fudd set a career-high with five. KK Arnold also had five, Ashlynn Shade had three, Sarah Strong and Brady both had two while Kaitlyn Chen and Morgan Cheli chipped in one apiece. 

It was vintage UConn basketball. 

“This is the way UConn has always played: Assisting, being selfless, passing up good for great. No one's bigger than the team,” Bueckers said. 

“We're fortunate enough to have unselfish players who like to play that way and that's the way we've always coached at Connecticut,” Auriemma said. “We happen to have a team that enjoys playing that way.”