Friday, February 19, 2021 • DailyCampus.com 12

Men’s Basketball: Huskies head to No. 10 Villanova by Jorge Eckardt ranks third in the league and STAFF WRITER 38.2% from 3, which ranks first. [email protected] The Huskies are shooting 43.4% from the field and 35.5% from After a commanding win over 3, and rank seventh and fifth in Providence on Tuesday, the UCo- those areas, respectively. nn men’s basketball team is head- Sophomore forward Jeremiah ed down to Pennsylvania to take Robinson-Earl leads the charge, Villanova in the two schools’ averaging 15.6 points per game long-awaited first matchup of the this season on 50% shooting season. from the field and 32.1% shooting UConn (10-5, 7-5 Big East) has from 3. He’s also the team’s best had a bit of a roller coaster of a rebounder, as his 7.3 boards per season so far, largely due to in- game also lead the Wildcats. juries to multiple key pieces. In Senior point guard Collin Gilles- fact, it’s actually worked out re- pie is right behind him, averag- ally well for UConn from a com- ing 14.1 points per game on 41.2% petitive standpoint that their shooting from the field and 37.6% first two matchups vs. Villanova from 3. Gillespie is the team’s pri- were postponed, because they mary distributor, leading the team would have been without James with 5.1 dimes a game, a mark that Bouknight and Andre Jackson is second in the conference only to for both of them. Now, though, Xavier’s Paul Scruggs. the team is relatively back to full Sophomore guard Justin Moore strength, so the Huskies will get is second in the assists depart- to run out their best possible ment with about 3.2 per game and lineup. third in scoring with 13.4 points Villanova (13-3, 8-2 Big East) is per game. He does so on 43.3% doing its usual thing, pacing the shooting from the field and 33.7% Big East and remaining one of from 3. the best teams in college basket- Senior forward Jermaine Samu- ball. They are, however, actually els is fourth in the scoring depart- coming off of a loss, but it was ment with 11.4 points per game, to Creighton, the team in second doing so shooting a clean 50% place in the Big East, so it’s not from the field and grabbing 6.4 totally crazy that happened. One boards, the second most on the interesting note though is that team. While he’s taken the fewest Villanova hasn’t lost back-to-back amount of 3s of the starting five conference games in over a cal- this season, he’s hit them at the endar year, so UConn is going to James Bouknight makes a pass during a home game in May of 2020. Bouknight and the Huskies will head highest clip, shooting 46.2% from have its work cut out for them if down to face the No. 10 ranked Villanova Wildcats on Saturday. PHOTO BY MAGGIE CHAFOULEAS, ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR/THE behind the arc. they want to break that streak. DAILY CAMPUS Redshirt junior guard Caleb The Wildcats aren’t a partic- in the conference — and no one gory, lead the conference on a per and all five starters are averaging Daniels rounds out the starting ularly tall team, with no one on on their roster is even in double game basis by over a block a game. over 10 points per game. They sit five, averaging 10.9 points per their roster standing taller than digits. For comparison, the Hus- However, what Nova lacks in at third in the conference with game on a really solid 45.7% from 6-foot-9, and only two of them kies have six players on their ros- height they make up for in scoring. 78.6 points per game as opposed the field and 43.1% from 3. have gotten minutes. They also ter who are 6-foot-9 or taller, and The Wildcats are led by a starting to UConn’s 71.3 which ranks sev- Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m., have a combined 25 blocks on the Isaiah Whaley by himself has 44 lineup that has stayed consistent enth. They’re also efficient, shoot- and the game can be watched on season — a mark that is dead last blocks. The Huskies, in that cate- for 15 out of 16 games this season, ing 46.1% from the field which FOX. MHOC Preview: UConn set Women’s Basketball to face BU this weekend UCONN LOOKING TO by David Sandoval STAY HOT DURING HOME STAFF WRITER [email protected] STRETCH AS THEY UConn looks to turn things around in their weekend matchup against TRAVEL TO FACE XAVIER No. 11 Boston University after their by Benjamin Berg her hot scoring stretch against heavy 4-0 defeat against Providence, STAFF WRITER Xavier and has a good chance to ending their three-game win streak. [email protected] do so. The icebus will make one last stop on UConn’s leading scorer, fresh- the road on Friday before returning man guard Paige Bueckers (21.1 to the Freitas Ice Forum for Satur- Saturday, Feb. 20, the No. 1 points-per-game) is also in day’s rematch. ranked UConn Huskies (17-1, 14-0 the midst of a prolific scoring According to head coach Mike Ca- Big East) will travel to Ohio to stretch. Bueckers has scored at vanaugh, he acknowledges that the take on the Xavier Musketeers (4- least 19 points in eight straight Huskies (8-8-2) will have to put out a 6, 1-5 Big East) in the first of their contests, shooting an incredible valiant eff ort against BU (8-2). final four games of the season. 60% (27/45) from 3-point range. “It’s gonna be a tremendous chal- The only previous meeting Against Xavier, Bueckers previ- lenge for our team this weekend,” Ca- between UConn and Xavier re- ously scored 19 points with nine vanaugh said. “They’ve been playing sulted in a 106-59 victory for the assists in the win. great hockey, taking series from Bos- UConn beats UNH 7-4 in the Xl Center on Feb. 1, 2020. The Huskies will host the Boston University Terriers this weekend. PHOTO BY KEVIN LINDSTROM, Huskies earlier this season. UCo- Defensively, UConn’s top prior- ton College and UMass … They’ve PHOTO EDITOR/THE DAILY CAMPUS nn has won seven straight games ity will be to slow down redshirt been very consistent. They’re gonna while the Musketeers find them- freshman Nia Clark, who’s aver- be certainly a formidable opponent, as O’Brien will be fresh off a hat-trick between the goal, Vladislav Firstov selves on a three-game losing aging 14 points-per-game on 44% and we’re gonna have to be on top of in the same game, Kaufman assisting is certain to miss out in the week- streak. 3-point shooting. Xavier is averag- our game, for sure.” two of the goals. end series, Cavanaugh confi rmed, Following a two-game stretch ing an impressive 66.9 points-per- Looking at the opponents, the Ter- As for the Huskies, they’re only following a knock he picked up in during which she scored only game for the season, but luckily riers currently sit in the No. 2 spot in two places underneath the Terriers last week’s game. Another player he six total points, junior guard for UConn, they are in the midst of the Hockey East Power Index. Host- in the Hockey East Power Index, but doesn’t expect to go on the ice this Christyn Williams has scored a a brilliant defensive stretch. In the ing the Huskies at the Walter Brown with a 6.08 HEPI diff erence between weekend is Hudson Schandor, but combined 40 points in her past past three games, the Huskies are Arena, BU look to keep their three- the two schools. Aside from Jonny Cavanaugh said it will be a “game day two games while playing excel- allowing an average of 40 points- game win streak, their most recent Evans continuing his form, leading decision” if the freshman forward is lent defense. The last time these per-game and haven’t allowed an victory being 5-1 against Vermont. the team with 12 goals and 10 assists fi t enough to play. two teams met, Williams led all opponent to score 60 points since Sophomore and graduate forwards and leading with 22 points this sea- Both games will start at 4 p.m. on players with 24 points and hit a Feb. 3 against St. John’s. Jay O’Brien and Max Kaufman, re- son, and the commendable eff orts Friday. The game can be heard on season-high four 3-pointers. Wil- The game will begin at 3 p.m. spectively, will be players that UCo- of Jachym Kondelik with 16 assists ESPN 97.9 FM, and Saturday’s home liams will be looking to extend Eastern. nn’s defense will want to look out for, and Tomas Vomacka being a wall match will be televised on CW20.

UCONN SCOREBOARD UPCOMING GAMES Benjamin Berg @bergywergy3030 Men’s basketball vs. BREAKING: the New York Yankees Saturday Men’s Hockey, Sunday, 4 p.m. and OF Jacoby Ellsbury have come to an Freitas Ice Forum agreement on a 7 year contract extension worth double his previous annual salary. Sides came together quickly despite Ells- vs. vs. bury literally telling New York they were “making a mistake.” TWEETS OF THE DAY TWEETS Softball, Friday, 11 a.m. @uconnwsoc Fort Myers, FL OF THE DAY INSTAGRAM Hyped because the wait is almost over Follow The Daily Campus @dcsportsdept Friday, February 19, 2021 • DailyCampus.com 11 Sports Baseball: Huskies set to open season with series against No. 5 Virginia by Conner Gilson their shortened season, highlight- ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR ed by Zack Gelof. The sophomore [email protected] heavy-hitter tallied 22 hits, a team- high six doubles and five home runs, and 18 RBIs on the year. There is tal- ent up and down the lineup that will After a red-hot start to 2020 that force UConn to stay on top of their was cut short due to COVID-19, game in each at-bat. UConn baseball is finally back as the Pitching has been the downfall of Huskies travel to Virginia to face off these Virginia teams in recent years, against the Cavaliers for their open- but they seem to have finally found a ing series. Head coach Jim Penders solution in Andrew Abbott and Griff can’t wait for his team to get back into McGarry. action. After going undrafted in the 2020 “I have never looked forward MLB draft due to a high asking price, to a season as much as I’ve looked Abbott is back for another year. In forward to this one,” Penders said nine appearances (mainly in relief) on a Zoom call with the media on for the Cavaliers, the junior went 3-0 Wednesday. “It’s been the longest off- and looked dominant, boasting a 1.35 season of my life. For most of us, not ERA and striking out 18 batters in playing a game since mid-March, it’s 13.1 innings. Abbott may transition to been difficult. That lack of competi- a starting role this season and pitch tion has been a strain along with a lot close to 100 innings, making him a of other things with regard to COVID name to watch in Virginia’s rotation. and our current situation. We’re just UConn Baseball takes home a 9-1 win against Central Connecticut State University on April 30, 2019. Kyler McGarry meanwhile, is the ace chomping at the bit to get going and Fedko (pictured above) and the Huskies kick off their season this weekend. PHOTO BY BRANDON BARZOLA, GRAB PHOTOG- from last season who also went 3-0 see a different uniform.” RAPHER/THE DAILY CAMPUS in his four appearances, putting to- UConn heads into 2021 with some together and doing our thing and just led the team with 16 RBIs and junior so mad … I’m really glad that I don’t gether an impressive 1.35 ERA and lofty expectations, entering as the doing what we know best. It’s not re- Erik Stock who put together an ab- have to face him again.” striking out 31 batters though 20 in- preseason favorite to win the Big East ally pressure coming into a new con- surd .484/.556/.581 line in nine ap- Matching up against a tough op- nings. He also tallied 19 walks on the Conference in their first year back ference and being a favorite. It’s just pearances. ponent in Virginia this weekend season, something the Huskies’ sav- after earning five of eight first place doing what we know how to do and On the mound, Ben Casparius will though, all facets of this UConn team vy lineup can pick up on early. votes. Four Huskies also earned indi- everyone doing their job.” finally get to play in a Huskies uni- are going to have to be firing on all This series will be a through one to vidual preseason honors, with Kyler The younger of the Fedko brothers form after transferring from North cylinders if they want to repeat their start the year for UConn, but Penders Fedko selected as the Big East Pre- is UConn’s best bat, slashing an im- Carolina last season. The junior from early success from last year. says this is the competition they must season Co-Player of the Year while pressive .412/.434/.627 line and lead- Westport, CT will step in as the Hus- The Cavaliers are returning sever- face if they hope to go somewhere Christain Fedko, Reggie Crawford ing the team in hits (21), runs scored kies ace and is the No. 1 prospect in al key players from 2020 that should come postseason. and Caleb Wurster were all placed on (12) and homers (2) in his 13 appear- the Big East according to D1 baseball. allow the team to compete in an in- “Ultimately, we want to win a na- the Preseason All-Big East Team. ances last season. He ended the year com. And in the matchup between credibly deep Atlantic Coastal Con- tional championship,” Penders said. But for Fedko, who shares the on a six-game hit streak and will look the Huskies’ top-hitter and ace pitch- ference. Virginia sat at 14-4 before last “In order to be the best, you have to Player of the Year honor with Tyler to carry that momentum into the new er, it seems Casparius has the edge season was cut short, and with these beat the best … They expect to win, Shedler-McAvoy of Seton Hall, this year with a tough first matchup. early. pieces back are once again NCAA no matter who we’re playing.” season isn’t about the individual ac- Behind the sophomore, UConn “I always have to face him at 8 or tournament hopefuls. This weekend series kicks off a 17- colades, but what they can do as a has plenty of other pieces contribut- 9 in the morning, 30 minutes after UVA’s best hitter is second-year game road stretch for the Huskies, team. ing to their offensive firepower. Cap- waking up with an energy drink freshman Chris Newell, who slashed with games set for Friday and Satur- “With all these awards coming tain Chris Winkle is back for a fifth popped and minimal food,” Fedko a .407/.545/.729 line, adding 24 hits, day at 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively, out, it’s easy to lose sight of the team year after slashing .348/.404/.457 said. “It is the worst experience ... He a team-best 20 RBIs and four hom- before it wraps up with a Sunday and bonds that we have as a commu- last season, as well as Freshman probably has struck me out 10 out ers in 18 starts. Behind Newell, game at 1 p.m. All three games can be nity,” Fedko said. “It’s more staying All-American Reggie Crawford who of the last 12 at-bats. He makes me seven other batters hit over .300 in watched through the ACC Network. Softball: Huskies look to showcase talent at FGCU invitational by Cole Stefan CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT [email protected]

After a weekend invitational washed away by torrential rain, the UConn Huskies will look to play a full series in Fort Myers, Florida this weekend. This will be the third time in four years that the Huskies travel down in February to Fort Myers with the exception being in 2019. Second-year head coach Laura Valentino will look to continue the momentum that was set last season into this season as the Huskies look to build off last season’s 16-5 record, their best start since 1993. The team has many talents available at any positions from graduate students to a hefty freshman class. Leading the charge is an experi- enced group of upperclassmen that could make this team dangerous for years to come. Senior Reese Gue- varra had a solid day at the plate last weekend while juniors Aziah James and Sami Barnett (redshirt) brought the power and the speed. Two impressive hitters who should continue to rake this week- After 11 innings, UConn women’s softball clenched a 2-1 win at home against the Quinnipiac Bobcats on April 30, 2019. Reese Guevarra (pictured end are seniors Olivia Sappington above) and the Huskies kick off their season this weekend. PHOTO BY MAGGIE CHAFOULEAS, ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR/THE DAILY CAMPUS and Brianna Marcelino, both of whom hit close to .350 last year pri- The Huskies also have help in son on the mound. all-time series 6-1, but the Huskies games. Sophomore Jordyn Gen- or to the cancellation of the season. freshman Payton Kinney, who This will be their first action of look to chop that lead down to size dron bats .286 but is tied for the The underclassmen should not should pitch the third game of the the season and their ninth game this weekend. homerun lead with Bauman. go unnoticed though as sophomore weekend, and if she performs well, all-time against UConn. Northern Finally, the host Florida Gulf One thing to note here, the Eagles Meghan O’Neill had a good day on the Huskies will have a strong Illinois leads the all-time series 5-3, Coast Eagles look to get stron- lead the all-time series 7-1 with the the mound on Friday, surrender- pitching tandem that will dominate but UConn will look to inch closer ger after a solid 19-8 finish last Huskies hoping to cut that deficit to ing four runs (three earned) on six opposing hitters. with a win this weekend. season. The Eagles (1-3) played a 7-3 after the weekend. hits, and freshman Jana Sanden The opponents, almost like last Then there’s Florida Internation- four-game set against the No. 24 The Huskies will play the North- knocked in a critical run to split the weekend, are formidable. None of al. The Golden Panthers (3-0) swept UCF Golden Knights (formerly ern Illinois Huskies, Florida Inter- lead against Ohio in half. them are ranked, but they should Florida Atlantic and Winthrop last No. 21), picking up their lone win national Golden Panthers and host Although none of these numbers not be counted out of the picture weekend and have a hot bat in ju- via a Taylor Bauman three-run Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in five will be in the record books, this was just yet. nior Vanessa Gallegos, who hit .700 home run in the third game of the games over three days. a good test to observe some of the Northern Illinois went 7-15 last with a home run and picked up 10 series. The Huskies will play Northern future talent the Huskies have to season, but some key players re- RBIs. Behind her is senior Tori Bauman is mainly a pitcher, but Illinois once at noon on Friday, offer. turning are Danielle Williams, Jones, who batted .667 over the past in the one game she did pitch in, she then play Florida International at While O’Neill started the first a junior who hit .417 last season, weekend. picked up a complete game and lim- 2:15 p.m. on Friday and 4:15 p.m. on game of the season, the Huskies and Bianca Barone, who led the Their ace is junior Kendahl Dun- ited the Knights to two runs. The Saturday, followed by Florida Gulf have an ace in Marybeth Olson, team with 12 runs batted in. They ford, who won both of her games senior’s performance against the Coast on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. fol- a senior whose 10 wins last sea- also bring back junior Katie Keller, and has an ERA of 1.27. The Golden Knights garnered her A-Sun player lowed by an 11:30 a.m. first pitch on son were extremely impressive as whose .394 batting average was Panthers also have options in Kallie of the week honors. Sunday. she accounted for over 60% of the second on the team. Sophomore Jones and Brooklynn Linemann, At the plate, the Eagles are led Live streams will be available for team’s total wins and struck out 80 Delaney Ostrowski, junior Amber both of whom have one win com- by senior Hope Hernandez and games against Florida Gulf Coast batters. Look for those two to take Bumbalough and sophomore Sam bined. redshirt junior Farley Callaghan, only. They can be accessed via their the mound to kick off the weekend. Mallinder all had two wins last sea- Florida International leads the both of whom batted .333 over four YouTube channel. 10 Friday, February 19, 2021 • DailyCampus.com Sports

Photo of the Day | Stay focused

Sophomore Lia Laprise attempts a pass during the women’s lacrosse game against UMass Lowell on Feb. 21, 2020. PHOTO BY MAGGIE CHAFOULEAS, ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR/THE DAILY CAMPUS Women’s hockey powers towards playoffs by Karthik Iyer STAFF WRITER [email protected]

With Friday’s game at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia canceled due to inclement weather, the UConn field hockey team lies in wait prepar- ing for Sunday’s home game against the University of New Hampshire. UConn is looking to carry over the momentum from their big 5-0 win against Hofstra in the season opener and continue their strong start to the season. Last season, the UNH Wildcats averaged 1.83 goals per game on 12 shots with an on-goal shot percentage of 58.3%. In comparison, the Huskies averaged 5.0 goals per game on 23 shots with an on-goal shot percentage of 65.2%. This game should be a solid tune-up match for the Huskies who will need all their offensive firepower to be successful later in the season. Defensive discipline and sound offen- sive execution will be the key to limit the Wildcats’ goal-scoring opportuni- ties. The season opener proved that the UConn women still have a solid The UConn field hockey team shutout Providence 3-0 at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex on Oct. 11, 2019. The Huskies host UNH this roster with veteran leadership and a weekend. PHOTO BY SOFIA SAWCHUK, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER/THE DAILY CAMPUS host of talented new faces. These new team members include a UConn field hockey program that big confidence boosting win. be creating many shot opportunities riences for the younger players so Erin Daly from Yorktown/Lakeland, emphasizes winning culture and A bored goalie is a sign of a stout and controlling the time of posses- they can contribute with the veterans New York; Claire Van Den Noort playing sound fundamental field defense. Junior goalie Cheyenne sion. One of the telling losses last when games get tough and adversity from Baricum, Netherlands; Morgan hockey. Kourtney Kennedy, senior Spencer only had to make one save in season against Maryland occurred rises against the other big conference Kaufman from West Lawn, Pennsyl- back for the Huskies and Big East the season debut. This level of team due to UConn being outshot in cre- threats. vania; Aiyi Young from Palm, Penn- defensive player of the week, was a cohesion, crisp passing and overall ating chances on goal by a margin Make sure to tune in on Husky sylvania, Anna Horan from Limer- force against Hofstra as she racked up team chemistry will be instrumental of 10 shots on goal to three in favor Live to support the women’s field ick, Ireland and Ana Carney from two goals and an assist in the winning in racking up another potential win of Maryland. While this can be seen hockey team in their quest to start the Woodbridge, Connecticut. effort. Her defensive prowess also on the Huskies’ home turf. as an aberration, these games early 2020-21 season 2-0 at 1 p.m. on Sun- These freshmen are coming into served to anchor the Huskies in the A big key to the game will simply in the season pose as learning expe- day, Feb. 21. Women’s Lacrosse Preview: UConn opens its season against Hofstra by Evan Rodriguez Poll and will look to prove the CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT doubters wrong in this matchup. [email protected] Coached by 11th year head coach Katie Woods, the team is led by After an unexpected delay to an midfielder Sydney Watson and at- anticipated women’s lacrosse sea- tacker Lia LaPrise, who were both son, the UConn Huskies are set to named to the Preseason All-Big start their season on the road Sat- East team. Watson, the top goal urday against Hofstra at 1 p.m. Due scorer for the Huskies, returns to travel restrictions to the Central this season after collecting 27 Connecticut Blue Devils, the Hus- goals and a team-leading 49 draw kies were unable to kick off their controls. She will be essential to season Wednesday and are now the Huskies’ success this season. forced to begin their season against Lia LaPrise, who led the Huskies a difficult Hofstra team. in scoring in 2020, will look to Led by head coach Shannon replicate her success this year in Smith, Hofstra is coming off a the Big East after a season perfor- close 10-9 win in their season mance that saw her place fifth in opener against Saint Joseph’s the country in assists and ninth in University on Wednesday. In that points per game. This game is also game, Hofstra had two hat tricks the debut for new assistant coach from Alyssa Parella and Grace Kiley Anderson, who is coming Langella and two goals from Ari- to UConn after her tenure as a ana Esposito. The team’s defense volunteer assistant coach at Yale looked great in that game and University. should prove a challenge to the This game is the first matchup Huskies in this upcoming match- between UConn and Hofstra since up. March 3, 2009, when Hofstra For the Huskies, they come topped UConn 12-8. The Huskies into this game ranked fourth in are looking forward to changing The Huskies win against UMass Lowell 20-14 on Friday, Feb. 23, 2020. Sydney Watson (pictured above) and the Huskies kick off their season this weekend. PHOTO BY MAGGIE CHAFOULEAS, ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR/THE DAILY CAMPUS the Big East Preseason Coaches’ that narrative in this matchup. Friday, February 19, 2021 • DailyCampus.com 09 Sports UConn Women’s Soccer Preview: Huskies open their season against Rhode Island in the program’s return to the Big East by Sebastian Garay-Ortega STAFF WRITER [email protected]

The UConn women’s soccer team is set to open up its season against non-conference opponent Rhode Island on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. This will be the fi rst time the team will host a contest at its new home, the Joseph J. Morrone Stadium, and it’ll hope to accompany this change in scenery with an improvement in overall performance. The Huskies fi nished last season with a 6-8-3 record, but failed to make both the AAC conference tournament as well as the NCAA tournament. Moreover, although they were crowned champions of the AAC in 2014 and 2016, over the past couple of years, they have failed to keep up with their conference rivals, and have been mediocre at best. However, its return to the Big East conference after a nine year absence allows the team to begin a new chapter in a conference where it had its most success. They were crowned champions of the confer- ence on two occasions, and were regular season champions eight times spanning back to 1995. Fur- thermore, they made the NCAA tournament a total of 28 times. Head coach Margaret Rodriguez will be tasked with managing a The UConn Women’s Soccer lost to East Carolina University in Dillon Stadium on Sept. 26, 20219. The Huskies kick off their season this week- very young squad, with a total of end. PHOTO BY KEVIN LINDSTROM, PHOTO EDITOR/THE DAILY CAMPUS 11 freshmen and six sophomores. Despite this, she will be aided by guez at ease. Senior Melina Couzis land held Providence to only three Rebecca D’Anna played all 16 games Overall, the Huskies main ob- the veterans in the squad such as and sophomore Jacqueline Harnett shots in the fi rst half, and went and was the focal point of the team, jective will be to stifle the oppo- forward Kess Elmore. The redshirt were a solid pairing at the back last into the half all square. Although fi nishing the season with four goals. sition from the start. The Rams junior started all 17 regular sea- season, both scoring one goal and Providence would ultimately dom- Junior forward Brooke Cavino will come in hungry to attain their son games last season, and led the assisting their teammates on two inate the second half, the defensive proved to be deadly when given the first victory, and if UConn does team with four goals and six assists. occasions. showing by head coach Megan opportunity, as she fi nished the 2019 not make a statement in the open- Right behind her is fellow forward Whereas the Huskies are set to Jessee’s squad is something the season with three goals. Finally, Tali ing minutes, they will increase the Yamilee Eveillard. The senior start- open their season this weekend, the squad needs to be wary of, as they’ll O’Leary is one of the most dynamic confidence of the opposing team, ed seven of the 15 games she played, Rams traveled to Providence last have to fi nd a way to break down a players on the squad; the sophomore something they cannot afford to and fi nished the season with three weekend to take on the Friars in staunch defensive block. can play either in the midfi eld or as do. Elmore and Eveillard will look goals. what would be their fi rst loss of the The Rams come into the new sea- a forward, and is one of the team’s to lead their squad to victory in The center back partnership is season. Nevertheless, the scoreline son having fi nished with a 4-9-5 re- main playmakers. She fi nished last UConn’s long awaited return to also something that can put Rodri- can be quite deceiving; Rhode Is- cord last season. Junior midfi elder season with two goals and one assist. the Big East. Celtics Weekly Report: Floating around .500 and the need to move the ball by Dylan Haviland do expect the ball to fl ow much more CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT [email protected] than it has been this season. One of the problems is the amount of iso- Welcome back to another edition of lation plays the Celtics run, ranking our Celtics weekly report. This week fi fth in the NBA in isolation frequen- we look at the continued struggles cy, yet only rank 24th in points per of the C’s as they stand at 14-14, their possession on those isolation plays. lackluster defense against some of On top of this, the Celtics stars are not the league’s best stars and one aspect considered playmakers, with Tatum of the off ense that I believe must im- only averaging 4.7 assists and Brown prove for the Celtics to win games. with 3.6 assists per game. Considering Dealing With Mediocrity that these two touch the ball the most The Celtics started this season 7-3, on the team, it would make sense if with impressive wins over the Mil- they had higher assist totals. I believe waukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers. that the problem stems from a bench They looked like they could be the that is inconsistent and not fi lled with contenders fans believed they would good 3-point shooters, as well as an be heading into the season, but then identity that values Brown and Tatum COVID-19 hit the team hard taking out creating for themselves over the ball bench players and crucially benching moving to the open man. star Jayson Tatum. Since their great With this said, this style of off ense start, the Celtics have recorded a less can work, but it is heavily reliant on than stellar 7-11 record, dropped to No. Brown and Tatum performing well 5 in the East and currently sit only one every night, putting immense pres- game ahead of three teams with the sure on the two young stars to do possibility to fall all the way to No. 8. most of the production for the team. As if it couldn’t get worse, the Celtics If head coach Brad Stevens wants to can’t seem to win against the league’s Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins (20) tries to steal the ball against Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) continue this approach, then I want to during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Boston. PHOTO BY CHARLES KRUPA, AP worst teams, with losses to the Pis- see Brown and Tatum become more tons, Wizards and Hawks sending of a passing threat with the ball in fans into a spiral of gloom. The prom- This would explain some of Tatum’s prove on moving towards the future,” alent as superstars across the league their hands. More action off of the ball ising start to the season has been lost, recent struggles, including a six-point Brown said. continue to drop 30- and 40-point would help open up shooters for easy and we are left with questions as to outing against the Wizards Sunday With still an incredibly young ros- games on them. Unless they can pick shots, while also opening up driv- chemistry and talent as the C’s try to night in which he shot 3-14 from the ter, the team is learning what it takes up their intensity, they will be shred- ing lanes for the Celtics superstars to lift themselves back up to the top four fi eld. The eff ects that COVID-19 has to compete at the highest levels in the ded apart until their all NBA defender attack the rim, where I believe they teams in the conference. on young athletes like Tatum are still NBA, especially when luck is not on comes back. are at their best. An added benefi t Perhaps the biggest questions that unknown, and so all we can do is hope their side on the injury front. This The Importance of Moving The to increased ball movement is that it have been asked are on Tatum’s health that these lingering eff ects are short brings me to one big absence from Ball stretches out the defense, forcing them following his bout with COVID-19. In term and not career-altering. the team in Marcus Smart. After suf- Another fl aw of the Celtics over to always be on the move while keep- a media conference before their Tues- I believe the team understands fering a left calf injury early in a game their losing stretch has been in inabil- ing track of their assignment. Against day night win against the Denver that they are not playing up to their against the Lakers, Smart was side- ity to move the ball in their off ense. So weaker defenses, this will lead to far Nuggets, Tatum commented on the standards as of late, as emerging star lined for two to three weeks, but as we far this season, The Celtics are 28th in more scoring opportunities and will lasting impacts of the virus on him, ex- Jaylen Brown mentioned in his post- approach the end of the three week the league in assists, highlighting an help immensely in getting wins over plaining, “I think it messes with your game press conference against follow- window it appears that Smart will be off ensive identity that encourages iso- teams at the bottom of the league. breathing a little bit.” He continued ing a loss to the Hawks Wednesday sidelined for even longer as he contin- lation and one-on-one off ense more That’s all for this week, next week on, clarifying that “I have experienced night. ues to work his way back. His defen- than passing and setting up effi cient we will see if the Celtics can bounce some games where, I don’t want to say “We’ve just got to fi nd some consis- sive impact is a crucial cog of the Celt- shots around the fl oor. back as they face the Atlanta Hawks [I was] struggling to breathe, but, you tency, and that was probably tough to ics defense, and without him on the Realistically speaking, I’m not ex- at home before heading out for road know, you get fatigued a lot quicker watch, it’s tough to play, but I think fl oor the defensive intensity has not pecting the Celtics to turn into a Gold- games against the New Orleans Peli- than normal.” that there’s a lot to learn and im- been present. This is especially prev- en State Warriors style off ense, but I cans, Dallas Mavericks and Hawks.