UConn WBB Weekly: How recent UConn transfers fared this past season

Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week.

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From The UConn Blog and Storrs Central:

• Chasing Perfection: Mailbag edition
• UConn women’s basketball walk-on Autumn Chassion to transfer
• UConn women’s basketball: Asjha Jones joins Portland Trail Blazers front office
• WATCH: Connecticut Sun introduce Jen Rizzotti as new team president
• Chasing Perfection: UConn women’s basketball season in review — Last week’s episode.

Last week’s Weekly:

• Intro to Morgan Valley, UConn’s newest assistant

In the news

• Shea Ralph’s staff at Vanderbilt includes her husband, Tom Garrick, and former UConn practice player/manager/graduate assistant Kevin DeMille, who was most recently on Jen Rizzotti’s staff at George Washington.
• UConn made the top five for 2022 Canadian guard Tyana Todd along with Georgia, Louisville, Mississippi State and Syracuse.

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Checking in on former Huskies around the country

While UConn women’s basketball hasn’t had too many transfers from the program in recent years, there are three former Huskies playing college basketball elsewhere — all of whom were part of the team’s 2017 recruiting class.

Here’s how each of them performed this past season:

Andra Espinoza-Hunter — Seton Hall

Initially, Espinoza-Hunter announced she would opt out of the season with Mississippi State due to COVID concerns but then transferred to Seton Hall, became eligible immediately and began playing for the Pirates when the second semester began.

Espinoza-Hunter started all 17 games she played in and led Seton Hall with 18.6 points per game — the third-highest mark in program history. She emerged as one of the best 3-point threats in the conference, making 2.9 per game (tops in the Big East) at a 39.1 percent clip from beyond the arc.

In February, Espinoza-Hunter hit a game-tying three with eight seconds left in regulation against Georgetown. The Pirates went on to win 79-72 in overtime.

Espinoza-Hunter was a two-time Big East Player of the Week and made the All-Big East First Team despite playing her first game on Jan. 3. She’ll return to Seton Hall for her final year of eligibility next season.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Mikayla Coombs — Georgia

After sitting out the 2019-20 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules, Coombs finally suited up for Georgia this season. She averaged 6.1 points, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 28 games and was an “invaluable” spark plug off the bench for the Bulldogs.

In the SEC Tournament semifinal against Texas A&M, Coombs crumpled in pain during the first half and went to the locker room. Despite spraining her ankle, she returned in the second half and scored all 14 of her points to help lead Georgia to an upset over the Aggies and into the SEC Title game.

Coombs started both the Bulldogs’ NCAA Tournament games due to injury and hit an impressive shot at the halftime buzzer in the second round against 7-seed Oregon.

Coombs was also so well-regarded for her defense — particularly her steals — that Georgia head coach Joni Taylor joked that she didn’t want to lose Coombs to the football team.

“My fear for Mikayla is that Kirby is going to take her from me,” Taylor said in March, according to the AJC. “There’s no secret that she wants to be a football player. She’s out there making plays the way she was today, I’m scared he’s going to put her as a safety or a corner.”

She played most of the year with a torn labrum in her hip as well. Coombs will be a redshirt senior next season and has two years of eligibility remaining.

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Lexi Gordon — Texas Tech

After a solid but inconsistent junior year, Gordon emerged as one of Texas Tech’s top players during her senior season. She started all 24 games for the Red Raiders and averaged 15.8 points per game, second-most on the team. Gordon did have a tough go from deep, making just 29.2 percent from three after hitting 36.5 percent as a junior.

Even still, she sunk a game-tying triple with 30 seconds left on Feb. 20 against Kansas which forced overtime, where Texas Tech won 99-98. Gordon reached double-figure scoring in all but five games and set a season-high with 28 points against Incarnate Word on Dec. 29.

Despite finishing her senior season, Gordon will use the bonus COVID year granted by the NCAA to all winter athletes to wrap up her career at Duke under Kara Lawson.

Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports

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Best of social media

Swin Cash and Asjha Jones are now in NBA front offices while Sue Bird is still playing:

Breanna Stewart, still good:

Sounds like UConn commit Isuneh Brady had a good weekend at the Boo Williams U17 Tournament:

Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd are working out together: