Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd have waited a long time for this moment.
UConn’s one-two punch of Bueckers and Fudd came close to winning it all in 2022, but the Huskies fell short to South Carolina in the championship game. Despite the 64-49 blowout loss, the future looked bright for UConn and its dynamic duo. But as fate would have it, that loss would end up being the last March Madness game Bueckers and Fudd would play together for the next 1,084 days due to a string of devastating injuries.
Now, Bueckers, 23, and Fudd, 22, have led the No. 2 Huskies back to the 2025 women's NCAA Tournament national championship game, where they will face the defending champion Gamecocks for the chance to win the program’s record 12th title on Sunday in Tampa, Florida. It's a full-circle moment for the veterans.
“To be here at this stage is really rewarding,” Bueckers said Saturday, after dropping 16 points in UConn’s 85-51 Final Four win over No. 1 UCLA on Friday. “To both be doing what we love after all we've both been through, I'm sure if you asked her, she wouldn't change it. I wouldn't change it just because of how it shaped us and how it's shaped our mentality, how it shaped our faith and belief in everything that happens for a reason.”
Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd: From teammates to family
Buckers and Fudd first met in 2017 while trying out for the USA Basketball Women's U16 National Team. The budding hoopers both made the team, alongside the likes of
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