The first half of a two-game road trip for the No. 5 UConn women’s basketball team ended with an 80-47 victory over Butler on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.

Game two comes a bus ride away in Cincinnati, as UConn (12-2 overall, 5-0 Big East) travels to take on Xavier in a league game at 7 p.m. Thursday (SNY).

Aaliyah Edwards finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals against Butler, her seventh 20-point game of the season and her fifth in the last six games. Edwards, a junior forward, is averaging 21.0 points per game during that stretch and shooting 66.7% (54-for-81).

“I didn’t even know about the 20 points, I just keep thinking about all the hustle plays she made and all the second and third efforts,” UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey told SNY’s Maria Marino following the game.

“That’s what’s setting her apart. The 20 points, I think it came easy because I didn’t even realize she got it, but I just think her hustle, her effort, her relentlessness on the backboard ... she’s the one that brings that for our team.”

Dailey filled in for UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, who suffered his third absence of the season due to illness. Dailey raised her career record to 16-0 while subbing for Auriemma.

UConn redshirt junior Aubrey Griffin returned to the starting lineup after a two-game absence due to a positive COVID test over the holiday break and finished with 15 points. The Huskies, however, lost sophomore Caroline Ducharme indefinitely, with Ducharme in concussion protocol.

UConn expects leading scorer Azzi Fudd to return soon. Fudd has missed the last seven games due to a right knee injury which occurred Dec. 4 at Notre Dame, but participated in full warmups with the Huskies the last two games.

Xavier (7-7, 0-5) is led by 5-foot-10 junior guard Mackayla Scarlett with 12.9 points per game. The Musketeers fell to Villanova 77-49 Sunday.

UConn returns home for a 1:30 p.m. game Sunday in Storrs vs. DePaul.

v.fulkerson@theday.com