In its first game without Paige Bueckers since 2022-23, the UConn women’s basketball team routed Xavier 81-27 at the XL Center to remain undefeated in the Big East this season.
Bueckers was ruled out with a left knee sprain for Wednesday’s matchup, but the No. 7 Huskies didn’t miss a beat with their leading scorer sidelined. UConn was powered by 23 points from star guard Azzi Fudd, marking the redshirt junior’s highest-scoring performance since Nov. 27, 2022 against Iowa. She shot 9-for-14 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range, also adding three steals, two rebounds, an assist and a block.
Fudd’s breakthrough came in just her fifth start of the season after a right knee sprain kept her out of three games in December.
“Definitely I felt like I played with more confidence than what I’ve been playing with,” Fudd said. “I think partially it’s confidence in myself and my playing abilities, but also confidence in my knee, so I just felt a lot freer on the court tonight.”
Freshman phenom Sarah Strong was also impactful in just 20 minutes on the court with 15 points and seven rebounds plus a team-high five steals.
UConn dominated in the first quarter behind a stifling defensive effort, forcing 10 turnovers including five over the first six minutes of the game to power a 9-0 run. The Huskies scored 12 of their 21 first-quarter points off of turnovers and allowed just two field goals to Xavier, holding the Musketeers without a make from the floor for the final four minutes of the quarter.
Though the Huskies struggled from 3-point range early, the team remained highly efficient hitting 55.6% from the field in the first half. Both Fudd and Strong had double-digit points less than five minutes into the second quarter. Fudd matched her season-high 18 points in just 15 minutes, and Strong added 15 points plus five rebounds and four steals. The pair shot a combined 73.7% from the field and accounted for UConn’s only made 3-pointers in a 3-for-13 opening half from beyond the arc.
“When it’s a little bit of everything … a little bit of attacking the basket, this pull up, this three, that’s when Azzi’s at her best,” Auriemma said. “I thought for her, this was a great way to play a game where Paige is not in the game. Usually we’ll get two or three buckets in the first two or three possessions from Paige, and I was hoping that Azzi would do that in the first quarter and give us something like that. It took a little bit of time, but I thought she stepped up.”
UConn remained in complete control in the second quarter, even after coach Geno Auriemma emptied the bench with more than three minutes left in the half. The Huskies held Xavier to just four points on a single 3-point field goal in the second quarter while forcing 10 more turnovers, and four different players ended the first half with multiple steals. Sophomore Qadence Samuels grabbed two in just three minutes of playing time, and freshman Allie Ziebell sank a midrange jump shot at the buzzer to send UConn into halftime on a 15-1 run.
Ziebell got hot from 3-point range late in the third quarter with a pair of makes, and she finished with a career-high 17 points shooting 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. Even with some of their youngest lineup combinations on the floor, the Huskies went on an 18-2 run and outscored Xavier 22-10 in the third.
“She’s not hesitating. The thing that I that I am harping on just non-stop is you’ve really got to know who you are and know yourself, trust yourself and say why did Coach Auriemma recruit me?” Auriemma said. “To Ally’s credit, for the most part, she knows who she is. She knows this is what I do, I’m aggressive with the ball — and she’s getting better defensively. I hope we can play her a lot down the stretch.”
The Huskies opened the second half on another string of turnovers against the Musketeers, forcing five over the first five minutes to open up a 40-point lead early in the third quarter. The Huskies never allowed more than 10 points to Xavier in a quarter and finished with 42 points off of 32 forced turnovers against the Musketeers.
Most of UConn’s starters checked out midway through the third, and no player on the roster saw the court for more than 25 minutes. The Huskies were less productive in the fourth quarter with their stars fully off the floor scoring just 14 points after the team logged 20-plus in each of the previous three, but Auriemma said he was pleased to see so many players take advantage of their increased minutes. The Huskies finished with seven different scorers while nine recorded at least one assist and all 10 grabbed at least one steal.
“There was no looking around. There was no in-practice hesitancy or apprehension or, let’s look to Paige and where is she?” Auriemma said. “We’ve been through this so many times, and probably knowing that she’ll be back soon made it a lot easier, but I want them to learn to trust themselves and trust themselves to trust each other. Obviously they know that if we have any chance to do something great this year, Paige has to be a part of it, but that doesn’t mean that they should pass up opportunities to get better.”
