Nov. 9—It’s something the UConn women’s basketball team hasn’t had in some time now.
A 6-foot-5 center in Jana El Alfy, playing with a degree of impatience after missing last season due to an injury — head coach Geno Auriemma called her a “bull in a China shop” earlier this season — and yet with a finesse around the basket.
A 6-2 forward in Sarah Strong, the former national high school player of the year, who is at ease at the rim, or driving to the rim, or shooting a 3-point field goal.
A 6-3 forward in Ice Brady, who received All-Big East Tournament honors last season after playing 40 minutes in both the tournament semifinals and finals in place of injured teammate Aaliyah Edwards.
All at the same time.
“We’ve got three completely different what you would call post players,” Auriemma said prior to the season. “We’ve got three distinct guys that are bigger than our guards, that’s what I’ll call them.
“They’re completely different from each other and they’re completely different from the rest of the team. I’m excited for them because the key to your team is how well they play and how well they kind of pull the whole thing together. … If you think back to all the years we’ve had the best teams, the greatest teams, there’s always been a dominant, dominant post player or two.”
UConn, led by All-America guard Paige Bueckers, will play Game 2 of its season beginning at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at sold-out Gampel Pavilion, meeting former conference rival South Florida (SNY). The teams were both former members of the Big East and the American Athletic Conference.
Game 1 for the Huskies was an 86-32 victory against Boston University on Thursday at the XL Center.
In the opener, Strong and El Alfy each finished with 17 points to lead the way in their first game in a UConn uniform. Strong is a freshman, while El Alfy missed the 2023-24 season, which led the Huskies to a Final Four bid in Cleveland, with an Achilles injury.
Strong shot 8-for-12 and added four rebounds, three assists and tied for the team high with six steals. El Alfy recorded a double-double in her debut, with a team-best 11 rebounds, a much smoother run than she had in UConn’s exhibition win over Division II Fort Hays State, in which she picked up four fouls in 12 minutes.
Brady, who started in the frontcourt along with Strong, had four points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“I’ve never been in that situation before. Just getting kind of used to it day by day,” El Alfy said following the game against BU. “… I mean, being here for almost a year-and-a-half now, not being able to play, it’s been hard. But at the same time, I’ve learned and grew so much and every day I’ve been waiting for the moment to finally be able to play and just be out there and help the team as much as I can.
“It’s an incredible feeling. I can’t even …. I’m speechless.”
Auriemma spoke about what distinguishes each of the post players. He said having Strong is like having two or three players on the floor at once because of her versatility.
“We haven’t had anybody Jana’s size in a while,” Auriemma said of the trio. “She takes up a lot of space, she goes after every offensive rebound, she finishes around the basket.
“Ice loves to play on the perimeter. She’s a really good passer. She’s gotten better defensively. And Sarah plays more like a guard; I think she’s like a guard/forward because she’s comfortable wherever she is on the floor, whether she has to pass it, shoot it, dribble it.”
El Alfy sat to the right of Bueckers at Thursday’s postgame press conference, Strong to Bueckers’ left. Both newcomers to the interview room were on the quiet side, with Bueckers, the senior, doing most of the talking.
Said Strong: “I felt like I started off slow and got better as the game went on. I just want to build on keeping aggressive and being more confident in the paint and stuff like that.”
South Florida (2-0), under head coach Jose Fernandez, was picked first in the preseason AAC coaches’ poll this season. The Bulls are coming off a 68-51 win over Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday. Sammie Puisis, a 6-1 guard, led the Bulls with 25 points.
