UNCASVILLE — After leading No. 6 Michigan by as many as 20 points early in the third quarter, the No. 1 UConn women’s basketball team suddenly found itself on the ropes early in the fourth with a meager two-point lead.
The team had gone more than nine minutes without points, and momentum just kept building in favor of the Wolverines.
But then, when the Huskies needed it most, Azzi Fudd finally took over to lead them to a 72-69 victory at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on Friday night.
The redshirt senior superstar ended the Huskies’ scoring drought with a 3-pointer that didn’t touch the rim early in the fourth quarter, then swished another soon after on a split-second release off an assist from junior KK Arnold. Fudd added a third for a solo 9-0 run, breaking open an 11-point lead for the Huskies in less than five minutes.
Fudd scored 13 points in the fourth alone to finish with a season-high 31 shooting 7-for-12 on 3-pointers, also adding two steals.
Michigan star Syla Swords almost single-handedly powered the Wolverines back into the game after the Huskies entered halftime ahead, 45-27. The sophomore guard dropped 21 points in the second half to finish with 29, and she was spectacular in the clutch cutting the Huskies’ lead back to a single possession multiple times in the final minute of the game.
UConn was also kept afloat by another dominant showing from Sarah Strong. The sophomore star had her third double-double of the season by halftime, finishing with 16 points plus a career-high 20 rebounds, six assists, three steals and four blocks.
The Huskies got out to an impressive start, dictating the pace almost immediately in the opening quarter. Michigan gave up five turnovers in the first, and they struggled to find any rhythm offensively through UConn’s stifling press shooting just 10% from the field. The Huskies held the Wolverines scoreless for more than five minutes after Swords scored the team’s first points on a 3-pointer, and they went on a 17-2 run to end the quarter up 21-5.
Junior guard Ashlynn Shade set the tone for UConn’s offense early, draining a pair of 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the game after entering the matchup averaging just 20% beyond the arc. The Huskies settled into a flow quickly with seven assists on eight made field goals in the first quarter, and they were less reliant on their defense to generate offense with just five points off turnovers.
Fudd caught fire for the first time in the second quarter, shooting 3-for-5 from 3-point range to enter halftime with 18 points. The Huskies had six different scorers in the first half with 28 combined points from Fudd and Strong, and the team had just two unassisted field goals as it headed to the locker room with an 18-point lead.
But UConn came out cold in the third, shooting a dismal 13.3% from the field as a team for just four points in the third. The Wolverines turned up their defensive pressure forcing six of the Huskies’ 17 turnovers in the game, and UConn was held scoreless for the final six minute and 19 seconds of the quarter while Michigan went on an 13-0 run.
Fudd accounted for all but 10 of UConn’s 23 fourth-quarter points, but the Wolverines put up a fight until the final buzzer. They outscored the Huskies 18-17 in the fourth but could never get close enough to force a lead change, giving UConn a wire-to-wire victory.