Women's Fastbreak On SI

UConn's Azzi Fudd Will Return Just in Time for Geno Auriemma's Record

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team could not be getting Azzi Fudd back at a better time.

Grant Young

Mar 20, 2023; Storrs, CT, USA; UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) reacts after her three point basket against the Baylor Lady Bears in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavillion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Mar 20, 2023; Storrs, CT, USA; UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) reacts after her three point basket against the Baylor Lady Bears in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavillion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The No. 2 ranked UConn Huskies women's basketball team's game against Farleigh Dickinson on Wednesday is going to hold a ton of sentimental value.

The primary reason for this is because legendary Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma currently has 1,216 Division I wins, which ties him with Stanford University's now-retired head coach Tara VanDerveer for the most wins in NCAA Division I basketball history.

Therefore, Wednesday presents an opportunity for him to break that record. And given that the Huskies are a 49.5-point favorite against Farleigh Dickinson, all indications are that UConn will do so.

Over 60 of Auriemma's Huskies alumni (including legends like Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, and Maya Moore) are set to attend Wednesday's game in order to celebrate Auriemma's success.

However, it was just announced that UConn will have another reason to celebrate on Wednesday: the long-awaited return of Azzi Fudd.

Fudd (who is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft) tore her ACL during a practice last November and has been sidelined ever since.

Fans knew that Fudd was nearing a return in recent weeks. And on Wednesday morning, the UConn women's basketball team's X account posted a video showing some of Fudd's highlights with the caption, "Soon? How about now.

"Azzi Fudd is BACK."

Despite the time missed due to injury, Fudd is generally considered one of the best sharpshooters in college basketball right now.

Her teaming up with Paige Bueckers is going to make UConn even more lethal and should cement Wednesday's game becoming a celebration in Auriemma's honor.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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