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Former Husky Aaliyah Edwards on the court in her graduation regalia. Edwards is set to be inducted into the Huskies of Honor. Photo courtesy of UConn\u2019s Women\u2019s Basketball on Facebook<\/p>\nFormer Husky Aaliyah Edwards on the court in her graduation regalia. Edwards is set to be inducted into the Huskies of Honor. Photo courtesy of UConn\u2019s Women\u2019s Basketball on Facebook<\/p>\n
Picture this\u2026it\u2019s\u00a0Spring 2024.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0your senior year for the UConn women\u2019s basketball program, and you just led your team to the Final Four, with only eight players healthy\/available.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0picturing was Aaliyah Edwards\u2019 reality, who led her team to the Final Four against the Iowa Hawkeyes, alongside her teammates Paige Bueckers and Nika M\u00fchl.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat group that came, Paige [Bueckers], Nika [M\u00fchl], Aaliyah [Edwards], obviously, they had a huge impact as a group, and they all\u00a0kinda\u00a0did it, together sometimes, individually sometimes,\u201d Head coach Geno Auriemma stated to the media Tuesday afternoon, \u201cI thought that NCAA tournament in the bubble, I thought Aaliyah [Edwards] may have been one of the top five players in the entire tournament.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, just two years later, Edwards is being inducted into the Huskies of Honor. A plaque\u00a0alongside the best in the program, to etch her name in the walls of history at Gampel Pavilion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In her time as a UConn Husky,\u00a0the Kingston, Ontario native totaled\u00a01,861 points and 1,020 rebounds, ranking No. 16 in the program for total career points and No. 8 for total career rebounds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes careers go smoothly;\u00a0sometimes\u00a0it\u2019s rocky, she [Edwards]\u00a0managed to make the best out of a very difficult situation,\u201d\u00a0Auriemma said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Edwards was drafted No. 6 overall in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics and currently plays for the Connecticut Sun. In addition, Edwards\u00a0participates\u00a0in\u00a0Breanna Stewart and\u00a0Napheesa\u00a0Collier\u2019s Unrivaled\u00a0League, playing for\u00a0the Lunar Owls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ahead of the current top-ranked UConn\u2019s (21-0, 11-0) conference matchup versus Xavier\u00a0(10-10, 3-8), Edwards will be honored in a pre-game ceremony that will occur 30 minutes before tip-off. The ceremony will be streamed on the UConn women\u2019s basketball X and Facebook accounts, as well as the UConn Huskies\u2019 YouTube channel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Huskies are coming off a 92-52 win over the Seton Hall\u00a0Pirates\u00a0Saturday afternoon,\u00a0where\u00a0multiple players racked up double-digit performances, including Sarah Strong and Blanca Qui\u00f1onez.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Big East announced this week that both Strong and Qui\u00f1onez were the Big East Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This week marks the seventh time Qui\u00f1onez has\u00a0been awarded Freshman of the Week and was integral in the Huskies\u2019 win over Seton Hall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Husky of Honor Wall located in Gampel Pavilion. The program began in the 2006-07 season and pays tribute to top athletes, coaches and contributors. Photo courtesy of @uconnwbb on Instagram<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving someone like her on the floor who can score at any time and\u00a0then\u00a0makes great passes as well, it makes it so hard on the defense\u00a0and really opens it up for everyone else.\u201d\u00a0Graduate guard Azzi Fudd said<\/a>\u00a0to the media after the Seton Hall game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As the Huskies make their way towards February and eventually, March,\u00a0Strong and Qui\u00f1onez will be a force to be\u00a0reckoned with\u00a0against opponents. Both forwards have proven this season\u00a0that they can change the\u00a0tide of any game, should their squad struggle at any point.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n After South Carolina defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday, UConn\u00a0remains\u00a0the only undefeated team in women\u2019s college basketball, with a 21-0 record. The last time the Huskies achieved an undefeated season was in 2015-2016, when the Huskies won their fourth consecutive National Championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n In terms of the Xavier Musketeers,\u00a0the Huskies should keep an eye on guard Mariyah Noel, who has been averaging 16.1 points per game in her junior year campaign.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Noel is coming off a 20-point performance over the Georgetown\u00a0Hoyas, where the Musketeers lost 65-52.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Musketeers and UConn have faced once so far this season, in Ohio on Nov. 30. The Huskies took the win 104-39, and\u00a0Strong and junior Ashlynn Shade led the team with a matching points total of 14.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. If Husky fans are unable to\u00a0attend in person at\u00a0Gampel Pavilion, they can tune in to this conference matchup on Peacock.<\/p>\n