UConn Women's Basketball: Geno Auriemma Gives Intriguing Insight on KK Arnold's Growth

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- The UConn Huskies women's basketball team rolled to an 88-60 win over the Syracuse Orange in Monday night's exhibition opener at Mohegan Sun Arena.

And while the final score indicated the game was a blowout, it wasn't always that way: Syracuse cut the UConn lead to nine at halftime (37-28) before the Huskies separated again in the third quarter.

There were many things that stood out in this performance for the Huskies, but one of the things that was most evident was the play of point guard KK Arnold.

Arnold played 27 minutes, scoring 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting, but she was also 5-of-6 at the foul line, had three steals, pulled down two rebounds and dished out six assists. She picked up full court on defense, hounding Syracuse's guards, and she also got to the rim with ease, creating opportunities on offense.

Her offensive ability seemed different than last season, and yes, we know it's only one game. But after the game, head coach Geno Auriemma seemed to feel it too, offering some interesting insight to Arnold's growth.

"You know, she didn't have a turnover today. And I thought she shot the ball when she was supposed to. She got to the basket when she was supposed to. She made the right decision when she got there, whether to pass or shoot. I thought her defensive pressure was really, really, really good.

I think sometimes when you have a shooter like Azzi (Fudd) on the perimeter, there's a tendency for players to just come down and 'where is she? Where is she? Where is she?' And knowing that you're going to get an assist if you throw it to her because she's going to score.

So I think this year there's more of an effort by her to be more creative, and I think that's exactly what our offense needed tonight, for her to be creative.

And she's worked really, really hard. She's put a lot of time in this summer, and since September, she's put a tremendous amount of time in, so I'm glad she played so well tonight."

To Auriemma's point, the Huskies didn't really need Arnold to score in 2025-26. They had Sarah Strong, the National Player of the Year, and Fudd, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft. Strong is still here, but the Huskies need to fill in the gaps from Fudd's production that is now gone. Arnold can be part of that. She averaged 6.9 ppg a season ago, also averaging 4.6 assists. Obviously, her numbers on Monday were better than both of those numbers. The no turnovers is key as well.

Arnold started 33 games as a freshman, playing 30.2 minutes per game, but she didn't start any games as a sophomore in 2024-25. She worked back into the starting lineup for 38 games last season, but still averaged just 24.4 minutes. Perhaps some of that is related to the way in which UConn blew opponents out, but regardless, she'll be a stalwart of the rotation again this season.

The Huskies will take on national power Texas in their next exhibition game, which is Monday night at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford.