STORRS, Conn. _ Nearly everyone had dispersed from UConn's Friday afternoon practice, the day before the Huskies took on UCF in one of their final home matchups of the regular season, but Christyn Williams wasn't done just yet. The sophomore guard stayed behind at Gampel Pavilion to get up some extra shots, with coach Geno Auriemma watching on.
Williams has been working with the coaching staff, watching film and putting in more reps after practice, all in an effort to snap out of the shooting slump that's plagued her over the last few weeks. And still, she didn't get the outcome she wanted against UCF, going 1-for-6 from the field (1-for-5 on threes), though Anna Makurat, Megan Walker, and Crystal Dangerfield did enough damage to help UConn pull out a 66-53 win over the visiting Knights.
Auriemma has compared Williams' shooting issues to a hitting slump in baseball: Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason why it happens, and there's no quick fix to breaking out of it _ you just need to push through it until you emerge on the other side. And while that very well may be true, with March just around the corner, UConn needs her to get out of the rut fast.
"Obviously, (Williams' shooting) is not where it needs to be right now for us to be an elite team," Auriemma said after UConn's win over USF. "We need her to be an elite scorer."
Expectations were high for Williams entering the 2019-20 season. She averaged 11.7 points per game as a freshman starter last year, capturing national attention after dropping 28 points against Notre Dame in their regular season meeting and becoming a reliable force for UConn during the NCAA Tournament, where she stepped up her game to the tune of 17.4 points per game. After a summer playing all over the world with USA Basketball and with that year of starting under her belt, Auriemma believed Williams was "ready to take off."
Williams started out the season strong with a team-high 24 points in UConn's opener against Cal, and she scored double figures in each of the Huskies' first 15 games. Even earlier in the season, she expressed disappointment over how she'd been shooting, which she and Auriemma attributed in large part to the increase in defensive attention opponents threw her way. Still, Williams showed up huge in tight road wins over Ohio State (20 points) and Memphis (16 points). She led UConn in scoring in their loss to Baylor (21 points), part of a stretch where she notched at least 19 points in four consecutive games.
Now, her shooting slump is not just noticeable but particularly ill-timed. Following UConn's Jan. 14 Memphis game, Williams has compiled seven single-digit scoring outings, including in each of the Huskies' last four games. In some of those matchups, she didn't put up a ton of shots (she has four games in that span with fewer than 10 shot attempts), whether that be a product of her own hesitancy to shoot or a greater reflection of UConn's lack of productivity on offense.
But even when she did get a higher volume of shots off, Williams has had trouble getting them to fall. That's been in both big games (she's a combined 8-for-35 against Tennessee, Oregon and South Carolina), and occasionally in conference meetings (8-for-28 in the Huskies' last three games). While Williams was dealing with the flu against Oregon, her slump has carried on since her health has recovered.
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Prior to the first UCF game, Williams' three-point shot was her main issue (she shot 27.9 from deep and 61.2% on two-pointers). Since then, her three-point shot has actually improved (36.6 percent), bolstered by hot nights against Tulsa, ECU and Memphis. But her two-point shooting has plummeted to 32.6 percent, largely reflected by her inability to finish at the rim. Ultimately, both her two-point and three-point shooting have taken fairly significant hits from last year's marks (57.7 on twos last year vs. 50.2 on twos this year and 36.7 on threes last year vs. 31.4 in 2019-20).
Even before this recent rut, Williams had been trying to focus on impacting the game in other ways, such as becoming a more consistent rebounder and trying to spur her offense through better defense. All the while, Auriemma hasn't benched her _ he sees this as something she's just going to have to mentally work through.
"There's no magic formula," Auriemma said. "There's nothing you can take in your smoothie to make it different. All you can do is just go in gym and work, watch more film, which she has, and believe that it's going to turn."
UConn's remaining AAC slate _ three regular season games, including two on the road, followed by the AAC Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena _ will give Williams prime opportunities to re-establish her shot and boost her confidence. And while Auriemma has always believed in Williams' ability to step up for the team in big games, added belief and momentum would only help the sophomore with the NCAA Tournament only a few weeks away.
And make no mistake: Even with players like Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Makurat making significant strides over the last few weeks, and Dangerfield and Walker remaining fairly consistent, the Huskies need Williams to get on that path if they want to make the sort of deep tournament run they're used to making.
"She didn't get here overnight, and it's not going to change overnight," Auriemma said. "Every day I'm looking for some progress, and there's days when I see it, so I'm encouraged."
