"SHES HEADED TO THE PYRAMID," "Let’s go El Alfy": Kamorea Arnold and Paige Bueckers support teammate Jana El Alfy's latest media day snaps

The teammates of Jana El Alfy at UConn were thrilled to see the redshirt freshman center wear the Huskies uniform during media day. The 6-foot-5 Egyptian uploaded three of her photos on her Instagram account on Saturday, receiving a lot of love from her new teammates.

UConn sophomore guard Kamorea "KK" Arnold posted an all-caps comment on El Alfy's Instagram account, writing:

"SHES HEADED TO THE PYRAMID 🤭"

UConn guard KK Arnold's reaction (Image Source: @janaelalfy8/Instagram)

Senior teammate Paige Bueckers expressed full support to her younger teammate, commenting:

"Let’s go El Alfy🤩."

Paige Bueckers' reaction (Image Source: @janaelalfy8/Instagram)

Former UConn stars and fellow international players Aaliyah Edwards, Nika Muhl and Ines Bettencourt also posted on El Alfy's account.

Aaliyah Edwards, Nika Muhl and Ines Bettencourt's reactions (Image Source: @janaelalfy8/Instagram)

Current teammates Allie Ziebell, Aubrey Griffin, Ashlynn Shade, Caroline Ducharme, Morgan Cheli, Kaitlyn Chen, Qadence Samuels and Ice Brady also posted messages of support to El Alfy.

Other UConn teammates posting their support to Jana El Alfy (Image Source: @janaelalfy8/Instagram)

Her post with the caption "Year 1...finally" drew more than 10,500 likes as of Sunday.

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Jana El Alfy is all set to play center for UConn

Jana El Alfy will play in her first NCAA women's basketball game this season after she was sidelined the previous year due to a torn Achilles. The 6-foot-5 center, a member of the Egyptian national team, showed potential in the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup, averaging 21.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.

These stats allowed her to play for the Geno Auriemma-coached Huskies, although it'll be her first season to compete with a clean bill of health.

Jana El Alfy is the only center for UConn this season, and she will take the role of Aaliyah Edwards as the primary defender on the paint and lead rebounder for the Huskies.

Paige Bueckers expressed excitement about El Alfy's comeback this season. The Egyptian center is expected to bring a ton of energy to UConn, especially on the defensive end.

"Jana obviously is just a big presence on defense that we didn’t necessarily have last year, and she brings us a ton of energy," Bueckers said. "I think last year I bought too much into the power forward role where I would get it off the glass and outlet it to a guard when I’m a guard."

UConn, ranked No. 2 in the AP preseason poll, begins its 2024-25 season with an exhibition game against Fort Hays State on Nov. 3. The Huskies will play their first nonconference regular-season game against Boston University on Nov. 7.