UConn’s undefeated season is being fueled by a historically dominant defense, and the two players at the heart of it are now getting national recognition.

Two of UConn’s top stars, Sarah Stron and KK Arnold, are inching closer to winning the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award.

There’s a clear reason why UConn boasts of being the team with the second-best defense in the NCAA (51.0 PPG). Sarah Strong and KK Arnold, the center and guard combo, are the catalysts who have made the defense impenetrable. UConn also happens to be one of the three programs to have more than one player named to the list, and you can very well understand why.

Last year’s National Freshman of the Year, Sarah Strong, is having another star sophomore season. The All-American forward leads UConn in nearly every statistical category: points per game (18.9), field goal percentage (59.6%), rebounds per game (8.2), blocks (34), and steals (76). Strong currently ranks fifth nationally in steals and ninth in steals per game (3.62). Now that’s a statistic which is quite unheard of. Just give a fleeting glance over the UConn statistics, and you are bound to do a double-take as her name flashes as the top achiever across the board.

Well, that was the forward for you, and now we look at the guard who isn’t any less. The junior KK Arnold is second on the team with 54 steals and ranks third nationally with a 4.45 assist-turnover ratio. Incredible would be an understatement for how they are combining in tandem and unleashing on the opposition.

It’s been seven years since the “Naismith Defensive Player of the Year” came into being, and never has a UConn player been lucky enough to win it. So could this be their year? Who knows, but every Husky fan will certainly hope so with the deep and talented roster that they have. Auriemma is never short of options when it comes to using his players, and when you have a forward like Sarah Strong, you also have a backup in Blanca Quinonez.

What Makes Quinonez Click With the Huskies?

Whenever Blanca Quinonez comes to the hardcourt, she injects the team with undeniable pace and power, just like she did when she provided a spark off the bench, as the Huskies were encountering their worst start of the season.

From trailing 10-9, the Huskies found themselves leading 39-24 with three minutes to spare in the second quarter, and that was all due to Quinonez. Blanca scored 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting plus a team-high 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.

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This is not an isolated incident, every time Blanca comes on, it’s the same story. It’s hard to distinguish her from a seasoned pro, even though she is just a freshman taking her baby steps in this all-elite division. The Ecuador native is UConn’s third-highest scorer, averaging 10.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.8 steals, and that is when she has not even had 20 minutes so far this season. Another important fact is that she is just behind Sarah Strong in transition scoring, so you can imagine the impact she has. But what is it that makes her play so effectively, even after she comes from a foreign country that doesn’t even prioritize basketball?

Geno Auriemma shares the tidbits on what makes her special.

“She doesn’t take anything personally, which I love. Some young kids, they get all flustered when you try to coach them. She’s just happy-go-lucky, and she’s having fun all the time,” Auriemma said. “God bless her, I can say 95 things that she doesn’t like during the course of practice, and we’ll go up to get something to eat, and she’ll be like, ‘Hello coach, how are you!’ I’m the 12-year-old that’s like, don’t talk to me, I don’t wanna be around you. It’s just so refreshing to have her around,” Geno added further on the attitude Blanca carries, noting she has a thick skin that doesn’t let criticism affect her one bit.

And that shows when you are unbothered and unfazed and take things positively. The rapport she has with the team and with the coach in general is what makes this camaraderie work. Geno adores her, and she also reciprocates the same feeling towards her UConn family, including head coach Geno, and that translates through her games.