UConn women’s basketball injury update: No. 9 Huskies expect to have some key players back against Florida State
UConn women’s basketball fans can breathe a sigh of relief. There’s some good news on the injury front.
After being forced to play with just seven players in a loss at No. 15 Maryland Sunday, the No. 9 Huskies (7-2) will get some key players back for a matchup against Florida State (11-1) in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase this Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Point guard Nika Mühl, who sat out last game after suffering a concussion in the third quarter of a win over Princeton last Thursday, is “good to go” for Sunday, head coach Geno Auriemma said after practice Friday. Dorka Juhász, who has sat out seven consecutive games after breaking her left thumb in a win over Texas on Nov. 14, is “planning to go,” Auriemma said.
Mühl, the nation’s assist leader with 9.8 per game, was a full participant in practice for the first time on Friday. She took part in drills here and there earlier in the week, Auriemma said. Having her back will certainly help UConn clean up the turnover issues its had without its primary ball handler in recent games, committing 49 turnovers over the last two. Freshman Inês Bettencourt took her place in the starting lineup against the Terps.
“I think having somebody like Nika back is going to help in every area,” Auriemma said. “It’s going to help our defense, it’s going to help our transition game, it’s going to help our ball handling, and I think that’s evident. That’ll take care of majority of those issues. The other part is hopefully a byproduct of that, the players who are in uncomfortable situations right now can get back to their comfort spots. So little by little that will get taken care of.”
In addition to her impressive assist numbers, Mühl is averaging 5.4 points, 3 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game for the Huskies this season. She took over the starting point guard role for Paige Bueckers, who tore the ACL in her left knee in early August.
As for Juhász, Auriemma said “we’re getting close.” The team will know more about her status after she goes through a workout on Saturday. She participated, still with a splint on her thumb, in the short portion of practice open to media on Friday.
Juhász played in two games for UConn this season before sustaining the injury, averaging 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2 steals.
“Obviously both of them (Nika and Dorka) have such huge roles and such huge voices, so I think just having everyone kind of get back to what they do and having everyone back healthy, it’s huge to have them back,” Caroline Ducharme said Friday. “Just on and off the court it makes a big difference for us.”
Star guard Azzi Fudd remains out with a right knee injury suffered at Notre Dame on Dec. 4. At the time the injury was announced, the program said Fudd was expected to be out three to six weeks.
