Stock Watch: Who's up and who's down after UConn's exhibition

UConn women’s basketball put a bow on its preseason with a 97-38 blowout of the Southern Connecticut State Owls in its lone public exhibition.

Considering the competition (a Division II opponent), the stats alone aren’t all that valuable. Instead, it’s more about evaluating how the Huskies looked.

With the regular season set to begin on Wednesday against Dayton, the exhibition contest is the final opportunity to evaluate who’s up and who’s down for UConn before the games start to count.

Risers

Paige Bueckers

The fact that Bueckers played at all would’ve been enough to get her among the risers, but she also showed glimpses of her former self in her first game back. Bueckers’ first basket came on a fancy up-and-under and-one finish then she followed that up with a no-look pass to Aaliyah Edwards a few possessions later.

As much as stats are largely irrelevant in an exhibition, is still worth noting that Bueckers had seven assists without a single turnover in just 12 first-half minutes. She didn’t look like someone who hadn’t played an organized game in over a year.

“She looked really comfortable, felt really good, and obviously [was] the same Paige as usual – maybe a little more animated,” Geno Auriemma said. “I think she's happy to finally be playing. It's a successful day for her.”

Aaliyah Edwards

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