UConn women's basketball guard Azzi Fudd got honest on her team's win over Georgetown without Paige Bueckers. The Arlington, Virginia native had a great homecoming game in the nation's capital, scoring 21 points in the Huskies' 73-55 victory. UConn women's basketball was hit with some adversity recently when its best player, Paige Bueckers, suffered a scary injury against Villanova a week ago. Luckily, the head coach Geno Auriemma's team will not be without their star for long as the All-American is expected to return from the knee sprain soon.
In a postgame interview with SNY's Chelsea Sherrod, Fudd, who's struggled with injuries throughout her college career, reflected on this emotional victory.
“It feels incredible. Any game I get to play with my teammates while getting to be surrounded by extra family tonight is really special. I look in the crowd now, and I'm like, ‘Wow.' I haven't seen some of these faces in so long, so it's just a special moment. It probably wasn't the cleanest, prettiest game we played this year, but that shows how we stuck together and pushed through. And we got the win, and that's all that matters. Everyone has been through this (on missing Paige Bueckers), missing teammates. So I think just all of us stepping up and being tough, just all those little pieces adding up, if we keep building and building, we will be pretty great.”
UConn will need all its key players back to win another national title
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As Paige Bueckers recovers, the Huskies should not rush to return their star. UConn women's basketball is hitting a manageable part of its schedule against largely Big East teams. With the pieces they have right now, the Huskies should be able to win their next six games comfortably. Geno Auriemma's team does have visits to No. 16 Tennessee and No. 2 South Carolina in February, where it would be ideal to be completely healthy by then.
The legendary Huskies head coach is vying for his twelfth national title. While UConn has made six Final Fours since Auriemma's last championship, this program hasn't won college basketball's greatest prize since 2015-2016. This team has a long way to go but has the top-end talent to end this drought.
Women's college basketball feels as wide open as ever in 2025. UCLA is the current No. 1 team in the country, and while the Bruins have looked dominant so far, they have never won a national championship in the sport. A program of UConn's pedigree and experience is facing a prime opportunity to hang another banner. However, this team will need to be fully healthy to accomplish this feat, which has been hard for Geno Auriemma's team recently.