Azzi Fudd Reveals How UConn Filled Paige Bueckers’ Void
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When Paige Bueckers left, UConn lost its leading scorer, its huddle voice, and its decision-maker. It’s the kind of absence that usually sends a team wobbling. Instead, the Huskies have gone undefeated. The Huskies are 8-0 this season.
Their last win was against South Florida, which ended in an 85-51 victory for the Huskies. As Azzi Fudd notes, the momentum and gameplay are no accident. In fact, it all starts with acknowledging the big hole that Bueckers left behind.
When Fudd was asked about how the team was doing without Bueckers, she simply said, “I think we’ve done a pretty good job. Obviously, when you lose someone like Paige, it’s not going to be one person who fills that void. Everyone has to step up and do a little more to cover everything she brought. I think people have really stepped up.”
Fudd herself has been at the center of that rise. She has been healthy this season, which has meant trouble for her opponents. Fudd is averaging 18.5 points while shooting a 50.9% from three. However, it's not all her because elite-level shooting is not the only thing that had to be replaced.
As Fudd puts it, “Paige did so much, the scoring, rebounding, court vision, IQ, leadership, so to replace that, it takes a collective effort. I feel like everyone has stepped up, and we’ve been playing really well together so far. If we can continue to get better and keep trending upward, then I think that without Paige, we’re going to be just fine.”
ball movement 🤌 pic.twitter.com/9XlW1Phg1J
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) December 5, 2025
Just “fine” might be an understatement considering the fact that the Huskies have a +33.5 scoring margin. Additionally, Sarah Strong is nearly matching Fudd’s scoring at 17.6 points per game while pulling down a team-high 9.4 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Blanca Quiñonez is shooting 57% from the floor. KK Arnold is running the offense with 32 assists. Even freshman Allie Ziebell has become a reliable floor spacer, shooting 42.9% from deep. The result is that the Huskies look like a team that no longer relies on one star.
And if that sounds familiar, well, that’s where Geno Auriemma’s early-season prediction comes back into the spotlight.
Geno Auriemma Believes Sarah Strong Played a Big Role in Filling Bueckers’ Void
Before the season even settled in, Geno Auriemma said something curious. Sarah Strong, a sophomore with elite potential, had stepped into the space Bueckers once filled. At the time, it sounded bold. Now, it sounds almost prophetic.
“Last year, so much of what we did revolved around Paige,” Auriemma said. “We played slower to keep the ball in her hands. But without her, Sarah’s got to have it more often, and she’s the one making great things happen.” It didn’t take long for that statement to age beautifully.
From fast-break bursts to second-chance scoring, Strong has turned into UConn’s new engine. She’s scoring at all three levels, finding shooters, and directing huddles with a command she didn’t have last season.
Sarah Strong ➡️ Azzi Fudd pic.twitter.com/328VNJQCNA
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) December 2, 2025
That’s why Auriemma didn’t flinch when he doubled down and said, “She’s a playmaker. And we’re going to put the ball in our best playmaker’s hands.” And the stat lines are borderline wild.
Strong had 29 points and 13 rebounds against Ohio State. She had sixteen points and 20 rebounds against Michigan and has had multiple games with six assists or more. Auriemma has seen the shift firsthand.
“Every huddle she’s in, she’s the one doing the talking,” Auriemma said. “That would have never happened last season.” It’s the kind of evolution that takes a team from stable to dangerous because now UConn has two stars taking the team forward.
-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.