Azzi Fudd and her teammates of the UConn Women’s Basketball team did not find any trouble in paradise on Wednesday night, in their dominant 73-60 win over No. 18 Mississippi, taking home the Baha Mar Hoops Championship.
Both Fudd and her teammate, graduate student Paige Bueckers combined for a total 47 points in this matchup, with Bueckers notching 29 and Fudd attaining 18.
In addition, Bueckers was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and in her third game back Fudd made the All-Tournament team.
From tip-off to the entire duration of the first half of the game, the Huskies hit the ground running, starting off with a dynamic play from Bueckers and Ashlynn Shade.
Shade stole the ball off the rebound and got it into the basket after Bueckers missed the layup, setting the tone for the rest of the game. At this point, the Rebels had three turnovers and the Huskies striking play on both sides of the ball would not stop there.
For the entire first quarter, it was fast-paced and physical on both sides. However, the Huskies were the better team defensively and kept the Rebels to 2-14 from the field.
They kept their driving force heading into the second quarter, especially at the midway point when the Huskies went on an 8-0 run, accompanied by a drive layup from Fudd.
Despite the speed of the game slowing down in the waning moments of the first half, the Huskies held the Rebels to 5-32 from the field. The Huskies ball play kept them ahead, even after they dealt with physical defense from Ole Miss.
Heading into the second half, Bueckers had 14 points under her belt and the dark horse for the Huskies, freshman Sarah Strong had 10 points and five rebounds.
At the midway point of the third quarter the Rebels started to catch up to the Huskies and put up a fight.
The Huskies struggled to take the Rebels’ momentum down, suffering from five turnovers in just four-and-a-half minutes.
Strong and Ice Brady also found themselves in foul trouble and Ole Miss brought themselves within three points after they went on a 15-0 run.
However, with a three straight buckets from Fudd, that set the tone for the Huskies to preserve their lead, despite the 13 turnovers Connecticut racked up in the third quarter.
During the last ten minutes of the matchup, freshman Jana El Alfy was Connecticut’s secret weapon collecting five points and two rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.
Throughout the season, El Alfy has proven to be a dominant defensive player for Connecticut, and with effective play from El Alfy and Fudd, it’s what sealed the deal, the championship win, for the Huskies.
With her 18 points tonight, Fudd matched her regular season high, after setting it a mere two years ago on Nov. 27, 2022.
“I was really, really proud of her… Everything that Azzi did, we needed.” Head coach Geno Auriemma said after the game on Fudd.
Furthermore, Auriemma had high praise for El Alfy as well. “She didn’t do anything that is hard for her to do. She stayed within the context of who she is.”
With the Huskies showing such depth throughout their roster, every player will be essential as they have crucial matchups on the horizon in December, including their matchup against USC on Dec. 21.
Connecticut will travel back to Storrs for their matchup against Holy Cross next Tuesday, Dec. 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Gampel Pavilion and if viewers cannot make it to campus, they can tune in on SNY.