STORRS — No one is quite sure when it’s coming or where or why it goes, but when Aubrey Griffin gets it going it can tilt a game in UConn’s favor.
“Each and every game, each and every practice, she provides that type of spark we need to get things running,” Aaliyah Edwards said. “Whether it’s on the defensive end, getting a steal, getting passing lanes, or offensively making a great cut to the basket or a great burst of energy that helps feed off that same type of fire.”
Griffin, 6 feet 1, in her fifth season at UConn, can be as dynamic when she plays with that certain abandon. With their roster depleted by injuries, the spark she can provide is no longer a luxury, an X-factor or a secret weapon. UConn needs it to be front and center, even if coach Geno Auriemma is using her off the bench.
Check out promotions for our upcoming home games! pic.twitter.com/qDqXOFSqSe
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) December 15, 2023
“There are peaks and valleys of her performances,” Auriemma said. “Sometimes in the same quarters, sometimes in the same game. Sometimes the peaks are higher than the valleys are lower, sometimes the opposite. Like everything else about our team, we’re searching for consistency.
“If you’ve got Azzi (Fudd) not playing, Caroline (Ducharme) not playing, then whoever we put in the lineup has to be productive some how, some way. That’s where Aubrey fits in, she’ got to be productive some way, defensive transition baskets, offensive rebounding, things that she’s well equipped to be able to do, it has got to be on a consistent basis.”
The 17th-ranked Huskies (6-3) play No. 18 Louisville at the XL Center Saturday at noon, a last nonconference, ranked opponent before Big East play starts next week.
This starts a stretch of three games in five days, as UConn is searching for an identity, a template for winning with the healthy players it has. Auriemma is settling on using four guards out and around Edwards at center, with Griffin coming in to provide that jolt, and a little glue.
“She’s a sensitive kid that wants to please,” Auriemma said. “She wants to make a big impact, and like a lot of kids today, the don’t want to disappoint anybody so they’re not as risk-taking as I’d like them to be. If I could help Aubrey in any way, I’d try to help her be less thoughtful, less concerned with things she can’t control and take the part of the game she’s so good at and just keep building on that.
“Her confidence level varies but it’s not because she doesn’t put the work in. She’s got a really soft, honest personality that every kid on the team feels connected to her.”
Through the peaks and valleys, Griffin is playing 23 minutes per game, averaging 8.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, with 1.3 steals, 1.2 blocks, one assist, shooting 47.3 percent from the floor. Those numbers are averages with peaks such as 13 rebounds vs. Maryland, or zero points, six rebounds and four turnovers at Texas. She had a solid game in the Huskies’ victory at North Carolina last Sunday, with five points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“I think I’m doing a better job of that now,” Griffin said. “He’s right (about taking more risks). He knows I’m capable of doing it. The season could be going better, but I feel like I’m sticking in there, doing the right things, getting better.”
As the season has gone along, the three losses to teams currently ranked in the top five shouldn’t do much damage to UConn’s postseason position if a formula for winning as usual in conference play can be figured out. Right now, the Huskies are emphasizing aggressive defense in order to kick start the offense and offset the size and rebounding edge many opponents will have. That could play to Griffin’s elite skills as a defender and wreaker of havoc.
“My defensive energy, being aggressive at both ends, attacking the rim, getting deflections on defense can help,” Griffin said. “One of my biggest strengths is defense, so when I’m playing hard on defense, bringing energy on defense, my other teammates are picking up on that.”
Things are evolving differently than the UConn coaches envisioned. With four guards, it opens up some space for Edwards to operate in the lane and display her passing skills. Her ability to make 15-foot jumper could hold the key to catching defenses in between. Perimeter shooting takes on more importance.
Griffin can play a huge role within this structure, when she gets in that attack mode.
“I feel like I have confidence, I just have to do a better job of bringing the same aggressiveness and intensity every game,” she said.
The Huskies are back home for a top-20 matchup on Saturday vs. Louisville!
Join us for our ✨UConn Eras✨ game at noon
$10 tickets ➡️ https://t.co/0PyovRhvxX pic.twitter.com/ZpS1ZCZe8M
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) December 14, 2023
Louisville (10-1) has three starters averaging in double figures, and six players averaging 7.5 points or more, so the Huskies will not be able to focus on stopping one scorer. They’ll need a team approach to defending, as they will need a team approach to rebounding.
“I think we’ll be fine if we take care of the basketball and we get the shots we think we can get,” Auriemma said. “The hard part if going to be keeping them out of the line and keeping them off the backboard as best we can. And then we’ve got to knock down shots.”
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:
No. 17 UConn (6-3) vs. 18 Louisville (10-1)
Site: XL Center
Time: Noon, Saturday
Series: UConn, 18-3. Last meeting: Louisville, 69-64, Dec. 19, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena
TV: FOX – Lisa Byington, Stephanie White
Streaming: Foxsports.com
Radio: UConn Sports Network on 97.9 ESPN – Bob Joyce, Debbie Fiske
Pregame reading:
UConn women’s basketball sophomore Ayanna Patterson out for remainder of season
UConn women find success with small lineup, other takeaways from the win over North Carolina
UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Ashlynn Shade take Big East weekly women’s basketball awards
[gs-fb-comments]
