Storrs — After Evina Westbrook's transfer waiver was denied and Batouly Camara was scheduled for knee surgery later this week, UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma watched his roster shrink to nine players.

"It's not ideal for us," Auriemma said Sunday, discussing Camara's absence from Sunday's season-opening exhibition game.

But also in No. 5 UConn's 103-40 victory over Division II Jefferson on Sunday, the Huskies who did play left enough of an impression to take away some of Auriemma's pain, which he expressed quite succinctly when he learned of the NCAA's denial of Westbrook on Friday.

Westbrook transferred to UConn this season from Tennessee, generally requiring her to sit out a year, but she applied for immediate eligibility. UConn is in the process of appealing the decision.

In Sunday's game, played before 5,328 fans at Gampel Pavilion — including former UConn luminaries Breanna Stewart and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, now of the WNBA's Seattle Storm — freshman Anna Makurat, a 6-foot-1 guard from Sierakowice, Poland, found herself in the starting lineup.

Senior point guard Crystal Dangerfield ran things, finishing with eight assists and five steals.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa, the 6-foot-5 sophomore, swatted things, finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.

And Megan Walker, previously one of the more quiet contributors to the Huskies' lineup, now a junior, was the star.

"We have some pieces that when it works, it works pretty well, it looks pretty good," Auriemma said. "It doesn't look fluid (yet) ... It's only the first day."

"I felt like we hadn't had a game day in forever," Dangerfield said.

Walker finished with 28 points, four rebounds, six steals and three assists for the Huskies, who wrap up their exhibition season Wednesday against Trevecca Nazarene at the XL Center before next Sunday's season opener against Cal at Gampel Pavilion.

Walker, a 6-1 forward, averaged 12.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last season, especially coming on strong in the American Athletic Conference tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena when the Huskies were playing without All-American Katie Lou Samuelson due to injury. Walker had 24 points and seven rebounds in the AAC semifinals against South Florida and wound up with All-Tournament honors.

She was a first team all-league pick this year in the preseason.

"Now I'm just more comfortable out on the court. I wasn't nervous," Walker said. "Toward our NCAA tournament, I started to feel confident in my role ... I had that underneath my belt. Coach kind of emphasizes I have to do a little bit of everything."

"We've had maybe 16 or so practices," Dangerfield said. "(Walker has) done what she did today just about every practice."

Christyn Williams added 16 points and seven rebounds, Kyla Irwin had 11 points and freshman Aubrey Griffin 10 points, giving the Huskies five players in double figures.

Walker was 10-for-15 shooting, with three 3-pointers in 25 minutes. She had 19 points in the first half, including a 13-point barrage in the final 3 minutes, 30 seconds. Walker hit two 3-pointers during that span and turned a steal into a fast break layup and a three-point play to close the Huskies' scoring with 8.7 seconds left in the half.

UConn led 58-22 at halftime.

"Megan's practices are different than they were last year, so you expect the games to be different," said Auriemma, who has drummed into his players that they have to replace the 39.3 points that Samuelson and fellow All-American Napheesa Collier averaged last year. "She's taken a big interest in that, making sure that void is filled."

UConn, meanwhile, should have a resolution to the Westbrook situation by sometime this week.

Westbrook, a 6-1 junior guard, started 64 games her first two years at Tennessee, averaging 14.9 points per game last year before transferring following the dismissal of head coach Holly Warlick. If the appeal is denied, she would sit this season out and have two years of eligibility remaining.

Auriemma continued his argument in Westbrook's favor Sunday.

"You don't get to decide who's a yes and who's a no," Auriemma said of the NCAA. "Then it starts to lead to conspiracy theories. ... My disappointment was for Evina and the process."

v.fulkerson@theday.com