{"id":853639,"date":"2025-06-05T22:12:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T03:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/05\/a-healthy-azzi-fudd-stars-as-uconn-wins-womens-ncaa-tournament\/"},"modified":"2025-06-05T22:12:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T03:12:32","slug":"a-healthy-azzi-fudd-stars-as-uconn-wins-womens-ncaa-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/05\/a-healthy-azzi-fudd-stars-as-uconn-wins-womens-ncaa-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"A healthy Azzi Fudd stars as UConn wins women\u2019s NCAA Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy: Alanis Thames, The Associated Press<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span>Posted: <strong><time datetime=\"2025-04-06 16:57:30\">4:57 PM CDT Sunday, Apr. 6, 2025<\/time><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tLast Modified: <time datetime=\"2025-04-06 18:50:48\">6:50 PM CDT Sunday, Apr. 6, 2025<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 This time, Azzi Fudd was healthy. And she made a big difference for UConn.<\/p>\n<p>Read this article for free:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>To continue reading, please subscribe:<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>Monthly Digital Subscription<\/h4>\n<p><strong>$19 + tax for 4 weeks<\/strong><br \/>and receive a Canada Proud Manitoba Strong mug and sticker FREE!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com<\/li>\n<li>Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper<\/li>\n<li>Access News Break, our award-winning app<\/li>\n<li>Play interactive puzzles<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/canada-strong-merch01.png\" alt=\"Canada Proud, Manitoba Strong mug and sticker\">\n\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>*Special offer only available to new subscribers or returning subscribers without a subscription for more than eight weeks. New subscription must remain active for at least 12 weeks. If cancelled prior to 12 weeks, you will be charged regular price for the merchandise. Merchandise is provided \u201cas is\u201d and cannot be exchanged. Expect merchandise delivery within two weeks for addresses within Manitoba and up to four weeks if outside of Manitoba.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 This time, Azzi Fudd was healthy. And she made a big difference for UConn.<\/p>\n<p>Read unlimited articles for free today:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 This time, Azzi Fudd was healthy. And she made a big difference for UConn.<\/p>\n<p>Fudd was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after leading the Huskies to the program\u2019s 12th national championship. The dynamic guard scored 24 points during Sunday\u2019s 82-59 victory over South Carolina in the title game.<\/p>\n<p>UConn also reached the Final Four last season, but Fudd was sidelined by a torn meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. She could only watch as the Huskies were eliminated by Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the semifinals.<\/p>\n<figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/eb646a110b14d6b4f4b97bc1890b560dc2ca8134a35297c3afc9a30a067c764e.jpg?w=1000\" data-pswp-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/eb646a110b14d6b4f4b97bc1890b560dc2ca8134a35297c3afc9a30a067c764e.jpg?w=320 320w, https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/eb646a110b14d6b4f4b97bc1890b560dc2ca8134a35297c3afc9a30a067c764e.jpg?w=600 600w, https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/eb646a110b14d6b4f4b97bc1890b560dc2ca8134a35297c3afc9a30a067c764e.jpg?w=1920 1920w\" data-pswp-width=\"1024\" data-pswp-height=\"682\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/eb646a110b14d6b4f4b97bc1890b560dc2ca8134a35297c3afc9a30a067c764e.jpg?w=1000\" alt=\"UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) drives to the basket against South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts (21) during the second half of the national championship game at the Final Four of the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/John Raoux)\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><figcaption>UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) drives to the basket against South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts (21) during the second half of the national championship game at the Final Four of the women&#8217;s NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/John Raoux)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fudd was ready to go this time around. She scored 19 points in Friday\u2019s 85-51 victory over UCLA.<\/p>\n<p>Then, with the Gamecocks trying for a second straight championship, Fudd was terrific. She went 9 for 17 from the field. She also had five rebounds, three steals and an assist.<\/p>\n<p>Fudd scored 11 in the third quarter when the Huskies broke the game open. It was the most points in a single quarter of an NCAA title game by a UConn women\u2019s basketball player, and sixth-most by any women\u2019s player in a championship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think all of our mindset was just to be aggressive, stay locked in, stay disciplined, stay together,\u201d Fudd said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s exactly what we did. I happened to score 11 points, but I was doing what the game was giving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cheering crowd for the championship included her parents. Her mother wore a shirt that read \u201cFUDD AROUND AND FIND OUT.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, they\u2019re the reason I\u2019m playing basketball,\u201d Fudd said. \u201cThey taught me most of the things I know. So shoutout Mom and Dad. But to be able to stand here, to see all the people that I love in the crowd, people I love here on the stage with me, I don\u2019t even have words to describe this moment right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fudd led the way against South Carolina, but she got plenty of help. Sarah Strong had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Paige Bueckers scored 17 points in her final game with UConn.<\/p>\n<p>Healthy again, Fudd paid tribute to her teammates and all the people around her for the championship season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy teammates, the people I\u2019m with every single day, they support me, encourage me,\u201d Fudd said. \u201cI lean on them, and they\u2019re there for me every day. My family, the coaching staff, the support staff here, just the people I surround myself with, I think that their resilience then feeds off into me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After playing just two games last season, Fudd averaged 13.3 points per game \u2014 third on the team behind Bueckers and Strong \u2014 and posted career highs in shooting percentage (47.2%) and 3-point rate (44.6%) this season.<\/p>\n<p>The Huskies are 68-8 when Fudd plays and 26-1 when she scores at least 15 points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe as coaches felt like Azzi was the key to the tournament,\u201d UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. \u201cWe felt if she could have an Azzi-type game, that we would win. We kind of know what we\u2019re going to get from Paige. We kind of know what we\u2019re going to get from Sarah. So Azzi became the focal point for us of who has to step up tonight. And she did magnificently, obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though Bueckers is heading to the WNBA, Fudd announced last month she plans to return for one more year in Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP March Madness bracket: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/javascript:window.print();\" title=\"Print A healthy Azzi Fudd stars as UConn wins women\u2019s NCAA Tournament\"><i><\/i> Print<\/a>\n\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"mailto:?subject=A healthy Azzi Fudd stars as UConn wins women\u2019s NCAA Tournament - via the Winnipeg Free Press&#038;body=https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/uncategorized\/2025\/04\/06\/a-healthy-azzi-fudd-stars-as-uconn-wins-womens-ncaa-tournament\" title=\"Share by Email\" target=\"_blank\"><i><\/i> Email<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t<a title=\"Bookmark\" href=\"http:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/#\"><span><i><\/i><i><\/i><\/span> Read Later<\/a>\n\t<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> Alanis Thames, The Associated Press <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/uncategorized\/2025\/04\/06\/a-healthy-azzi-fudd-stars-as-uconn-wins-womens-ncaa-tournament\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: Alanis Thames, The Associated Press Posted: 4:57 PM CDT Sunday, Apr. 6, 2025 Last Modified: 6:50 PM CDT Sunday, Apr. 6, 2025 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 This time, Azzi Fudd was healthy. And she made a big difference for UConn. Read this article for free: To continue reading, please subscribe: Monthly Digital Subscription $19<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":853640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22531,913],"tags":[14545,10511],"class_list":{"0":"post-853639","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthy","8":"category-stars","9":"tag-healthy","10":"tag-stars"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}