UConn's Allie Ziebell Reveals Key to Breakout Game

Ziebell’s freshman year didn’t go quite as planned. A preseason illness knocked her off rhythm before the 2024-25 campaign started, and regaining momentum in a star-studded lineup wasn’t easy. Still, she kept working, watching, and learning. Those moments on the bench became her classroom.

“Honestly, there’s not really a specific moment,” Ziebell said when asked about finding her confidence again. “It was just kind of working through that, coming back, and then learning from whoever was ahead of me. I think last year was probably the greatest learning experience I could have ever asked for, and it’s helped me in a lot of ways for this year.”

Interestingly, it was not just Auriemma who noticed a change in her gameplay. Her teammates noticed, too, and KK Arnold had something to say about it.

Has Allie Ziebell Finally Unlocked Her Game? KK Arnold thinks so

Sometimes, it takes a teammate to tell the whole story. For Ziebell, that teammate is Arnold, UConn’s floor general and defensive plug. “Yeah, she’s finding her spots way better. She’s confident, and honestly, she’s a disruptor on defense, a better defender than she thinks she is,” Arnold said. However, she did not stop there.

“Today, you saw it: trapping-wise, communication-wise, on the defensive end, which created for her offensive end a little bit, and just confidence. I’ve seen that a lot, the way she knocks down shots,” added Arnold. Coming from someone who lives for high-intensity plays, that’s as real as it gets.

Ziebell is no longer showing up as just a shooter. Instead, she’s transforming into a two-way presence. And that is a massive leap for a player who averaged 2.8 points off the bench last season. Of course, there were moments like the 17-point night against Xavier and the bursts against Seton Hall and Oregon State, but consistency was nowhere to be found. Now, it seems like it is finally starting to click.

For anyone who followed Zieball's pre-UConn days, this resurgence feels familiar. The former McDonald’s All-American, Wisconsin Miss Basketball, and two-time Gatorade Player of the Year has always had that quiet killer instinct. She just needed time to adjust to the speed and depth of college basketball.

And after a summer of work, plus lessons learned from the best, Ziebell’s ready to leave it all on the court. If her performance against SCSU was any hint, this season could be her breakout.

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