UConn signee Sadie Edwards was a fifth-team selection on the MaxPreps All-American team.

Edwards, a Meriden native, averaged 15.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.5 steals as a senior at Blair Academy.

The team was well represented with underclassmen on UConn's recruiting radar.

Napheesa Collier, a 6-foot-2 forward at Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis, and Katie Lou Samuelson, a 6-foot-3 wing from Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif., were named to the first team. As luck would have it, they are among the talented high school juniors currently at UConn on official visits.

Kalani Brown, a 6-foot-5 junior from Salmen High in Slidell, La., and Asia Durr, a 5-foot-9 junior out of St. Pius X Catholic in Atlanta, were thord-team selections.

It's not always being a freshman at UConn.

Even a player as talented as Breanna Stewart had her ebbs and flows a season ago and Saniya Chong, the only scholarship freshman playing for the top-ranked Huskies is also learning how difficult it can be to produce on a nightly basis.

It was smooth sailing at the beginning of the season. In the first six games of the season Chong shot 53 percent from the field, was 10 of 23 from 3-point range and had a 12/4 assist to turnover ratio.

The next six games was a bit more challenging especially from 3-point range as she went 4 from 17 from downtown including four games with no 3-pointers.

Chong showed signs of life against Cincinnati with nine points coming on three 3-pointers and followed that up with seven points, one rebound and two steals in the final 4:46 of the first half in the win over Central Florida.

"I feel pretty good," Chong said. "Coach (Geno Auriemma) always tells us even though we are coming off the bench, we have to bring something to the team, go in there and help the team."

Chong and Morgan Tuck are the only non-scholarship players not to start a game for UConn this season. Chong is never quite sure when she is going to come into a game or how much time she is going to see in the game.

"I would say it is a challenge, it is totally different," Chong said. "Everything has been going pretty well, everybody has been playing their part and I just have to play my role and see what happens. Coming off the bench. I'm trying to bring enough energy to make sure I doing what my team needs me to do, as in anything they want me to do."

PAIR OF RECRUITING TARGETS WIN TITLES IN NAPLES
UConn Class of 2015 recruiting targets Kalani Brown and Napheesa Collier led their teams to division titles at the Naples Holiday Shootout.

Brown, a 6-foot-6 center and daughter of former 15-year NBA veteran P.J. Brown, had 22 points as Salmen (La.) High defeated Toledo's Roger High 48-36 in the National Division title game on Wednesday. Brown averaged 24 points in the three games.

In the American Division, Collier had 12 points and nine rebounds in a 53-44 win over Blackman (Tenn.) High in Wednesday's championship game. She averaged 21.3 points in the three games.

Brown and Collier were joined on the all-tournament team by fellow Class of 2015 UConn recuiting target Asia Durr, who averaged 25.3 points in the three games for her St. Pius X squad and Elizabethtown (Ky.) sophomore forward Erin Boley, a target for UConn in the Class of 2016 who averaged 18 points per game in the tournament.

UConn assistant coach Shea Ralph and associate head coach Chris Dailey were at the tournament as UConn was one of more than 50 college programs to sent coaches to scout the tournament.

Asia Durr is one of three UConn Class of 2015 recruiting targets
playing in Naples Holiday Shootout which wraps up today

While UConn will be playing its first American Athletic Conference road game in Orlando later on today, a pair of UConn Class of 2015 recruiting targets will be on the other side of Florida going after divisional championships in the Naples Holiday Shootout.

With her father 15-year NBA forward P.J. Brown, a member of the Boston Celtics' 2008 NBA championship team, and a large group of college coaches looking on Salmen (La.) forward/center Kalani Brown had 20 points (on 10 of 12 shooting) and 11 rebounds in a 62-26 win over Baron Collier from Naples on Tuesday to advance to the National Division championship game to face Rogers High out of Toledo, Ohio which is led by Eastern Michigan signee Sasha Dailey (41 points in the two wins in Naples). Brown began the tournament by scoring 30 points and adding 11 rebounds and six blocked shots in a 57-44 win over St. Joseph's Academy out of St. Louis.

In the American Division, Napheesa Collier, who has UConn in her list of five finalists. averaged 26 points to lead Incarnate Word Academy to the championship game with wins over Elizabethtown and Paul VI. The St. Louis school will play Blackman out of Murfreesboro, Tenn. for the title at 9:30 p.m. The Salmen/Rogers game is set to tip at 8 p.m. If people want to spend $20, a live stream of the games is available.

There was a chance that Brown could have squared off with fellow UConn recruiting target Asia Durr in the semifinals but Durr's St. Pius X squad lost its opener to Baron Collier. Durr finished with 15 points, 10 below her season average. She rebounded with 29 points 10 rebounds and three blocked shots in Tuesday's win over St. Joseph's Academy. St. Pius X will play Konxville's Christian Academy squad in the fifth-place game at 5 p.m.

Another player on UConn's recruiting target is also having a strong showing at the tournament. Erin Boley, a sophomore at Elizabethtown (Ky.) High, took an unofficial visit to UConn in November and was in the stands when the Huskies opened the season by beating Hartford on Nov. 9. After being held to 11 points in the loss to Incarnate Word Boley had 26 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 64-50 win over Edgewater. Elizabethtown will play in the American Division fifth-place game at 3:30 p.m.