Why UConn is willing to let Blanca Quiñonez play through early mistakes

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• UConn women’s basketball ranked No. 1 in AP Preseason Poll

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• How Sarah Strong can improve after historic freshman season

Why UConn is willing to let Blanca Quiñonez play through early mistakes

During UConn’s exhibition opener against Boston College on Monday night, no player better illustrated the folly of evaluating performances off a box score better than Blanca Quiñonez. According to the stats, the freshman had an ugly day — four points on 2-8 shooting, three turnovers and a team-high five turnovers.

While she certainly had some rough moments, Quiñonez passed the eye test with flying colors and showed why ESPN ranked her second in their freshman impact rankings. She has all the tools to be successful at the college level (and beyond), she just needs to learn how to properly use them.

“She's fun to watch because she's unpredictable,” Auriemma said at the start of official practice. “She has a lot of skills and can do a lot of things, and sometimes she tries to do them all at the same time.”

Quiñonez’s biggest issues — turnovers and fouls — weren’t just a problem on Monday afternoon. Auriemma hinted that they’ve consistently cropped up during fall workouts and official practice.

For now, UConn is willing to live with those mistakes, though. They’re part of the learning process as she adjusts from playing in the Italian Serie A1 to college basketball. While many freshmen can be overly tentative early in their careers for fear of making a mistake, Quiñonez doesn’t have that issue. Given that, the Huskies would rather her make errors of commission rather than errors of omission.

“She tries to do a lot of things. So in the beginning, that’s okay because she's out there trying to impact the game,” Auriemma said. “She'll throw some passes that no one else can throw. There were a couple of them today. Then she'll throw a couple passes that no one else should ever throw.”

That means Quiñonez is likely to turn the ball over a lot — especially at this point in the calendar. The hope is that with more live game repetitions, she’ll start to learn what she can and can’t do.

“I did tell her that she leads the free world in turnovers. Ecuador, she's the leader. Italy she's the leader. Now in the United States, she’s the leader in turnovers,” Auriemma quipped.

As for the fouling, that’s common for players coming over from Europe, where the game is more physical. Nika Mühl complained about the tighter officiating in the United States compared to Croatia at every opportunity throughout her freshman season. While she was always somewhat foul prone, she eventually adjusted. Quiñonez will have to do the same.

“The way they call the game here and the way they call it where she's been playing, it’s two different things,” he said. “[It’ll get better] as she gets more acclimated to this.”

Those struggles aren’t unique to Quiñonez, either — they’re common trouble spots for freshmen. She’ll certainly have to improve in those areas, though first-game jitters and preseason sloppiness likely played a factor, too. The regular season is still roughly three weeks away. There’s still time to make strides.

Ultimately, the biggest takeaway from Quiñonez’s performance against Boston College shouldn’t be the mistakes she made. Regardless of what the numbers might say, the freshman was one of the most impressive players on the floor for UConn.

Quiñonez’s size was apparent the minute she entered the game as one of the Huskies’ first subs — she’s comfortably taller than her listed height of 6-2 — and she has plenty of athleticism, showcased by how easily she moves around the court.

That should make her a matchup nightmare for opposing teams — bigger than most guards and quicker than most bigs.

Beyond the physical traits, Quiñonez has an abundance of skill. Arguably her best play of the day came when she drove to the hoop and pulled out a spin move to gain separation, only to have the ball roll the wrong way off the rim and out.

Down the other end, Quiñonez forced a steal-and-score by working around a screen and using her long arms to intercept the pass. She then beat two BC players down the court in a footrace.

“Blanca, she’s unique,” Auriemma said.

No player on UConn’s roster is a bigger x-factor than the freshman. The Huskies expect Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd to lead the way, while Serah Williams will be counted on as well — especially after a 15-point outing against the Eagles. Others, like KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and Jana El Alfy, are vital parts of UConn’s success.

Quiñonez is a ceiling-raiser. The Huskies don’t need her given all the talent they have, but the freshman could turn them into a veritable juggernaut. While Monday showed that there are bound to be some rough moments with Quiñonez, UConn is willing to live with them — for now, at least.

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