Recap The Court

Photo: Matt Krohn/USA TODAY Sports

Jacob Smith

From Ontario Basketball, to OSBA tournaments at the Mattamy Athletic Centre with Crestwood Prep, to Canada Basketball tournaments, Aaliyah Edwards has a lot of history playing basketball in the Toronto area, now she returns with her collegiate squad, for a celebration of her journey.

The TMU Bold women’s basketball program hosts the University of Connecticut Huskies tonight at 6pm at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Aaliyah Edwards homecoming game, and it should be a movie. Who are the 2023 Huskies?

UCONN is currently 8-3, 1-0 in BIG EAST conference play after their win versus Butler on Monday night. They come into Toronto to play their third game in five days, beating Louisville 86-62 on Saturday and Butler 88-62 on Monday,

Dealing with a magnitude of injuries including losing Azzi Fudd for the rest of the season, UCONN has depended on contributions from younger faces, and they’ve got those contributions.

Most significant amongst the group of added support is 5’10” freshman guard Ashlynn Shade from Noblesville, Indiana. Averaging 8.2 points per game, Ashlynn is coming off a 22-point, 4 assist performance against Butler in the Huskies first conference win, and she’s shooting 50 per cent from the field on the season, a dangerous weapon who will find her spots and make you pay.

Next up we go to a highly-touted recruit who missed her freshman season due to injury but is settling in to the Huskies rotation, 6’3″ forward Ice Brady from San Diego, California. The fifth ranked recruit by ESPN, Ice made a splash in the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship averaging 13 points and 7.5 rebounds with 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals helping the USA win gold. Averaging 1.8 blocks per game in her senior year in high school, Ice is a massive threat around the paint.

Aubrey Griffin has been the sixth for the Huskies for half of their games this season, but the 6’1″ senior G/F from Ossining, New York, has been on fire. Shooting 56 per cent from the field this season, Aubrey is averaging 10.3 points per game, her season high coming against Louisville where she put up 25 with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Only starting 5 of the Huskies 11 games so far, Aubrey is a player you have to pay attention to no matter how many minutes she plays, because she’ll make an impact with her length and ability to get out in transition.

Moving into what you can call the Huskies ‘big three’, UCONN is powered by one of the best point guards in the country and a two time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, 5’11” senior guard Nika Muhl from Zagreb Croatia. Nika’s 2022-2023 season was record breaking, setting the UCONN single-season assists record with 284 assists and setting the UCONN single-game assists record with 15, passing the record previously set by her backcourt duo Paige Bueckers. Now averaging 5 assists per game to go with 10 steals in 11 games, Nika has continued her defensive prowess in 2023.

The player most often in the backcourt with her, and the projected second overall pick in the WNBA draft, 6’0″ guard Paige Bueckers from Hopkins, Minnesota doesn’t need much of an explanation. When she’s on the floor, there’s very few as electrifying, and she has been the focal point of many defensive gameplans. Through all that, she has averaged 17.7 points per game this season to go with 4.6 rebounds, and the highlight plays are a plenty. From showing off her ball handling skills taking ankles to get to the rim, to no-look passes to Aaliyah Edwards like the one we saw in their win over Louisville, Paige is an elite guard and she brings a show wherever she goes.

That brings us to the headline of this matchup, and the reigning BIG EAST Most Improved Player, 6’3″ senior forward Aaliyah Edwards from Kingston, Ontario. The last time Aaliyah played at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, she helped the 2022 Canada Basketball Globl Jam team win gold in the inaugural tournament, and since then she has won a wealth of awards with the Huskies. A 2023 BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player, 2023 AP Third Team All-American and 2023 All-BIG EAST First Team, Aaliyah has been a consistent dominant force for the Huskies, averaging nearly a double-double this season with 18.3 points and 9.4 rebounds. 

Aaliyah has made a name for herself with her Crestwood Prep squad in the OSBA, and again at the national level playing in various events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup where Canada took home bronze. Aaliyah needs little explanation for Canada Basketball fans, and as she returns to the MAC for a homecoming, Canada has the opportunity to celebrate all she has done for the country so far in her journey, and all she will do moving forward.