Edwards dazzles in 'homecoming' return, leads UCONN past TMU

Aaliyah Edwards shined for the visiting University of Connecticut (UCONN) Huskies in her 'homecoming' match with the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's basketball squad, throwing down a team-leading 26 points in her side's 111-34 drubbing over the Bold on Wednesday night.

Edwards - who grew up just three hours away from the city in her hometown of Kingston, ON - added 10 rebounds to her industrious total on the night, shooting just under 90% from the free-throw line to help lead the NCAA's 17th ranked team to one of the largest margins of victory ever to take place at the MAC.

"It was just fun playing basketball back at home," said Edwards after posting a double-double performance in her return to the city. The senior was greeted with applause at every turn, much of which stemming from the vast amount of family and friends that watched her dominate from the stands.

Fans part of the sellout crowd rose from their seats every time Edwards released the ball - a practice that became an increasingly common occurrence each and every time the Canadian stepped off the Huskies' bench and launched herself into the middle of Wednesday's action.

Like Edwards, UCONN's KK Arnold and Ashlyne Shade surpassed the 20-point mark in the winning effort and proved to be a grand dose of difference throughout a pair of Huskies' 18-0 runs on the attack.

"With great players like [Edwards] and so many others on [the Huskies], you're not going to stop them, you're trying to contain them," mentioned Head Coach of the Bold Carly Clarke following the match.

The visitors led 68-9 before the Bold finally got their offensive game settled coming out of the halftime intermission. TMU's Jayme Foreman opened the scoring for the Bold early in the third quarter, draining a three from beyond the arc to bring the blue and gold to double digits on the scoreboard.

Foreman's teammate Corrynn Parker garnered the loudest applause from the Bold faithful in the late stages of the frame, sinking a layup from just beneath the Huskies' net and securing an extra foul to go along with her efforts.

Parker would finish off the evening with five-points credited to her name, adding an assist, as well as a steal while stacking up against the 11-time NCAA Division One champions.

Despite the exhibition contest being well-out of TMU's reach heading into the fourth and final quarter of play, the Bold pieced together their best stretch of offense in the third, and tightened up the defensive play within their own paint.

The Bold surrendered 36 points to the Huskies via their opponent's productivity within the paint through the opening two quarters of play. That slanted number fell to just six as a result of TMU's attention to defensive detail throughout the penultimate frame.

Regardless of the lopsided outcome, numerous members of the TMU squad found themselves heavily invested in the rare experience of this exhibition with an historic NCAA program like the Huskies.

Following the defeat, Clarke touched on the process of turning Wednesday's moment into a memory for both herself as a coach, and the players she mentors on the sidelines.

"This game is an experience our players will never ever forget…We're trying to create experiences that the student-athletes are going to remember and grow from as players and people," said Clarke.

"It's [an experience] that will stick with me for a really long time," added fourth-year guard Kaillie Hall - one of the several members of TMU's current squad that has had the luxury of playing alongside, and against Edwards throughout her basketball career.

"[Edwards] has really grown into an all-around player and also just a really great role model in Canadian basketball," said Hall, who played alongside Edwards on the U16 Canadian National Team prior to her arrival at TMU.

Both Hall and Clarke are excited to take both this loss - and the learning moments that accompanied it - well into the second half of their undefeated season, which is set to resume on January 5th against the Brock Badgers.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Jayme Foreman: G; 5' 9"; 3

#21 Corrynn Parker: F; 6' 1"; 1

#14 Kaillie Hall: G; 5' 9"; 4

Players Mentioned

#10 Jayme Foreman
: 5' 9"; 3
: G

#21 Corrynn Parker
: 6' 1"; 1
: F

#14 Kaillie Hall
: 5' 9"; 4
: G

Players Mentioned

#10 Jayme Foreman

#21 Corrynn Parker

#14 Kaillie Hall

Players Mentioned

#10 Jayme Foreman

#21 Corrynn Parker

#14 Kaillie Hall