Storrs — The congratulatory message came from former UConn All-American Moriah Jefferson, now a member of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, directed at Huskies’ senior Nika Muhl.

Muhl broke Jefferson’s all-time UConn assists record Monday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Syracuse, a 72-64 win that sends the Huskies to the Sweet 16, to be held in Portland, Oregon.

Muhl ascended to the top of the list with her second assist of the night on a 3-pointer by freshman Ashlynn Shade with 1 minute, 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter, giving her 660.

“Congratulations on the record,” Jefferson said. “I’ve really enjoyed watching you play throughout your career. The passion and grit you play with every possession doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Nothing but love and respect for you as a player. Good luck in the rest of the tournament.”

Jefferson, who won four national championships in her tenure as UConn’s point guard from 2013-16, earned the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s top point guard twice. A first-round draft pick by the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars, Jefferson left UConn with 659 assists.

Muhl set the Huskies’ single-game (15) and single-season (284) assist marks last season. This season, averaging 6.4 assists per game, Muhl climbed up UConn’s career assists list, passing greats Renee Montgomery, Jennifer Rizzotti and Diana Taurasi during the Big East tournament.

Muhl, the 5-foot-10 senior guard from Zagreb, Croatia, announced she will leave UConn after this season instead of staying for one final year of eligibility.

“I mean, I don't think anybody's expected me to be in the conversation when it comes to things like that,” Muhl said. “When I came here, I don't think I expected that of myself either. So I feel like being just among those names is very humbling for me. ”Those are some people that I looked up to when I was younger and wanted to mimic my game toward. And I would say just very, very humbling.“

Muhl’s senior season has included a team trip back to Croatia over the summer and a game against her sister Hana’s team from Ball State at Gampel Pavilion, all things that contributed to Muhl calling this “the best year of my life.”

On Monday, she tied Jefferson with her first assist of the night, handing off to a driving Paige Bueckers at the 7:01 mark of the first quarter. She finished the game with five, giving her 563 for her career.

“I think that she’s going to drop 10 tomorrow,” fellow UConn senior Aaliyah Edwards said on Sunday, the day prior to Muhl’s record-setting appearance. “Just the player that she is. She's a selfless player. She'll look for the open man and look to make the open play first before she knocks down the 3.

“But, you know, as recently this year, she’s been contributing in different ways. So just to see how far she’s grown and how far her game has grown in that aspect. But, no. It’s always just fun when Nika’s on the court with us and to have some of her no-look passes.”

Singing praise for Paige

As a mom, Syracuse coach Felisha Legette-Jack finds it easier to control her emotions when talking about opposing players when she calls them by number. She refers to UConn’s Bueckers as “No. 5.”

But Legette-Jack pointed out Sunday that she noticed on Instagram that Bueckers likes one of the same songs as she does, “Thank you for it all,” by gospel artist Marvin Sapp.

“A lot of people just go through this world and think that everybody owes them something,” Legette-Jack said. “And that’s what makes me mad at Paige because now I like her more because she has this humility about how she gives thanks to something bigger than herself.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com