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Azzi Fudd Laughs Off Paige Bueckers' Animated Bench Presence Amid UConn Blowout Win

UConn Huskies star Azzi Fudd had a great answer when asked about Paige Bueckers being overly hyped-up on the bench.
Grant Young|
Dec 7, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) and Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) celebrate after the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images
Dec 7, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) and Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) celebrate after the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images | Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

The No. 7 ranked UConn Huskies women's basketball team produced a dominant 81-27 win over Xavier on January 8.

While UConn securing this win is no surprise, the fact that they won by 54 points without superstar guard Paige Bueckers — who suffered a minor knee sprain during UConn's January 5 game and is still on the mend — is impressive.

While Bueckers wasn't on the court, she was still extremely active during the game, making her presence felt through her sideline antics.

One example of this is when she stood along with the crowd until the Huskies secured their first points of the night, a clip of which was posted on X by NBC Connecticut's Gabby Lucivero.

Standout guard Azzi Fudd was a big reason for UConn's big win, as she scored 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting (including 3 of 5 from three-point range) plus 3 steals.

After the game, Fudd was asked about Bueckers' hyperactivity on the bench and had a hilarious response.

"That's a CD issue," Fudd said with a laugh when asked about Bueckers, per The UConn Daily YouTube channel. She was referring to longtime UConn assistant coach Chris Dailey. "CD has to tell her to calm down.

"But you can't tell Paige to calm down," Fudd continued. "She's everyone's biggest cheerleader, biggest fan, biggest supporter. So there's no telling her to calm down."

The Huskies are hoping they won't have to worry about an overly hyped-up Bueckers on the bench for much longer because that will mean she's back on the court.

Published
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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