University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Named BIG EAST Favorites; Huskies Earn Preseason Honors
10/18/2022 9:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK – The UConn women's basketball team was unanimously picked as the favorite to win the league in 2022-23. The BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll and preseason individual honors were announced Tuesday ahead of BIG EAST Media Day.
Forward Ayanna Patterson was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year. Junior Aaliyah Edwards, sophomore Caroline Ducharme and sophomore Azzi Fudd were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team while graduate student Dorka Juhász was tabbed as Preseason Honorable Mention.
UConn won both the regular season and tournament titles in 2021-22. The Huskies have won 21 BIG EAST regular season titles and 20 BIG EAST Tournament titles.Â
Patterson is a five-star recruit from Fort Wayne, Ind. She is ranked fourth in the class of 2022, as listed by ESPN. She averaged 25.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks as a senior at Homestead High and was named a McDonald's All American and Indiana Miss Basketball. She is the third straight UConn rookie to be named BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year following Azzi Fudd in 2021 and Paige Bueckers in 2020.
Edwards started 26 games for the Huskies last year and averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. Her field goal percentage (.542) ranked fifth in the BIG EAST.
Ducharme was thrust into the starting lineup midseason and upped her scoring average from 3.3 points per game to 17.6 during that 11-game stretch. Over 14 BIG EAST contests she averaged 13.1 points.
Fudd missed 11 games during her rookie campaign due to injury but was impressive once at full strength. The rising sophomore is UConn's top returning scorer, finishing her freshman season averaging 12.1 points and shooting 43-percent from three.
Juhász is the Huskies' top returning rebounder at 5.7 per game, including 6.4 in BIG EAST play. She also scored 9.5 points per game against conference opponents.
The Huskies begin the 2022-23 season against Northeastern on Thursday, Nov. 10. UConn begins BIG EAST play against Providence on Friday, Dec. 2.
