STORRS, Conn. -- UConn guard Caroline Ducharme remains out heading into the Huskies' top-15 matchup Sunday against No. 10 Texas because of neck spasms, coach Geno Auriemma said Friday. He said he is uncertain on when she can return.
"Don't ask me how long, because I wish I knew," Auriemma said. "You don't know when they're coming and you don't know how long they're going to last. We just keep trying and trying and trying. ... I feel terrible for the kid."
The junior from Massachusetts missed the Huskies' previous two games in the Cayman Islands, and dealt with various neck and head issues, including a concussion in January, over the past two seasons.
Texas enters the game undefeated, while UConn is 4-2 with losses to current No. 5 NC State and No. 2 UCLA.
The Huskies are dealing with the season-ending ACL tear to junior guard Azzi Fudd two games into the season. Now with Fudd out and Ducharme sidelined indefinitely, they are without their top 3-point shooters aside from 2021 player of the year Paige Bueckers.
Ducharme had a slow start to the season, averaging 4.0 points in 14.7 minutes, but had been a critical force for the Huskies her freshman season in particular, when she led UConn in scoring for a lengthy stretch while Bueckers and Fudd were out with separate injuries.
The No. 11 Huskies -- who have dealt with injury issues for three seasons -- are also without redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy (Achilles tear) for the season, while sophomore Ayanna Patterson has yet to suit up this season as she recovers from knee surgery.
"I don't think anybody deserves to be in this situation as many times as we've been in," Auriemma said.
