UConn's Edwards named Big East Freshman of the Week

The Day, New London, Conn.
·2 min read

Mar. 2—STORRS — UConn's Aaliyah Edwards as named Big East Freshman of the Week in women's basketball on Tuesday after helping the No. 1 Huskies finish the regular season with three more wins.

The 6-foot-3 Edwards averaged 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds, shooting an impressive 83 percent from the field in victories over Creighton, Butler and Marquette.

She had career highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds a win over Butler and followed that up with 16 points and eight rebounds in UConn's 63-53 victory over Marquette in the regular-season finale.

Also Tuesday, fellow freshman Paige Bueckers was named one of 11 semifinalists for the 2021 Naismith Trophy which is presented annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the nation's top player.

The point guard led UConn to a 21-1 regular season by leading the Huskies in scoring (19.8), assists (6.2) and steals (2.4) per game while ranking fifth nationally with a 47.6 3-point field goal shooting percentage.

Bueckers broke UConn's single-game record for assists (14) in a win over Butler on Feb. 27 and holds the single-season assist record for a UConn freshman with 131 in just 21 games (she missed one game with an ankle injury).

The other semifinalists are South Carolina sophomore forward Aliyah Boston, Iowa freshman guard Caitlin Clark, Texas junior center Charli Collier, N.C. State junior center Elissa Cunane, Louisville senior guard Dana Evans, Michigan junior forward Naz Hillmon, Kentucky junior guard Rhyne Howard, Arizona senior guard Aari McDonald, UCLA senior forward Michaela Onyenwere and Baylor junior forward NaLyssa Smith.

The award will be presented during the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.

UConn, meanwhile, begins Big East tournament play on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena with a quarterfinal game at noon. The top-seeded Huskies will play the winner of Friday's first-round game between No. 8 St. John's and No. 9 Xavier.

The semifinals will be held on Sunday at 3 and 6 p.m. with the championship game scheduled for Monday, March 8, at 8 p.m.

Big East officials also announced that with approval from the Mohegan Tribal Health Department, a limited number of tickets will be provided to each of the participating teams. All tickets will be specifically designated for use by the members of each school's official travel party to permit families and guests of student-athletes, coaches, and team staffs to attend games.

There will be no public sale of tickets to this year's tournament.