The UConn Huskies won the Women’s NCAA Tournament in dominant fashion, whipping defending champ South Carolina 82-59 in the final thanks to outstanding games from their trio of stars — Paige Bueckers, Sarah Strong, and Azzi Fudd. Strong, the Freshman of the Year, scored 24, as did Fudd, who shook off a couple of poor shooting performances earlier in the tournament to go 16-29 in the Final Four while scoring 19 points against top-ranked UCLA and 24 against fellow one-seed South Carolina on her way to winning Most Outstanding Player honors.
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Fudd appeared on Good Morning America today to bask in the glow of the national championship, the UConn women’s first since 2016. While there, she was told by host Michael Strahan that none other than Steph Curry himself was jealous of her jump shot, because it “looks prettier than mine.”
Steph is generally agreed to be the greatest shooter of all-time, but he also has a point about Fudd. She shot over 43 percent from three this season, a stat made even more impressive by the fact that she did it after coming back from a season-ending ACL and meniscus tear that she suffered just two games into her junior year.
Fudd, who was once the number one recruit in America, also dealt with injuries that took her off the court in her freshman and sophomore years. Seeing her and Bueckers, who also came back from a torn ACL, win the title was pretty special.
Fudd admitted that she did have a pretty jump shot, but said, “It just feels wrong to say” that hers is prettier than the four-time NBA champ’s. “Steph’s is top-tier,” she said.
Strahan gushed over her shot, then came up with an amazing line to suggest that she should challenge Steph. “Let him Fudd around and find out,” the former defensive end said. Put that on a shirt!
Azzi Fudd and Steph Curry have a long history together
Fudd and Steph go way back. She attended his camp way back in 2018, then signed a first-of-its-kind NIL contract with his company SC30, which includes among other things his Under Armour Curry Brand, his Unanimous media company, and many other brand partnerships.
Steph provided Fudd with all the resources she needed, including doctors, recovery milestones, and cross-country flights to treatments, in the wake of her knee injury last year. Both Fudd and her parents have said that they don’t know where they’d be without Steph’s help.
After UConn beat Arkansas State in the first round of the tournament, Fudd announced via Instagram that she was coming back for one more year in college instead of entering the WNBA Draft, where she would almost surely have been a high pick.
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Steph tweeted her to celebrate her decision, “Proud of you Azzi!”
UConn is losing Bueckers, as she’s presumed to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft, and Kaitlyn Chen, another important player for them. The Huskies will still be strong contenders though as they attempt to defend their title, as Fudd and Strong will be joined by an international-heavy freshmen class made up of Blanca Quinonez, a forward out of Ecuador; Kelis Fisher, a five-star point guard from Baltimore; and center Gandy Malou-Memel, a daughter of Congolese refugees who grew up in Ireland.
UConn already has the most national titles in women’s college basketball history with 12, and next year Fudd will try to lead them to their 13th. Maybe after that she can challenge her friend and mentor to a little friendly shooting competition to see once and for all who has the prettier jump shot.
