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The Saturday before Thanksgiving, the No. 2 women’s basketball team in the nation, the UConn Huskies, will face off against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. The Huskies come in with a record of 1-0 after a 95-80 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks last Sunday and the Gophers come in with a 3-1 record and a three-game winning streak.
On the court, the Huskies will have the reigning AP Player of the Year, sophomore Paige Bueckers, who dropped 34 points on 15-of-19 shooting on Sunday. Also suiting up for the Huskies are seniors Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook, who had 18 points and 15 points respectively, as well as sophomore Aaliyah Edwards and freshman Azzi Fudd, the latter being the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2021.
Bahamas pic.twitter.com/E8mWKdTkD3
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) November 19, 2021
For the Gophers, starting in the backcourt are juniors Sara Scalia (17.3 points per game) and Jasmine Powell (13.3 points and 4.3 assists per game). Also starting for the Gophers are grad student Deja Winters (11.3 points per game) and redshirt junior Kadiatou Sissoko (10.3 points and seven rebounds per game).
The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between the No. 23 South Florida Bulls and the Syracuse Orange and will have a chance to compete for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament championship. The losers of these two games will face off and have a chance to finish in either fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth place.
Game Information
No. 2 UConn Huskies (1-0, 0-0 Big East) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-1, 0-0 Big 10)
When: Saturday, Nov. 20 at 12 p.m. ET
Where: Paradise Island, Bahamas
How to watch/listen: FloHoops or UConn Sports Network
Key to the matchup: Paige Bueckers vs. Sara Scalia. The reigning AP player of the year picked up right back where she left off, only missing four shots in her first game of the season. This is a matchup of two women from the state of Minnesota. Scalia is tasked with not only slowing down the player who many people see as the best in the country, but also trying to score on her. With similar heights and wingspans, we’ll see if she’s up to the challenge.