3 keys to the game: UConn women's basketball team vs. Army in preseason exhibition

STORRS - UConn women's basketball hosts Army Sunday afternoon on campus for its final dress rehearsal before the regular season. 

The Huskies passed their first two preseason tests with wins over Syracuse (88-60) and Texas (83-61). However, Geno Auriemma is still looking to fine-tune his squad before everything counts. 

Against the Orange on Oct. 12, UConn shot an abysmal 3-of-22 deep. Yet against the Longhorns last Monday, the Huskies made 10 of their 18 3-point attempts. UConn's defense was also inconsistent across the two games as starters struggled with foul trouble in both exhibitions.

Auriemma is hoping Sunday's game will help nip bad habits before UConn's Nov. 2 season-opener against Cornell. 

"You know, making sure we become a more vocal team, a more disciplined team defensively, a more consistent team offensively, finding our rhythm, but some of these things just take time," he said Saturday after the team's practice.

Sunday will be the Huskies' first game in the newly renovated Gampel Pavilion locker room. UConn unveiled a new state-of-the-art locker room this week that will host both the men's and women's basketball teams. The renovations also include a new coaches' lounge and meeting room space.

"You think back to 1985 when I first got here, we didn't have one (a locker room)," said Auriemma. "But it's really spectacular in what they were able to do, and in a short period of time as well. So I think the men's team, the women's team, I think they're really really fortunate to have a facility like that. And I think it does kind of represent who we are, what we've done here."

Here are three keys to Sunday's exhibition vs. Army:

Disciplined defense

Auriemma believes the Huskies' foul trouble is coming from undisciplined defense. While he's been impressed with his newcomers' defense, others have found themselves on the bench early with fouls. Against the Orange, Sarah Strong had four early fouls. On Monday, against Texas, KK Arnold fouled out while both Ashlynn Shade and Kayleigh Heckel finished with four each.

"I thought last year we turned into a pretty good defensive team. We had to change as the year went on, but it took some time. And I think this team potentially could be the same," said Auriemma. "I think Olivia (Vukosa) gives us another big body that can move and can maybe defend in different ways. And Jovana (Popovic) is the same way. I think she's becoming a really good defender.

"... We want to play fast. We want to put a lot of pressure on the other team, but I think we've got to be more disciplined. This team has to be more disciplined, so we're not having guys sitting on the bench with fouls, like we have had."

Welcome back, Allie Ziebell

Ziebell made her preseason debut on Monday after missing the Huskies' exhibition against Syracuse due to an ankle injury. The junior guard spent the summer in Storrs working on her conditioning. Ziebell said she saw improvements in her game before injuring her ankle during the first drill of UConn's first day of official practice this fall. 

Against the Longhorns, Ziebell played 21 minutes and recorded eight points, two rebounds, one steal and one block. She said Saturday that despite her ankle injury, she feels more confident heading into her third year in Storrs.

"I'm someone that has never really experienced this before. So, just sitting out for about a month, it was a very hard thing for me just to process, but it went by fast," she said. "Like it was nothing major. Being around my teammates and helping out wherever I could, still felt fine, but yeah, it was definitely a little hard."

Auriemma has also noticed Ziebell's growth.

"I notice that there's a difference," he said. "I notice how she's not hesitating with what she wants to do. She's pretty decisive, you know, and she's shooting the ball really really well. ... I'm really happy with where she is right now."

Final tune-up 

Sunday's game is Auriemma's final chance to experiment with different lineup combinations against live competition ahead of the regular season. Expect the same starters, but for Auriemma to use more rotations throughout the exhibition than the first two. This is the final chance for rotational players to show what they can do in extended minutes and prove they can contribute on both sides of the ball as the Huskies look to build consistency.

"We can score a lot of different ways, but basically, you just want to see how the movement is, and for me, that's always important," said Auriemma. "You know, do we generate enough movement offensively? And if we are, then multiple people get a chance to score. So we'll be looking for that tomorrow, and it's not going to be easy to score against our (regular-season) schedule."

This article originally published at 3 keys to the game: UConn women's basketball team vs. Army in preseason exhibition.