STORRS, Connecticut — Sunday’s Big East game between No. 5 UConn and DePaul at the Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut has been postponed because the Huskies do not have enough healthy players to adapt, the conference said Friday .
The conference requires schools to field seven scholars for each game, and injuries have left the Huskies with just six active players, the school said.
UConn were also expected to be without head coach Geno Auriemma, who announced on Thursday he is taking time off to recover from an illness.
Junior Aaliyah Edwards and freshman Ayanna Patterson were injured in UConn’s win at Xavier on Thursday. They join sophomore Caroline Ducharme, sophomore Azzi Fudd, junior Paige Bueckers and freshman Ice Brady on the inactive list.
Edwards suffered an injury described by turns as a right foot or ankle in the first half of the Huskies’ 73-37 win and dove over some courtside courts to catch a loose ball. It wasn’t immediately clear when or how Patterson was injured.
The school said it would not release any further details Friday night.
“At UConn, the health and well-being of our student athletes is always our top priority,” said David Benedict, the school’s athletic director, in a statement. “Unfortunately, our women’s basketball program has been impacted by an unprecedented number of injuries this season. While it is unfortunate that we have to postpone Sunday’s game, it is the right call to protect the safety of our student athletes. We will be working with the Great East and DePaul on ways to reschedule the game.”
Buckers and Brady fall into the season with knee injuries.
Fudd, the Huskies’ top scorer, is expected to return shortly from a knee injury that has kept her on the bench since she was injured in a collision with Edwards during a December 4 loss to Notre Dame. She has been participating in warm-up exercises for the last three games as part of her rehab.
Ducharme has missed two games in concussion protocol after suffering an injury in training.
The Huskies’ currently available players include guards Nika Muhl, Lou Lopez Senechal, Ines Bettencourt and forwards Aubrey Griffin, Dorka Juhasz and Amari DeBerry.
Auriemma has missed four games this season due to illness and it’s not clear when he could return.
“It’s been an extremely difficult month for me and I feel under the weather and run down,” Auriemma said in a statement on Thursday. “I thought I was ready to return but I still need some time. I will take a step back to focus on my health and will return when I feel ready.”
Despite the injuries, the Huskies have won six straight games.
The school says those who have tickets for Sunday’s game can use them if the game is postponed.
UConn will next play at St. John’s on Wednesday while DePaul hosts Villanova tonight.