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Azzi Fudd Has Perfect Take on Paige Bueckers Viral Touch Pass in UConn Final Four Win

UConn Huskies star Azzi Fudd has the perfect response to an insane volleyball-like pass Paige Bueckers produced during Friday's Final Four win.
Grant Young|
Apr 4, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) control the ball against the UCLA Bruins during first half in a semifinal of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Apr 4, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) control the ball against the UCLA Bruins during first half in a semifinal of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team produced an extremely impressive 85-51 win over the UCLA Bruins during the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on April 4, which sets them up for a showdown against Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday, April 6.

The Huskies were led by their superstar trio of Sarah Strong (22 points), Azzi Fudd (19 points), and Paige Bueckers (16 points). While Bueckers has the least amount of points among these three, she had what was undoubtedly the best play of the evening.

With about 90 seconds left in the first half, Fudd received the ball after a UCLA turnover and then delivered a beautiful lob pass to Bueckers, who was running down the court. Rather than control it, Bueckers did a touch pass that one might expect to see on a volleyball court to her teammate Kaitlyn Chen, who was across from her in the lane, giving Chen an easy layup bucket.

The insane touch pass has since gone viral, as fans can't believe the wherewithal and basketball IQ Bueckers displayed with the play.

Bueckers, Fudd, and Strong sat alongside a "humbled" head coach Geno Auriemma during the team's postgame press conference. And at one point, Fudd and Bueckers were asked about this Bueckers play.

"It was kind of just instinct," Bueckers said, per SNY. "Azzi threw me the ball, it was a great pass, and I saw almost like three people coming at me. So I knew it was going to be a jump ball, and at that point I just wanted to get a hand on it and find Chen, because I knew she was running the floor with me. So just did that."

"I thought it was great!" Fudd then said.

Fudd isn't the only one who thought highly of this play from her teammate.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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