Azzi Fudd Refuses to Celebrate UConn’s Perfect Season
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The UConn Huskies finished the Big East Tournament the same way they have finished every game this season. The Huskies faced Villanova and won 90–51 to secure their 24th Big East Tournament title. The Huskies controlled the game early, building a 23–11 lead after the first quarter.
UConn only tightened its grip in the second quarter. A series of scoring runs pushed the margin to more than 20 points before halftime, with the Huskies heading into the break up 49–23.
Sarah Strong made 15 first-half points and eight rebounds, while Azzi Fudd and Blanca Quinonez added 11 points each.
The second half brought more of the same. By the fourth quarter, head coach Geno Auriemma could rest his starters, with the outcome long decided. The Huskies finished the night shooting over 50% from the field, outscoring Villanova 48–18 in the paint and controlling the glass 49–34.
UConn’s favorite, Fudd, ended the night with 19 points, continuing a brilliant season in which she’s averaging 17.7 points while shooting nearly 49% from the field. Yet, despite the win and her scores, Fudd made it clear soon after the game that she was not celebrating.
“I mean, I think it's a great accomplishment what we've been able to achieve so far this year. And like I said before, we’re going to have a couple days off so we can really enjoy that and celebrate it,” Fudd said. “But like you said, our work isn't done yet. As much as we can enjoy this win, enjoy being undefeated this season, being undefeated and being a Big East champion won’t really matter in a couple weeks.”
March Madness Awaits as UConn Eyes Another Title Run
That mindset makes sense given what lies ahead. UConn enters the NCAA Tournament undefeated at 34–0 and with a 50-game winning streak. The Huskies are expected to claim a No. 1 seed as the tournament field of 68 teams is finalized.
The Huskies are chasing their 13th national championship. March will be interesting, considering three of the teams that beat the Huskies last season, USC, Notre Dame, and Tennessee, haven’t posed the same threat this time around.
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USC has been without JuJu Watkins, while Tennessee has had a rough stretch, dropping 10 of its last 12 games. Notre Dame managed a late push to the ACC tournament semifinals but still finished with double-digit losses, a rarity for the program. Meanwhile, UConn has continued doing what it has done for decades.
Still, the NCAA Tournament is a challenge entirely different. The madness officially begins with the First Four on March 18–19 before the first round tips off on March 20, setting the stage for three weeks of chaos that will ultimately lead to the Final Four in Phoenix and the national championship in early April.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.