CLEVELAND — Nika Mühl’s face said it all.
With UConn down just 1 point in a January matchup against Notre Dame, Mühl fouled out attempting a steal. Standing on the right wing, she was defending Notre Dame’s Anna DeWolfe. A weak pass was made to DeWolfe, so Mühl went for the steal. She was too far away, though, and instead of getting the ball, collided with DeWolfe.
She knew it right away. She threw her arms down, gave a frustrated smirk and walked right to the bench before the announcer could even say she had fouled out.
UConn lost at home to Notre Dame 82-67, getting outscored by 14 points in the last nine minutes of the game without Mühl. She was devastated.
She refused to leave the locker room until the rest of her teammates had gone. Once she was alone, she got up and began the cold January walk home. She had about a half-mile walk from Gampel Pavilion to her residence hall, and she couldn’t help but cry.
The Croatian guard wanted to be left alone, but she got a surprise visitor on her walk. Breanna Stewart, the reigning WNBA MVP and UConn legend was on campus for the game and happened to spot Mühl. Stewart ran to her and gave her a hug, wiped away her tears and delivered some season-changing advice.
“This is all a process, this will all make sense later,”…
