In her Storrs finale, Azzi Fudd hits ‘flow state’ for career-high 34 points to lead UConn back to Sweet 16

For the 32nd straight year, Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies punched a ticket to the Sweet 16 with a dominant 98-45 victory over Syracuse. It was only fitting that senior Azzi Fudd led this performance by tying a career-high 34 points, as well as a career-high eight 3-pointers.

Fudd had a quiet first round with just seven points against UTSA, but she bounced back to make a splash in her final college game at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. After two quarters, Fudd had the most productive half of his career with 26 points, more than double Syracuse’s 12 points. One of the most elite shooters in basketball walked in front of her audience without a single thought in her mind.

“I felt like I hit flow state for a second,” Fudd said after the game. “My teammates were just finding me, setting up great screens for me. I don’t even know, I feel like I wasn’t even thinking. When I was open, I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to shoot it.'”

Her journey at UConn has been a roller coaster ride due to injuries, including a torn ACL and medial meniscus that sidelined her for most of the 2023-24 campaign. She played a special role in the program and was one of the main reasons the Huskies were able to win the national title last year, their first since 2016.

Fudd sad, Monday’s game was “up there” with his favorite memories in his arena. Her teammates also appreciated seeing her take over.

“That’s kind of what Azzi does, don’t miss,” Sarah Strong said in the post-match press conference. “I’m happy to see her in her most confident self. That’s going to be really important in the long run. I’m really, really happy for her.”

A dominant first half

UConn’s 53-point halftime lead was the second-largest halftime lead in NCAA Tournament history, and it happened because of excellent Huskies basketball on both ends of the court.

The team shot nearly 66 percent from the field while its defense held Syracuse scoreless for 10 straight minutes between the first and second quarters. The Huskies got 30 points off 16 Orange turnovers while they themselves only turned the ball over three times.

UConn’s dominance in the first half was enough for the team to give up in the final two quarters. Syracuse actually tied it up in the second half 33-33, but the final score reflected how far behind they fell early on. As for Auriemma, he too was impressed by what he saw his team do.

“You go into these games and you’re all over the place trying to think about how this is going to play out, all the different scenarios,” Auriemma said after the game. “I can honestly say I’m not sure any of the scenarios I thought of involved us going on a run like we did in the first half.

“We were pretty focused and we were pretty united. It was the best 20 minutes I’ve seen in a long, long time from our team. Not just this team, it’s happened other times, but this one is about as good as it gets.”

Complete team effort

UConn is dangerous because of its depth and the way they share the ball. The Huskies had a total of 28 assists against Syracuse, with six players having at least three dimes. It was an eye-catching stat, but not entirely new as UConn leads the nation in assists per game and also has the best assists-to-turnover ratio.

Fudd was hot on Monday, so she had the ball in her hands a lot. Sophomore goalie Kayleigh Heckel said Fudd told her teammates she felt bad for not giving them more shots, but they all agreed she should be the one taking them Monday.

“No, no, no. These are for you,” Heckel said. “These are your shots. We want you to take them.”

Besides Fudd, sophomore Sarah Strong has been another key leader on the team. She continued as usual Monday with 18 points and just one rebound short of a double-double. Meanwhile, rookie Bianca Quinonez continued to show her potential with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including two 3-pointers.

When Fudd scored only seven points against UTSA in the first round, Strong and Quinonez led the team’s offense with a combined 33 points. Heckel and Ashlynn Shade also contributed significantly with a combined 25 points.

This is probably Auriemma’s healthiest and most complete roster in a while, which explains why the Huskies are the favorites to win it all in April. UConn is seeking its second straight national title, which would make it the first team to defend its title since the Huskies won four straight championships from 2013-16.