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Azzi Fudd, UConn destroy Syracuse
UConn put together one of its best performances in recent memory with a 98-45 victory over Syracuse in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In the first half, the Huskies exploded for a 31-0 run, held the Orange scoreless for over 10 minutes and led by 53 points at the break.
Azzi Fudd went off, matching career-highs with 34 points and eight made 3-pointers in her final game at Gampel Pavilion — thanks in part to some recently trimmed and filed fingernails.
The first major National Player of the Year honor goes to Sarah Strong. The sophomore was named the USBWA’s Ann Meyers Drysdale Award winner (not to be confused with the shooting guard accolade of the same name) as the best player in the nation.
She is the eighth Husky to win the USBWA’s National Player of the Year, joining Rebecca Lobo (1995), Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2003), Maya Moore (2009, 2011), Tina Charles (2010), Breanna Stewart (2014-16) and Paige Bueckers (2021). Strong is the 16th National Player of the Year overall in program history and just the third sophomore to win one behind Moore and Stewart.
In what now feels like a distant memory, UConn kicked off its quest for a 13th national championship with a 90-52 victory over 16-seed UTSA. The Huskies were slowed by a poor shooting start, though that wasn’t much of a surprise following a 12-day layoff.
“I've seen over the years how many times the first game looks kind of wonky,” Geno Auriemma said postgame. “You're a little bit out of sorts from not playing and everybody is trying to hard to make it work, so it took us a little while to get going. Obviously, we didn't shoot the ball great like we normally do, but I thought for the most part we did what we needed to do. We got the cobwebs off and we'll get ready for Monday night.”
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Rankings and awards
Naismith finalists: UConn is all over the four-person finalist lists for the Naismith annual awards. Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd are both up for the Naismith Trophy, Strong is in contention for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year while Geno Auriemma is on the shortlist for Naismith Coach of the Year.
Accurate:
Young GOAT:
A well-deserved honor:
Who’s your starting five?
Only UConn:
Elsewhere in the world of UConn women’s basketball
Some big news in the coaching world: Carla Berube is leaving Princeton to take over at Northwestern.
A quick recap of how former UConn players and coaches performed in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament:
Vanderbilt: Shea Ralph advanced to her first Sweet Sixteen as a head coach, easily handling 15-seed High Point and 7-seed Illinois.
Princeton: Carla Berube and Co. went down in the first round to 8-seed Oklahoma State, 82-68.
Maryland: Mir McLean and Saylor Poffenbarger saw their collegiate careers come to an end with a 74-66 loss to North Carolina in the second round. McLean put up 12 points, 14 rebounds and four steals in 32 minutes while Poffenbarger struggled with just two points on 1-12 shooting.
Gonzaga: Inês Bettencourt put up seven points, four rebounds and four assists in the final game of her college career as the Zags fell to 5-seed Ole Miss, 81-66.
NC State: Qadence Samuels helped make sure Tennessee went winless in March by putting up 12 points in the Wolfpack’s 76-61 win over the Vols in the opening round. NC State was then blown out by 2-seed Michigan in the round of 32, 92-63.
Recruiting corner
Olivia Vukosa was named MaxPreps National High School Player of the Year.
Question of the week/poll/trivia
If UConn wins, who will be the Most Outstanding Player of the Fort Worth 1 Regional?
The week ahead
Thursday: UConn will practice and meet with the media ahead of its Sweet Sixteen matchup with North Carolina.
Friday: Top-seeded UConn and 4-seed UNC will square off in the Sweet Sixteen at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. local on ESPN.
Saturday: If the Huskies win, they’ll take part in media obligations ahead of the Elite Eight.
Sunday: UConn will play in the Elite Eight against either 2-seed Vanderbilt or 6-seed Notre Dame. That’ll be Sunday, Mar. 29 at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. local on ABC.
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