Carl Adamec: No questioning UConn's toughness

Nov. 21—STORRS — With the adversity the UConn women's basketball team has already faced three games into the regular season, the Huskies could have fallen apart.

They lost the nation's best player in Paige Bueckers and one of the nation's top recruits in Ice Brady with season-ending injuries before it began. Guard Caroline Ducharme has dealt with neck stiffness and is struggling to work her way back to form and just on Friday it was announced that center Dorka Juhász would miss at least three games with a broken left thumb.

Then on Sunday just minutes before the start of No. 5 UConn's showdown with 10th-ranked North Carolina State at the XL Center, associate head coach Chris Dailey felt faint and collapsed. After being treated she was taken to UConn Health in Farmington for evaluation.

Seriously, what can happen next? Maybe we don't want to know.

Here's what we do know. The Huskies find a way to persevere. They may play teams that are better than them as the season moves on but no one will be tougher.

UConn responded Sunday by pounding the Wolfpack 91-69 to improve to 3-0.

"We're just used to it," UConn guard Nika Mühl said. "We know how to deal with it, and we've just gotten so mentally tough. Not just the players, but the coaches, too. It's hard when you have everything planned and you're working to the best of our ability and stuff like this happens where you have no control over it. But we're like, 'We got this. Regroup and figure it out. We have what we have and we're going to win with it.' "

UConn's starting five combined to play 175 of the 200 minutes and all played key roles. The Huskies never trailed.

Guard Azzi Fudd matched her career high with 32 points, 22 in the first half. Forward Aaliyah Edwards had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds and stayed out of foul trouble. Guard Lou Lopez Sénéchal netted all 20 of her points in the second half when UConn blew it wide open. Forward Aubrey Griffin replaced Juhász in the lineup and in her first start in 22 months contributed 16 points, six rebounds, and six steals.

Then there was Mühl, who set a school single-game record with 15 assists, breaking Bueckers' mark of 14.

"You can't predict this," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "You can't predict this kind of score. When Paige, Ice, and Dorka walked into the locker room, I said to the coaches, 'I bet you that is 40 points and 20 rebounds, minimum that just walked through the door that isn't playing tonight. It is probably the only place in America where everyone says that's not a problem. You guys are going to win by a lot.' I told the players, 'This is the only place in America where people actually talk like that.' I think they take that to heart."

And, right now, there's no question who the heart and soul of the team.

Mühl was in tears as she looked over at where Dailey was being worked on.

By the time the game began, the junior guard was laser-focused.

"Those two fight like cats and dogs every day, and she is the most emotional kid, too," Auriemma said. "There is something about that kid that is infectious. Everything she does, she does it with her heart. She doesn't ever back down to anybody. She doesn't know any other way than the way she plays."

She had five assists in the third quarter when the lead went five to 19 and the record watch was on. The record-tying assist came on an Edwards layup with 3:17 left with the record-break being recorded when Lopez Sénéchal took a pass from Mühl in the corner with 1:19 to go and buried a 3-pointer.

Fifteen seconds later she came out for the first and only time and was greeted warmly by classmate Bueckers.

"When I came off, I didn't know," Mühl said. "Paige told me I broke the UConn record. I was like, 'Oh, didn't you hold the UConn record? So I broke your record!' That was what I was happy about the most."

Led by Edwards, UConn won the battle of the boards 36-35 and held an 18-13 edge in second-chance points.

It was her second double-double in three games after none last year.

"I just came out with that competitiveness, because I knew we were down without Dorka," Edwards said. "I needed to play well for the team."

Griffin played 32 minutes in her first start since Jan. 31, 2021, at DePaul.

She energized the building in her third straight solid performance to start the year. Her best moment came in the first quarter when back-to-back steals led to layups that had the crowd roaring.

"Making a play on the defensive end just boosts my offensive end," Griffin said.

Even with Fudd's big first half, UConn was only up by five at the break.

After a first half of no points, no rebounds, and no assists, Lopez Sénéchal was 7-for-13 shooting in the second half in torching the Wolfpack defense.

"We were coming out of halftime and Jamelle said, 'We need to find another scorer,' " Auriemma said. "We needed to get another scorer on the perimeter. Somebody had to emerge and Lou did."

Next for UConn is the Phil Knight Legacy and a meeting with coach Kara Lawson and Duke in the first round Friday.

What will happen next? The Huskies hope it's just a happy Thanksgiving.

"Having guys out, having adversity, it gives me energy and motivation," Mühl said. "There's still a long way to go and a lot to learn, but I feel like we're in a good place right now."

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Carl Adamec is a Journal Inquirer staff writer. He has covered the UConn women's basketball team for 34 years.

For coverage of all sports in the JI's 18-town coverage area, plus updates on the UConn women's basketball team and head coach Geno Auriemma, follow Carl Adamec on Twitter: @CarlAdamec, Facebook: Carl Adamec, and Instagram: @CarlAdamec.