HARTFORD, Conn. — Over 14,000 fans gathered to watch the Connecticut Sun play their last game in Hartford against the Dallas Wings, but it very well could have felt like a home game for either team.
It was a full house at PeoplesBank Arena on Thursday night, as fans packed the stands wearing a mix of bright orange Sun jerseys and No. 5 and No. 35 jerseys for UConn alums Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd — in both the Wings’ blue and green and signature white UConn Huskies jerseys.
In the basketball capital of the world, the love and adoration for women’s hoops stretches across Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and here, in Hartford, where even former Boston Celtics NBA champion Ray Allen and former New England Patriots Super Bowl champs Devin and Jason McCourty were in attendance.
And yet, it was the former Huskies who put on a show.
After controlling much of the game, the Sun were up by 6 points with 5:05 minutes left in the fourth when Azzi Fudd hit her first shot of the night in crunch time to cut the deficit to 4 points.
Bueckers later made a timely layup with 2:15 left to put the Wings within 2 points. Just 10 seconds later, Aaliyah Edwards muscled her way to the basket and made her own driving layup over Jessica Shepard to give the Sun back a 3-point lead. As the crowd roared, Edwards even hit the “too small” celebration.
Wings center Li Yueru then knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game. Bueckers then gave the Wings their first lead in the fourth by knocking down a step-back jump shot, just 34 seconds later.
After drawing the foul, Bueckers raised her fists in the air in celebration and flexed her arms — and as she screamed in triumph, the entire arena went absolutely wild.
Edwards then answered back when she caught a pass from Sun floor general Leïla Lacan while cutting to the basket to give Connecticut a 1-point lead again.
For Edwards, this marked the first time she faced Fudd professionally and the fourth matchup against Bueckers.
It was at that point that the game became a shootout between the former UConn teammates: with less than a minute left in the game, Fudd knocked down a pull-up jump shot to put the Wings up by 2, only for Edwards to tie the game again after putting Li in a spin cycle and finishing at the rim.
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By that point, the Wings had taken control of the game as both Bueckers and Shepard drew two key fouls and knocked down two apiece to win the game.
While the Wings ended up victorious, winning 86-83, the performances from both teams were, undoubtedly, an exhilarating matchup. Bueckers led the Wings in scoring with 25 points and was 5-6 from the free-throw line, while Shepard and Alanna Smith both finished in double digits with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
For Connecticut, Lacan totaled 18 points and five assists while four Sun players finished with double-digit points, including rookie Charlisse Leger-Walker (14), veteran center Brittney Griner (13) and solid 11-point performances from both Edwards and Nelson-Ododa.
Afterward, Bueckers spoke to The IX Basketball about the competitiveness between her, Edwards, Fudd and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who finished just two rebounds shy of a double-double and has continued to impress with her ability to finish at the rim.
“Those are our sisters, that’s family,” Bueckers said. “The UConn bond is for life, just what you go through, how you go through it, the experiences, the relationships that you build. Obviously, we’re competing against each other tonight, so we both wanted to beat each other and go to war that way. But at the end of the day, it’s always love, it’s always a sisterhood, and I really am happy for those guys. They’re playing well, and happy we got the win, too.”
Bueckers even mentioned her hopes for an exhibition match in the future when sharing her message to the fans.
”I hope we can get like an exhibition game or something at Gampel on campus,” she said. “That would be really cool. So, kind of speaking that into existence — but, just how grateful I am for them, the support throughout the entire five years. I know it’s going to be continued for the rest of my life.”
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Once the arena had cleared out, fans had gone home, and the only people left on the court were media members, team personnel and the former Huskies themselves, the former Huskies had a moment to catch up.
While still wearing their game uniforms, Bueckers, Nelson-Ododa and Edwards stayed back, laughing and smiling as they appeared to joke around with each other. Fudd later joined them, too.
“To play against my former teammates. It’s pretty cool,” Edwards told the media postgame before jokingly pointing out: “I got the and-one on Paige, though, so I’m definitely going to call her out on that one.”
They then all stood side by side and posed for a picture before saying goodbye.
The game had long since concluded, but in that moment, it was obvious that their bond hadn’t ever wavered.
