It was the end of last season when UConn coach Geno Auriemma was challenging soon-to-be senior Aaliyah Edwards to pick one skill and become the best player in the country in enacting it.

Only as it turns out, Edwards’ one thing is that she’s good at so many.

“I just think the confidence of ‘No matter where I have the ball, I feel comfortable,’” Auriemma said last week of Edwards, following UConn’s season opener. “Because I think if you want to be that kind of player, you can’t be limited to one spot.

“So to me, the position that she plays and the position she’s gonna play going forward in her career is gonna demand that she be able to score in the lane like she did today. And she needs to make perimeter jump shots for those teams that won’t let her score in the lane.

“So those, and it doesn’t matter who we play, you have to be known as a ferocious rebounder.”

Starting Sunday with a sold-out game at NC State (3 p.m., ABC), second-ranked UConn begins a stretch of games against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the Pac-12 that will necessitate all of those skills from Edwards, as well as testing the Huskies’ against the Top 25.

No. 14 Maryland is scheduled for Thursday, to be followed shortly thereafter by No. 4 UCLA (Nov. 24), Kansas (also receiving votes in the Top 25, Nov. 25), No. 13 Texas (Dec. 3), No. 16 North Carolina (Dec. 10) and No. 17 Louisville (Dec. 16).

Auriemma is hoping that Edwards’ totals from Wednesday night’s opener against Dayton, 23 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 23 minutes, will be indicative of what his 6-foot-3 senior forward accomplishes every night.

Edwards, still sporting the purple and gold braids she has become known for, but no longer wearing the face mask she used to protect a broken nose a year ago when she helped guide the Huskies to a 31-6 mark, shot 10-for-12, a mixture of fast break layups, post moves and foul line jump shots.

“I think over the summer when we started training camp, there was an intensity level about her that was a little bit different,” Auriemma said. “So right now she’s in a really good place.”

“I think I just want to be an all-around player,” Edwards said, “whatever my team needs of me ... in practice, in a game, I’ll just be ready for whatever’s thrown at me and asked of me to do. This night may be different than what it’s going to be on Sunday.”

NC State, receiving votes in the poll, began the season with an 84-43 win last Tuesday against Charlotte, which featured 59 rebounds for the Wolfpack. Aziaha James, a 5-foot-9 guard, led the way with 26 points.

UConn and NC State are known most recently for their double-overtime thriller in the 2022 NCAA tournament Elite Eight in Bridgeport, when Paige Bueckers scored 27 points, 15 in overtime, to send the Huskies to the Final Four with a 91-87 victory.

UConn defeated NC State last season in Hartford, with Azzi Fudd scoring 32 points in a 91-69 victory. Edwards had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Nika Muhl set the Huskies’ single-season assist record with 15.

Auriemma isn’t expecting a win in this particular meeting against coach Wes Moore and NC State to come so easily, with the Wolfpack slated to start 6-5 center River Baldwin and 6-3 forward Mimi Collins.

“Every time that we’ve played an ACC team on the road, it’s a tough environment, it’s a tough game,” Auriemma said. “They came up here last year and I don’t know that (Moore) was entirely thrilled with his team. They have a new cast of characters this year that he’s really happy with and they’re always really, really well-coached and they play a style of play that’s hard to match.

“The trick for us like in any other game we’re going to play at that level is to handle the physicality of the game because it’s going to be a real physical game Sunday.”

Enter Edwards, who is the only post player in UConn’s starting lineup along with guards Bueckers, Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and Muhl. The Huskies bring 6-3 forward Ice Brady off the bench, but Brady, a redshirt freshman, has played just one career game after missing last season with a knee injury.

UConn still managed to outrebound Dayton 49-33, with Bueckers grabbing seven and Muhl and Aubrey Griffin five each. Muhl led the way with four offensive rebounds and Griffin had three.

“This is what we’re going to need starting Sunday,” Auriemma said. “It’s like, we don’t have a lot of other choices. I asked them before the game, I said, ‘You know, Dorka (Juhasz, now with the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA) got a lot of rebounds for us last year and we didn’t replace her necessarily, so somebody’s got to step up and do more than they did last year.’”

Edwards averaged career highs last year with 16.6 points and 9.0 rebounds in earning third team All-America honors.

She was named recently as Preseason All-Big East and as a member of the watch lists for the Nasimith Trophy and Wade Trophy, both of which go to the national player of the year. Edwards, from Kingston, Ontario, has been a member of Canada Basketball since 2017 and was a member of the Canadian Olympic Team at the Tokyo Games.

“I think for any kid that wants to be at that level, they have to identify what’s the one or two things I know I can bring every single night that makes me one of the best players in the country,” Auriemma said.

“I mean, Aaliyah’s grown in so many different ways,” Bueckers said. “I believe she’s one of the best post players in the country. Just to see her be aggressive and be confident is all you can ever ask for. We have the most trust in her as a coaching staff, as teammates.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com