How UConn handled the loss of KK Arnold against Providence

Three hours before UConn tipped off at Providence on New Year’s Eve, the team announced that KK Arnold would miss the contest with a nasal fracture suffered in practice on Tuesday. That left the Huskies without their starting point guard.

Ultimately, they took care of business with a 90-53 win, though the result was never in question. Looking at the performance, Arnold’s job security certainly increased as UConn’s offense sputtered without the junior running the show.

“There are things that we just can't replicate not having KK in the game,” Geno Auriemma said. “Obviously, we lost a lot not having KK out there.”

Starting lineup changes

While the Huskies have a ready-made backup to Arnold in Kayleigh Heckel, she didn’t fill the open spot in the starting lineup. Instead, Auriemma gave Allie Ziebell her first career start. The move left UConn without a traditional point guard to begin the game but it kept the team’s rotation largely the same, which the coach valued.

“Kayleigh and Blanca (Quiñonez) are usually the first two we go to (off the bench),” he said. “So I just wanted to keep that, keep as little disruption as possible. I thought it would give us the best chance to stay somewhat consistent.”

Although Ziebell isn’t a traditional ball-handling point guard, Auriemma felt she had the requisite smarts to handle floor general duties for the day. Ziebell also didn’t have to go it alone as Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong helped out as well.

“I think Allie is pretty smart. She knows what she wants to do with the ball. She has a pretty good feel for our offense. She's pretty good at directing traffic,” Auriemma explained.

Ziebell finished with nine points — all of which came on 3-pointers — and one assist to two turnovers in a career-high 31 minutes. Considering she didn’t have much time in practice to get adjusted to her role (since Arnold went down the day prior), the sophomore acquitted herself well.

“I think Allie managed really, really well. I think she more than held her own,” Auriemma said.

“Allie did a great job today,” Azzi Fudd concurred. “It's not easy being thrown in — especially [because] she doesn't play too much on-ball in games — so for her to go in and play just with the confidence that she did, I’m really proud of her.”

Meanwhile, Heckel also put up nine points to go with two assists and a turnover, though she was limited to just 17 minutes due to foul trouble.

Even with UConn down a point guard, freshman Kelis Fisher didn’t see any increase in playing time. She made her first appearance with 5:27 left in the fourth quarter and totaled just five minutes of action.

“Offense is hard”

By most statistical measure, UConn’s offense had a good day. It reached the 90-point mark, shot 55 percent from the field, sank 12 3-pointers at a 46.2 percent clip and assisted on 24 of 33 baskets.

The eye test didn’t pass muster, though. The Huskies lacked their usual crispness and the ball didn’t flow as easily as it typically does. That wasn’t much of a surprise, though. It’s only natural they weren’t at their best without Arnold pulling the strings.

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