STORRS, Conn. — Following UConn’s 98-45 decimation of Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament second-round game, fifth-year senior Azzi Fudd couldn’t quite put her 34-point performance into words.
“I felt like I reached flow state for a second,” Fudd told reporters postgame. “My teammates were just finding me, setting me great screens. … I feel like I wasn’t really thinking. When I was open, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to shoot it.'”
Fudd alone outscored Syracuse 26-12 in the game’s first half, including six 3-pointers. The Huskies shot a scorching 65.9% from the field in the half, including 60% from behind the arc. Sophomore Sarah Strong (14 points) and freshman Blanca Quiñonez (13 points) joined Fudd in first half double-figure scoring. The Huskies had 13 steals on the half, and scored 30 points off of 16 Cuse turnovers.
“We were pretty locked in together, and that’s the best half of basketball, best 20 minutes, that I’ve seen in a long, long time from our team — not just this team, it’s happened other times, but this is about as good as it gets,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma told reporters postgame.
Fudd ended the game with 34 points and eight 3-pointers, both career-highs. Strong and Quiñonez added 18 points apiece. UConn appears to be peaking at the right time headed in to its 32nd consecutive Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, where it will face No. 4 seed North Carolina.
“When you have really good players that want to play together and they want to share the ball, things like that can happen,” Auriemma said postgame. “You know, watching the way we passed the ball … You just marvel at the things that they can do when they’re all in sync … It reminded me of some of the NCAA Final Four games last year. It looked a lot like that.”
It was a tough night for the Orange who, for a third consecutive game, were without the services of starting point guard Dominique Darius. Though they played more competitively in the second half, especially once Auriemma took out his starters, they simply couldn’t keep pace with the Huskies.
“I couldn’t simulate what we were going to face, and I recognized that in shoot-around,” Syracuse coach Felisha Legette-Jack (Coach Jack) said postgame. “I saw the distraction. I saw the looks in seeing all those Final Four championships. And I saw the weight go on the back of those young ladies’ heels, and to the point where they couldn’t make free throws. And so I knew that we were in trouble at around 2:30 this afternoon.”
What happened to Syracuse isn’t necessarily unique — it’s what UConn has done to its opponents all season long. The 36-0 Huskies have defeated their opponents by an average of 38.8 points per game and rank first in the nation in field goal percentage, assists and steals. UConn finished the season first in the AP Poll, which they led all season, and the NET rankings, also earning the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
On Friday, Coach Jack said she believed UConn is the best team in the country, and on Monday night, it looked to be true. The Huskies now head to Fort Worth to take on the No. 4 seed UNC for a spot in the Elite Eight.
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Coach Jack sounds off
For the third time since 2019, Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack (Coach Jack) brought her program into the dragon’s lair that is Storrs, Connecticut in March. In 2019 (as head coach of Buffalo), 2023 and now 2026, her season has ended at the hand of Auriemma’s program. The Orange also were shipped to UConn for the second round in 2017, though under a different head coach.
On Monday evening, Coach Jack used her time at the podium to express her frustration about the committee’s decision to once again send the Orange to Storrs.
“For us to do what we’ve done, to continuously have to come to UConn, and every single school that I go to, from Buffalo to — it’s unfair to the young people. I don’t know what I did,” Coach Jack said.
“Somebody said, ‘Is there something that they might have against me?’ If that’s the case, then we need to communicate about that, but for us to do what we’ve done and our body of work, to have to come and play the best team in the country?
“I mean, Geno has this thing going, and I love what he’s done. But we, I thought, deserved a little more respect. After being in this business for 37 years, and to have to come and be in this particular bracket every fricking year is unacceptable.”
Syracuse finished the season 24-9 (12-6 in ACC). It earned a No. 9 seed, and beat No. 8 Iowa State, 72-63, to advance to Round 2 and the date with UConn. Coach Jack believes that her team should have been met with a better fate following a successful ACC season.
“I just know this team right here could have a strong chance of getting beyond this particular level, and I’m hoping that I’m not disrespecting anyone, I’m hoping that I’m not bringing shame to Syracuse, crying over spilled milk,” Coach Jack said.
“I just want the young people that’s in my locker room to have a fighting chance. … What they’re going to notice is everybody that comes through Geno and UConn is going to get the wrath of what they can bring.”
