Former UConn All-American and Olympic gold medalist Tina Charles headed to Storrs over the weekend as she preps for her 13th season in the WNBA, playing currently for the Seattle Storm.

Charles, a 6-foot-5 center, wound up playing UConn’s 6-3 junior forward, Aaliyah Edwards, in a game of one-on-one. Charles, down 2-1, won it with three straight points, scoring to go up 3-2 on a sweet spin move, moving the ball from her right hand to her left and kissing it off the glass from the left and sealing it with a simple jump shot.

“They started playing and it was all funsy, funsy until Aaliyah got up 2-1 and then it became a future Hall of Famer and WNBA MVP against a college kid,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said with a smile.

“Aaliyah learned a lot and she got a kick out of it and I think she’s looking forward to it happening again. She got to see playful Tina and she got to see Tina, the starter on the Olympic team.”

Edwards responded with 17 points and 11 rebounds in UConn’s 65-50 victory over Georgetown on Sunday at the XL Center. The fifth-ranked Huskies (15-2, 8-0 Big East) are next up at Seton Hall (13-5, 6-2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday (SNY).

Edwards, her confidence soaring, is averaging 16.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and shooting 62.8%. On Dec. 28 against Creighton, Edwards grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds, making her the first UConn player with 20 rebounds in a game since Maya Moore.

Against Georgetown, Edwards recorded her seventh double-double of the season after she failed to reach that milestone even once last year.

“It was great to play against a pro,” Edwards said of Charles. “Matching up with her was great for me individually and then us as a team.

“She’s very vocal and also she made her presence known down low. It helped me work on my defense against a bigger, taller matchup and then also offensively, trying to get buckets on her, which I did.”

The career path of Edwards, in fact, bears a strong resemblance to that of Charles, Auriemma said.

Charles took a back seat at UConn to All-Americans Moore and Renee Mongtomery. As a junior and senior, she then helped lead the Huskies to a pair of 39-0 seasons culminating in national championships. UConn’s all-time leading rebounder (1,367), Charles was the first overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft, chosen by the Connecticut Sun.

“On a scale of 1-10, Maya Moore was a 10 from the day she walked on campus, right?” Auriemma said. “Tina was probably like 5 or 6, maybe seven on some good days the first two years. And me being me, I kept asking her how come Maya gets first team All-American and Renee gets first team All-American and you’re over there sitting, clapping in the audience.”

Charles told the coach it would be her being honored the next year.

“Well, the following year she changed and decided she wanted to become a 10 and then was a 10 every day for the next two years,” Auriemma said.

“So you explain that to Aaliyah and say, ‘Your first two years were pretty much the same (as those of Charles). The challenge now is you’ve got to be a 10 every day. You got to be like a pro every day now the rest of this year and all of next year if you want to get where she is.’”

UConn defeated Seton Hall 98-73 on Dec. 21, getting 23 points from Edwards and six players overall in double figures.

UConn, though, which has struggled with injuries, was dealt another blow Sunday when leading scorer Azzi Fudd bumped her previously injured right knee and missed the second half.

The Huskies led Georgetown 24-23 at halftime and committed 23 turnovers overall.

“I feel like we’re definitely glad to have another game as soon as possible,” UConn point guard Nika Muhl said Sunday. “Well, me personally, I’m angry with how today’s game went even though we won. We’re definitely glad to have another game as soon as possible just so we can fix the things as soon as possible.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com