by STORRS, Conn. – The Big East game between No. 5 UConn and DePaul on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., has been postponed because the Huskies do not have enough healthy players available to suit up, the conference said Friday.
The conference requires schools to field seven scholarship players for any game, and injuries have left the Huskies with just six active players, the school said.
UConn was also expected to be without head coach Geno Auriemma, who announced Thursday that he is taking some time off to recover from an illness.
Junior Aaliyah Edwards and freshman Ayanna Patterson were injured in UConn’s win at Xavier on Thursday. They join sophomore Caroline Ducharme, sophomore Azzi Fudd, junior Paige Bueckers and freshman Ice Brady on the inactive list.
Edwards suffered what was alternately described as a right foot or ankle injury in the first half of the Huskies’ 73-37 victory, plunging over some seats on the court after a loose ball. It was not immediately clear when or how Patterson was injured.
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The school said it would not release further details Friday night.
“At UConn, the health and well-being of our student-athletes will always be our highest priority,” David Benedict, the school’s athletic director, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, our women’s basketball program has been affected by an unprecedented number of injuries this season. While it is unfortunate that we have to postpone Sunday’s game, it is the right call to protect the safety of our student athletes. We will work with the Big East and DePaul on options to reschedule the game.”
Bueckers and Brady are out for the season with knee injuries.
Fudd, the Huskies’ leading scorer, is expected to return shortly from a knee injury that has kept her on the bench since she was hurt in a collision with Edwards during a Dec. 4 loss to Notre Dame. She has participated in warm-ups during the last three games as part of her rehab.
Guard Caroline Ducharme has missed two games while in the concussion protocol after suffering an injury in practice.
The Huskies currently available to play include guards Nika Mühl, Lou Lopez Sénéchal, Inês Bettencourt and forwards Aubrey Griffin, Dorka Juhász and Amari DeBerry.
Auriemma has missed four games this season due to illness, and it is not clear when he can return.
“It’s been an extremely difficult month for me and I’ve been feeling down and run down,” Auriemma said in a statement Thursday. “I thought I was ready to come back, but I need a little more time. I’m going to take a step back to focus on my health and come back when I feel ready.”
Despite the injuries, the Huskies have won six straight.
The school says that those with tickets for Sunday’s game will be able to use them when the game is postponed.
UConn is next scheduled to play at St. John’s on Wednesday, while DePaul is scheduled to host Villanova that same night.
