The Aftermath: Nika Mühl makes history

For a program with the history, success and amount of attention as UConn, it’s hard to have a true underdog story anymore. Nika Mühl is the exception.

On Monday, the senior point guard became the program’s all-time assists leader when she set up a 3-pointer by Ashlynn Shade with 1:56 left in the first quarter against Syracuse. That put Mühl at 660 in her career, ahead of Moriah Jefferson’s previous mark of 659.

What makes the record especially remarkable is that when Mühl stepped on campus, the idea of her becoming the greatest passer in the Huskies’ history wasn’t just far-fetched. It never crossed anyone’s mind — including Mühl’s.

“The most special part about that is the fact that nobody expected me to do it when I came here,” she said. “I surely didn't expect myself to do it.”

When Mühl surpassed Jefferson atop the list, the latter graciously congratulated the former on social media.

Jefferson made sure to reach out to Mühl directly, too. In fact, Jefferson ceded the top spot on the list before Mühl even broke the record.

“Moriah Jefferson actually texted me. She wished me good luck before the game and she congratulated me on the assists record and told me, ‘You deserve it,’ even before I got it,” Mühl said. “Just to get that message, I don't even know. I mean, she's one of the players that I was always looking up to playing here.”

The two had met before when Jefferson visited campus and had built a relationship prior to Mühl’s climb up the record books. Still, the message meant a lot.

“I was just not expecting that message. I was so focused on the game,” Mühl said. “So seeing that, it really motivated me even more.”

Entering Monday’s contest, the big question was about who’d get the basket to get Mühl the record-breaking assist. Her fifth, 500th and 600th all went to Aaliyah Edwards, though Paige Bueckers made it clear she wanted it. Bueckers scored to tie Mühl with Jefferson but it wouldn’t be a classmate that put her on top.

Instead, it was a freshman in Shade.

“They were fighting a little bit about who's gonna get it. I didn't necessarily try to get it to anybody. I was like, ‘Whoever gets it, gets it,’” Mühl explained. “But Ashlynn, she's just unapologetically like that. She's just took it from them. That's why we love her. That's what she's so good.”

Yet while Mühl’s name will be atop UConn’s all-time assists list, she didn’t want all the credit. After all, someone still had to score for her to get the assist.

“I always say you need two people for an assist,” she said. “I've been so grateful for all the people that came through this program that I was able to play with… I feel like is this is an accomplishment that is shared amongst all of us.”

Edwards’ impact

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