SLAM 235 Cover star Azzi Fudd continued her hot streak last night against No. 3 ranked Texas. On the same night UConn retired Swin Cash’s No. 32, Fudd dropped 32 points. The superstar guard poured in 17 points in the fourth, threw four dimes, and shot 4-7 from beyond the arc.
Fudd’s hot streak has reminded us just how cold she is. The guard made history with the most points (58) any UConn player has scored through the first two games of the season over the past 20 years, besting seven-time WNBA All-Star Diana Taurasi’s record from the 2003-04 campaign. Fudd’s 32-point performance also matched Taurasi’s record for the most points a UConn player has ever scored against a top-five opponent.
Coach Geno Auriemma told Fudd she would have to step into a more Paige Bueckers-like role to provide what the team needs this season.
“She goes, ‘That’s a lot, coach — but it’s not something I can’t handle,'” Auriemma said per ESPN. “Well, she’s starting to find out now it’s going to be a b—- to handle that. But if you’re as good as she is, you live for those moments, right?”
On what led to her second half domination, Fudd said she her teammates encouraged her to shoot more.
“I don’t know why I didn’t shoot much in the first half, but I was open a couple of times, my teammates kept telling me to shoot and I let ’em go in the second half and they went in,” Fudd said. “I think we settled more in the second half. We were able to run more stuff.”
While Fudd did not beat Texas by herself – Lou Lopez, Aubrey Griffin, and Aaliyah Edwards all scored in double digits – Auriemma called her game “an All-American performance. That’s, like, player-of-the-year performance there tonight.”
Fudd’s performance lead UConn to an 83-76 win, moving them from No. 6 to No. 5 in the national rankings. The Huskies host No. 10 NC State on Sunday.
The current mood in Storrs:
Azzi Fudd is one in a million.
