Caroline Ducharme reportedly out against UCLA

UConn women’s basketball will have to make do with just 10 players in its Cayman Islands Classic opener against No. 2 UCLA on Friday. According to Heart CT’s Maggie Vanoni, the Huskies will be without Caroline Ducharme due to neck spasms, while Ayanna Patterson remains out while recovering from an offseason knee operation.

Whether or not Ducharme can play on Saturday against Kansas remains to be seen.

UConn is already down two players for the season: It lost Azzi Fudd to a torn ACL in practice last week while Jana El Alfy has been sidelined since the summer due to a ruptured achilles.

That means the Huskies will be without two of their starters from the season opener in Ducharme and Fudd. Aubrey Griffin has stepped into the starting lineup in Fudd’s place but Ducharme’s spot doesn’t have a no-brainer replacement.

KK Arnold has played the most among the reserves, but there’s value in bringing her energy off the bench. Ashlynn Shade has averaged more minutes (but played one fewer game) than Ducharme, but is still adapting to the college game as a freshman. Qadence Samuels started in place of Ducharme when the junior sat out a pair of games in Europe, but she’s coming off a game at Minnesota in which she played just five minutes. Ice Brady has seen the fewest minutes among those in the rotation, but she’s the only available backup to Aaliyah Edwards.

UConn will also be short on scoring options with Ducharme and Fudd out. Paige Bueckers will likely have to carry a heavier load, as will Aaliyah Edwards. After that, the Huskies need Griffin and the freshmen to have big games to keep up with a talented UCLA squad.

Just as they’ve done each of the previous two seasons, the Huskies will need to figure out how to make it work on the fly.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with FloHoops as the only viewing option. The game will also be broadcast on radio via the UConn Sports Network.