Azzi Fudd and Sarah are strong the keys of Uconn who do it back?
Tampa. Fla. – When it was Sarah Strong’s turn to get on the staircase and cut her piece of the net, the Uconn serial number walked carefully, meticulously planning its action course.
The longtime assistant Chris Dailey had just given the nineteen year old a quick primer in the way he could only do the winner of 11 previous titles: where to cut, as part of the target edge. But strong, a neof of a neof again, did not seem so safe.
“Oh friend,” he said once he arrived at the basket and grabbed the scissors from the font. “In this way?”
His piece of the net in tow, looked at herself around the crowd of the Amalie Arena and complained a smile worthy of memes before giving her supporters an embarrassed wave.
A few minutes later, it was the turn of Azzi Fudd.
The graduate guard needed similar reassurance and looked back to his teammates for some last minute instructions once he arrived at the circle.
“Oh, small,” he said, while the scissors cut through the white lace.
Reductioning networks is a rite of passage for most of Uconn’s stars who adapt to the coach Geno Auriemma, winner of (now) 12 national titles. But these Huskies had never done it before the second seed Uconn dismantled n. 1 seed of the southern Carolina 82-59 In the match of the National Championship on Sunday for the first title of the program in nine years. Forgive strong and Fudd-which each has scored 24 game points-to need assistance.
If everything goes according to the plans, however, the duo could be old professionals this time next year.
Azzi is only surgical..paige is just a monster all around …. Sarah Forte, my God, how did you become so well so soon ??? Large impact on Espn
– Kevin Durant (@Kdtrey5) April 6, 2025
Fudd, the fourth year guard, has already announced that he will return to the program for a last race in 2025-26. Strong, who closed with an 114 -point serial number through the NCAA tournament, is about to go down as one of the most dominant forces of Uconn. Even if the guard of the superstar Paige Bueckers leaves the program, the Huskies must feel good with what is in advance with the team now firmly in their hands.
“Going down this, the trust of this team will be higher than ever and it is exactly what we need,” said Fudd, the national championship hat sitting above its intertwined braids. “When we play with everyone in the roster playing with confidence, you saw what happened (Sunday) night. You can’t stop.”
Auriemma said that his technical staff deduced Fudd would be the “tournament key”. He dazzled against the Gamecocks, finishing shooting 9 out of 17 to go with five rebounds and three thefts. His ability to reach the basket outside dribbling was evident as he made the defense of the South Carolina sculpted. After going without a score in the second half against the UCLA in the Final Four, he closed with 11 points in the third quarter alone, finding a way to enter a groove in a night in which his 3 -point shot was not falling. His defense was suffocating.
“We talked about it in the changing rooms before the game, only the technical staff. We said:” Every time Azzi scores more than 16 points “, I forget what exactly the number was -” We win each of those games, “said Auriemma.
“In a sense, we know what we will get from Paige. We know in a certain sense what we will get from Sarah. So Azzi has become the focal point for us of those who have to intensify tonight. And he did beautifully, of course.”
Fudd gained the highest votes of the players in the celebration phase of Uconn, in which his teammates forced her with confetti and his father cheered together with two cell phones in his hand – one for the photos and the other for videos.
Strong, that the coach of the South Carolina Dawn Staley suggested at the beginning of this week could eventually go down as the greatest player in the history of Uconn he holds him, he also gained honors for all tournaments. A year a day after working in Huskies as the main perspective of the nation, he added 15 rebounds to follow the score.
“I feel as if I had done better than I expected. It was nice to score that,” said Strong, while Auriemma raised his eyes a few places to the reluctance of his taciturn star to elaborate. “However, it wouldn’t have happened without my teammates.”
In fact, as Fudd said, Sunday was a complete effort from everyone on the floor for the Huskies. Bueckers closed with 17 points, while Kk Arnold added nine. FUDD and Strong combined for only 11 shy of the production of the South Carolina team.
Arnold, the second year guard known for its energy, also returns in 2025-26. So they do the Jana El Alfy Center and the Ashlynn Shade guard, which now have a significant starting experience. He throws forward 6 feet-2 and a former five-star prospect of Ayanna Patterson-I has lost most of the last two seasons with injuries-and suddenly Uconn seems like a team that will be ready to recharge as soon as they start the practices out of season.
Fudd joked with Bueckers who promised to “really help” this championship game after some bad brussels sprouts made him sick during Uconn’s loss against the Gamecocks two years ago in Minneapolis. Sunday, he seemed encouraged on what will come. It will take a while to sink this feeling, but if there is a program that will block as soon as possible, it is Uconn.
“I know that our elderly will go away, and this is certainly an important part of our team,” Fudd said. “But also have so many pieces that remain and the pieces that come and be able to build from that and build on that trust, rely on that ability and chemistry – I think it will be a fantastic year.”
(Photo of Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong: M. Anthony Nesmith / icon Sportswire via Getty Images, C. Morgan Engel / NCAA Photo via Getty Images)
