UConn star Azzi Fudd suffered a disappointing end to her college basketball career, as her team fell 62-48 to South Carolina, ending the Huskies’ impressive undefeated run at the Final Four.
That crushing loss featured one of UConn’s worst performances in all of the season or tournament, with Dawn Staley’s South Carolina team looking hungrier and more determined to get back to the championship game. It spilled over into postgame frustrations, as head coach Geno Auriemma confronted Staley about something, leading to officials and staff having to separate the two coaches.
Everyone appeared for postgame press conferences, including Fudd, who sat alongside her head coach as they discussed what went wrong and their reactions to how things played out. Fudd was asked to describe how she was feeling knowing that this would be her final game with UConn, as the senior now departs for the WNBA.
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“Yeah, a lot of emotions,” Fudd said postgame, looking down and pausing for several moments, before becoming teary-eyed, with Auriemma patting her on the back.
“Obviously, this isn’t how I wanted my UConn career to end, but these five years, I have so much to be grateful for. I couldn’t have asked for better teammates, better coaches, a better experience. I’ll look back on college…with this game as I said, not how I wanted it to end…but what this team is, what this season was for us,” she said.
“I think, guilty. I feel like I let the team down today, but a lot of gratitude, a lot of love, and just a lot that I’ll never be able to verbalize,” she said, explaining she’d “never be able to verbalize” how much the team and staff meant to her.
Fudd finished with just eight points on 3-for-15 shooting, to go with five assists, a rebound, two turnovers, and a steal. She also had four personal fouls for a UConn team that committed 17 in the game, which put South Carolina at the line many times.
For her collegiate career, she ends with 1,679 points, 269 rebounds, 236 assists, 190 steals, 50 blocks, and one championship from last year. Her team this year finishes 38-1, with that one loss an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise stellar career for Fudd.
It’s unclear what her next landing spot will be, although many still believe she is set to become the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday, Apr. 13. If so, that would mean a reunion with former UConn teammate Paige Buckers on the Dallas Wings.
At the very least, she’s expected to be the second pick in the draft, and should still be remembered amongst the greats who have played for the UConn Huskies under Geno Auriemma.
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