This has been a difficult stretch for UConn’s Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma, who lost his mother, who died last week.
His perennial national contenders are down to seven players and is 7-2 following losses to fifth-ranked Notre Dame and 10th-ranked Maryland.
Guards Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Nika Muhl and forwards Dorka Juhasz and Ice Brady were all in sweat suits for the game against Maryland. It was the Huskies’ first game without Muhl, who was the starting in place of Bucckers, the 2021 national Player of the Year who is out for the season with an ACL injury.
The fourth- ranked Huskies debuted their fourth different lineup Sunday against the Terps, and hung with Maryland. But they ran out of gas in the final five minutes of a 85-78 loss in front of a crowd of 12,566 at College Park.
The Huskies have lost two of their last three with a roster deciminated by injuries. Muhl was unvailable due to being in concussion protocel after suiffering a head injury the previous Thursday game agaisnt Princeton. There is no return timeline for the Croatian junior who is still undergoing testing until she recovers. Juhasz is practicing but missed her seventh straight game with a broken thumb she suffered Nov. 14 against Texas. Brady is out for the season with a dislocated patella suffered in practice. Fudd, one of the best young pllayers in the world, injured her right knee in a loss to Notre Dame and will be out another four weeks.
UConn’s oldest veteran plalyers Aaliyah Edwards led the Huskies with 25 points, 7 assists in 40 minutes. Redshirt junior Aubrey Griffin had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
“It’s just one of those unfortunate things that , you just keep seeing weird things that make you shake your head and woder what’s the limit on weird things you can see,” Auriemma said.,
