UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards inspired by Huskies legends

STORRS, Conn. — If Gampel Pavilion teems with legacy, the adjacent Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center overflows. Beyond the entrance adorned with glass-encased hardware, Aaliyah Edwards sits beside a court framed by banners celebrating first-team All-Americans, Olympic gold medalists, national players of the year and NCAA national championships.

Edwards, in a black crewneck, sweatpants and Nikes, sits on a padded chair from one of UConn’s Final Four appearances. She wears silver-link and crucifix necklaces, her purple and gold braids down. The 6-foot-3 senior forward has practically lived beneath these banners, the names Rebecca Lobo, Kara Wolters and Tina Charles among the greats reminding her of not only what is possible but, perhaps, expected.

“What I’ve faced here,” Edwards says, “it’s not for the weak.”

It’s an unprecedented amount of success in one place, and the legacies have loomed especially large this season. The UConn women have not raised a national championship banner since 2016, and there was optimism entering the…