UConn women’s basketball resumes full team practice

After pausing team activities due to a positive test within the program, the UConn women’s basketball team resumed full team practice on Dec. 3 after the players tested negative multiple times, the team announced on Monday. The Huskies weren’t expected to return to full practice until Dec. 8, 14 days after the initial positive test. In the end, they were only sidelined for 10 days total.

UConn initially shut down on Nov. 23 after a non-player or coach tested positive for COVID-19. Through contact tracing, the team determined that only the players needed to quarantine. After they tested negative twice, they were allowed to begin workouts with their roommates on Nov. 28.

Now, the Huskies will have been back for nine days prior to their season opener against UMass Lowell on Saturday, Dec. 12. The earlier-than-expected return likely contributed to UConn adding that game prior to its Big East opener on Dec. 15 against Butler.

Previously, head coach Geno Auriemma said it’s difficult to prepare for live action with small groups of players at a time.

“What do you do with four at a time? What do you do at this late stage? This is in June where you just work on individual instruction,” he said. “You’re trying to get ready for games. You’re trying to put a team together. So what do you do with three players?”

Though it’s not ideal, UConn will have a larger window to gets its players back into game shape and get itself ready for the opening tip-off at Gampel Pavilion this Saturday.