They are big sister and little sister, two years apart. It’s not hard to imagine what it was like when they were younger.

“We are two polar opposites,” Nika Muhl said. “Really, if you could make a completely opposite person of me, it’s going to be her. We definitely were like cats and dogs when we were young, fighting a lot. We’d fight over anything you could think of, attention, competitiveness, games.”

But sisters grow up, grow closer, and learn to appreciate having each other in their lives. By the time Hana Muhl followed her big sister to the U.S. to play for Ball State in Indiana, Nika began to earn the chance to make something happen, a night neither the sisters nor their family will ever forget.

“This is going to be the first, official time we’ve ever played against each other,” Nika said, discounting the long fought one-on-one battles in the family driveway. “I cannot wait. I’m sure she wants to win as much as I want to win. It’s going to be so hard to watch for my parents.”

The Muhl sisters from Zagreb, Croatia will play against each other at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday night. For a night, perhaps, the Huskies’ current struggles can be set aside to savor something special.

“Since I came to the United States, we started that sister relationship long distance,” Nika said. “We’ve gotten so much closer. Now we can’t go without talking to each other every day on FaceTime. That distance made us so much closer.”

Hana Muhl, 5 foot 8 sophomore, has been playing about 12 1/2 minutes off the bench for Ball State, averaging 4.8 points, with 10 assists. Ball State is 6-1, after beating St. Louis on Sunday. The Cardinals practiced at Gampel on Monday.

📍Storrs, Connecticut #chirpchirp #mindset pic.twitter.com/IXiNumeYEq

— Ball State Women’s Basketball (@BallStateWBB) December 4, 2023

Nika has a small ‘H’ tattooed behind her left ear, and “Baby Muhl” on her left wrist in honor of Hana, who has a small ‘N’ behind her ear.

“She’s much more easy going than me,” Nika said. “Much more calm, much more steady. I didn’t think she would ever admit that she looked up to me, but a couple of days ago she actually told me how proud she was of me and how all  these years she has been looking up to me, trying to copy everything I do. It just means so much to me that, first, she’s able to admit it and that being a big sister is such a blessing, and such a huge responsibility, not just being a big sister but being a best friend to her. I’m just so happy I can call her my little sister.”

The Muhl Family will be front and center, and Nika promised any sisterly trash talking will be in their native language. Their parents, Darko and Roberta, will be coming from Croatia to see them play in the U.S. for the first time, and their cousin, Sara Deidda, a freshman at Wofford, will fly up to attend.

“All this excitement has been building up,” Nika said. “It’s so overwhelming.”

Nika, 5 feet 11, made national waves last season as a junior, setting UConn records for assists in a game (15) and a season (284), and repeating as Big East defensive player of the year. This season, with the Huskies (4-3, ranked No. 17) still searching for the right offensive combinations, she is averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 assists.

This was her senior wish. Coach Geno Auriemma took the team to Europe during the summer, the tour including a stop in Croatia. A regular season game in Muhl’s hometown, like Paige Bueckers’ game at Minnesota or Aaliyah Edwards’ upcoming game in Toronto, could not be arranged. So why not reunite the Muhl sisters?

Nika Mühl ➡️ Qadence Samuels pic.twitter.com/oT10fs39PQ

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) December 3, 2023

“Nika pushed for this game,” Auriemma said. “Her parents are going to come over one time, so what better opportunity than to come over once and see this? What are the chances? Two kids grow up in Croatia, come all the way to The States and their parents get to see them live and at Gampel.

“And Nika insisted the game had to be at Gampel, too, because that’s the atmosphere she wanted for everybody. I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”

The Muhl sisters and their cousin all played for ZKK Tresnjevka 2009, one of the top club programs in Croatia when they chose to make the huge step to playing college basketball in the United States, paving a road for others to follow.

“I had enormous support from my parents,” Nika said. “Always pushed me to just be who I am and what I wanted to do with my life. It was scary, going into the unknown, especially coming here to UConn, all these traditions, big names, the history behind all of this, but I feel like it was so worth it. I’m so glad I am able to have this experience with my sister so I can share all this with her, help her along the way. I constantly hear and see so many little girls in Croatia who want to pursue the same thing, it’s such an amazing opportunity. I feel like I’m an example of, if you really want to, you can.”