Students today, Huskies forever.
A mantra that is scattered across UConn’s campus on shirts, stickers, and walls that represents what it means to be a Husky.
For the UConn women’s basketball teams’ seniors, that mantra applies to them as well, but in a more symbolic way.
Sunday afternoon, the program will honor four seniors – Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin and Kaitlyn Chen, as they are set to take on the Marquette Golden Eagles.
Despite having just celebrated his 40th anniversary coaching at Connecticut, alongside Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey, this group of seniors are something Geno Auriemma has never seen before.
“Each of them has their own story,” said Auriemma to the media on Saturday afternoon.
The “stories” these players have experienced include the COVID-19 pandemic, season-ending injuries, shortened seasons, and more. However, on Sunday, these seniors will have the chance to play on the court at the same time, in a UConn jersey, for the last time at Gampel Pavilion.
“It’s nice for them to finish with all of them on the court,” said Auriemma.
Griffin, a New York native, has been the longest-tenured Husky, having played for the squad since 2019. Despite being plagued by injury, the 6-foot-1 forward has been an integral part of Connecticut’s roster. When looking at the history books on the team’s website, Griffin tied UConn legend Rebecca Lobo, on Dec. 8, 2022 versus Princeton, for most consecutive field goals made in a game (11-11).
Griffin chose to walk last year for Senior Day even though she knew she was coming back. This time, however, she knows it’s her last home game.
“It’s kind of hitting different and making me a little emotional,” said Griffin to the media on Saturday. “I’m just trying to embrace it and embrace everything and embrace my last moments here.”
With Griffin returning to the court this January after suffering an ACL injury in January of 2024, the forward will finally have the chance to experience postseason play, for the last time.
After Griffin, the next longest tenured player, Bueckers, has made waves in her time in a UConn jersey. The guard came to play for the Huskies in 2020 as the No. 1 ranked recruit. As a freshman, she was the first to win the Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy, and the AP player of the year awards.
Despite missing her entire junior season due to an ACL injury, she led the Huskies to the Final Four in her senior season. As a graduate guard this year, Bueckers notched 2,000 points and was the fastest Husky to do so.
The guard currently sits in ninth place on the UConn all-time scoring list, with 2,166 points, in front of Diana Taurasi and behind Kerry Bascom.
Even though Bueckers could return to Storrs for another year, she’s insisted on multiple occasions this season that she plans to declare for the WNBA draft this year, as the projected No. 1 pick.
Not only has Bueckers made an impact on the UConn program, she has also had an impact on fans all across the world and has brought more attention to women’s sports.
When Auriemma was asked on Saturday what Bueckers means to UConn and how it feels to experience all her final moments at UConn lately, he took a moment to respond.
“Just trying to enjoy it,” said Auriemma to the media.
Auriemma elaborated that he looks “forward to the day” when he has a special spot in his heart for Bueckers. That will be when she starts to forge her own path in the WNBA.
In addition to Bueckers entering the WNBA draft, Fudd has the opportunity to do so this summer as well.
However, according to Auriemma, this decision might come towards the end of the season.
“She is kind of the worst decision maker I’ve ever seen,” joked Auriemma to the media when asked about Fudd. “Part of me is planning for Azzi [Fudd] to come back and part of me is planning for Azzi [Fudd] to go.”
Nevertheless, Fudd will walk out for senior day, with the “whole crew,” as the Virginia native describes it and it will be bittersweet for her.
“I’m trying to stay in denial about tomorrow [Sunday],” said Fudd to the media personnel on the potential of her last regular season game in Gampel Pavilion.
After suffering a season ending injury in her junior year, the graduate student had the chance to play most games this season and has not looked back, racking up a career high of 34 points against St. Johns on Feb. 12 of this year.
Going into Sunday, Fudd looks at Senior Day as a chance to honor the perseverance and grit this year’s senior class holds.
“I don’t think that any of us would’ve made it this far, with this mentality, if it weren’t for each of us,” said Fudd.
Chen came to the Huskies this year after transferring in from Princeton. Despite only being in Storrs for a year, the squad appreciates her fiery presence on the court.
“She’s a super hard worker and I love that about her,” said Fudd on Chen. “She’s super smart and she’s the one that’s so easy to play with […] When you’re playing with someone that you enjoy being around it makes it ten times better.”
As for Chen’s future, professionally, Auriemma has no doubt in his mind that the California native will be drafted by the WNBA.
All in all, Sunday’s ceremony will be filled with tears, laughs, but most importantly, reflection on how special this group of seniors is.
“When you’re playing in the Basketball Capital of the World, there is so much to look forward to, so much every single day, whether it’s practice, games. The best fans come and watch, the best coaches, the best teammates, so it’s still a lot of fun,” said Fudd.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and if Husky fans cannot make it to Gampel Pavilion, they can tune in on FS1.