Griffin makes history for herself, Huskies

Dec. 9—STORRS — Aubrey Griffin made one of her 12 shots from the floor at Notre Dame Sunday. Then 2:31 into the UConn women's basketball team's game against Princeton Thursday night, the redshirt junior forward found herself on the bench.

But instead of it being déjà vu all over again, Griffin responded with a 180-degree turn and a performance that made some Huskies' history.

She finished with a double-double of a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds and her 11-for-11 performance from the floor matched the school record for most baskets without a miss as No. 6 UConn held off Princeton 69-64 at Gampel Pavilion.

"It feels really good," Griffin said. "After that loss, I just didn't want that to happen again. That was my mindset.

"I think I was just being more aggressive. I was attacking the rim. We were down players and I stepped up, and a lot of other people stepped up."

Griffin sat out for 3:52 before returning and played the rest of the way with the exception of an 82-second break in the second quarter. She made all nine of her shots for 22 second-half points. She had 11 straight UConn points in a 6:31 span of the fourth quarter that kept the Huskies in front and allowed freshman Inês Bettencourt to ice it at the foul line.

Her 11-for-11 showing tied Rebecca Lobo's mark that she set against Iona her senior season on Dec. 23, 1994.

"To me, having Aubrey play the way she played makes up for everything we didn't do," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "The way Aubrey started the game in the first five minutes, I thought it was going to be a replay (of Notre Dame). We really challenged her really hard in the huddle, and she responded probably with the most important game she has played since she's been at Connecticut."

Griffin is averaging 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds and she raised her field-goal percentage back to 63.9. No one expects her to be perfect again, but UConn needs her to play at a high level Sunday when it visits No. 20 Maryland.

"I definitely do embrace it," Griffin said. "I'm just going to do what I need to help our team win."

Injury update

UConn started action Thursday night with eight available players as center Dorka Juhász, who had practiced Tuesday and Wednesday, missed her sixth straight game with a broken left thumb. Her status for Sunday is unknown, Auriemma said.

Then with 7:07 left in the third quarter, point guard Nika Mühl was injured when she took a pair of hits to the head and left the court escorted by injured teammate Paige Bueckers and athletic trainer Janelle Francisco. The nation's leader in assists did not return. Finally, guard Lou Lopez Sénéchal aggravated a foot injury midway through the fourth quarter and sat out the final 4:19.

"Lou's been struggling a little bit because she strained her foot about two weeks ago and she tweaked it a little bit," Auriemma said. "She said she's fine, but it's something we're going to have to keep an eye on.

"I didn't see the play Nika got hit on, but from what I hear she hit Aaliyah Edwards' knee with her head and then she hit the floor, and it was a pretty good shot. But she is in the locker room, and she said she feels fine."

Both were expected to be evaluated today.

Memories for a lifetime

Coach Carla Berube didn't go back to Princeton's campus with her players after the game, opting to stay the night here to visit with family and friends. But as she left Gampel Pavilion a part of her remained.

The 1995 national championship banner she helped bring here during her playing days is in the rafters forever.

"It is awesome and amazing," Berube said. "I always try to find it when I go to the Final Fours. It's always up there. There are just a lot of great memories. I have such fond memories of my time here even though it feels so long ago. It's still fresh when I step on the court here."

Former teammate Jennifer Rizzotti took in the game to support Berube. SNY analyst Meghan Culmo, who was an assistant coach Berube's first two seasons with the Huskies, greeted her with a big pregame hug as did Auriemma before tipoff.

The Tigers cut a 15-point deficit to two in the final minute but could not complete the rally to make their coach the first former Auriemma player or assistant coach to beat one of his teams in 77 tries.

"I think as I grow older I try to put things in perspective a little more than years ago," Berube said. "Every coach you're going to watch the film and you're going to say, 'I could have done this. I should have done this. We were right there.' But also I try to look at it like, 'Wow I'm really, really proud of my players and my team. This is something we can learn from and grow from.' That is how I walked into the locker room and that is how I'm going to leave Gampel feeling."

Husky bites

Caroline Ducharme got her first start of the season replacing Azzi Fudd but struggled with two points, four rebounds, and five turnovers. ... Amari DeBerry played a career-high 25 minutes and had four first-half points. ... The Huskies had an 11-point lead when Mühl left the game.

For coverage of all sports in the JI's 18-town coverage area, plus updates on the UConn women's basketball team and head coach Geno Auriemma, follow Carl Adamec on Twitter: @CarlAdamec, Facebook: Carl Adamec, and Instagram: @CarlAdamec.