Curls for the girls

Air ball

Ty pov

The ball soared into the air as Ice leaped for the tip-off, her timing perfect. She swatted it back to Nika, and just like that, we were in motion. The first possession of the tournament. The start of what we hoped would be a long run.

Nika dribbled up the court with her usual confidence, calling out the play as she surveyed the defense. Our opponents—an overmatched but scrappy mid-major—were already on their heels. They knew what was coming. Everyone did. But stopping us? That was a whole different story.

"Let's go to work," I muttered under my breath, locking eyes with Paige as I set up on the wing.

Nika made the first move, driving hard to her right before kicking the ball out to Paige at the top of the key. Paige caught it in rhythm, squared up, and let it fly.

Swish.

The crowd erupted as Paige jogged back on defense, completely unfazed. Business as usual.

We set the tone early. Defense turned into fast breaks. KK was everywhere, crashing the boards, diving for loose balls, setting hard screens that sent defenders stumbling. Azzi was a machine in the post, bullying her way to easy buckets. Ice was a menace in transition, flying down the court like she had rockets strapped to her shoes.

And Nika? Nika was the heartbeat of it all.

She played with an energy that was impossible to match, directing traffic, setting people up, and getting under the skin of the other team. At one point, she picked her defender's pocket so cleanly that the poor girl didn't even realize the ball was gone until Nika was already laying it in at the other end.

"Better luck next time," she said with a smirk as she jogged back.

By halftime, we were up big. The score didn't even feel real—almost a 30-point lead. But we weren't about to let up.

Coach Geno kept it simple in the locker room. "Don't get sloppy. Play like champions."

And we did.

The second half was more of the same. Paige hit step-backs. Aubrey got buckets in the paint. KK kept grabbing boards like her life depended on it. Ice had the crowd gasping with her speed and acrobatics. Caroline and Jana knocked down shots when they got their chances.

And me? I fed off all of it. The energy, the rhythm, the way everything just clicked. I locked in on defense, found my spots on offense, and made sure to be exactly where my teammates needed me.

The final buzzer sounded, and we walked off the court with a dominant win—one that sent a message.

UConn wasn't here to mess around.

As we headed back to the locker room, Nika slung an arm around my shoulders, grinning. "That," she said, "was fun."

I laughed, nodding. "Yeah, it was. And we're just getting started."

March Madness had begun, and the Huskies had made their statement.

Next game? Bring it on.