STORRS — By nearly every metric, star guard Azzi Fudd’s performance in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was one of the best she’s ever had as a member of UConn women’s basketball team.

The redshirt junior played just 22 minutes in the Huskies’ 103-34 dismantling of Arkansas State on Saturday, and she led the team with 27 points to set a new postseason career high. She made six 3-pointers and hit every shot she took inside the arc to finish 8-for-11 from the field. Her seven assists were also a new career record, and she tied her career highs in steals with six and blocks with two.

But as coach Geno Auriemma scanned the box score after the victory, he keyed in on a different stat.

“I think she tied her career high in rebounds. How many did she have? One. Yeah, that’s a career high for her, I think,” Auriemma said with a sly grin. “So we’re not quite ready to put ‘the most all-around player in the history of UConn’ next to her name just yet, but we’re working on it. We’re working on it.”

Auriemma is legendary for his hot temper and sarcastic attitude, but he is also highly attuned to what each of his players need for motivation, so he quickly recognized when Fudd arrived on campus that she was more critical of herself than he could ever be. With her quiet discipline and a shot Auriemma describes as “beautiful,” Fudd isn’t the kind of player that needs frequent corrections anyway, so the Huskies coach often opts for a gentler approach with his star guard.

“When she’s shooting the ball, she’s got all these things going probably through her head analyzing every shot, every aspect of the shot, and she puts a lot of pressure on herself, so I tend to not put any pressure on her,” Auriemma said. “A conversation recently I told her that, and she said, ‘I’m not a baby. I can take it. You can coach me harder.’ So usually it’s things she’s already good at that I want to remind her, if you’re not doing those things then you’re not being Azzi Fudd.”

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma cracks up with from left, assistant coaches Tonya Cardoza, Morgan Valley and Jamelle Elliott as player Azzi Fudd (35) looks on during First Night festivities at UConn in Storrs, Conn., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (Jessica Hill/Special to the Courant)

Auriemma’s soft spot for Fudd became common knowledge among UConn fans after an episode of Sue Bird’s “Sue’s Places” docuseries, where teammate and longtime friend Paige Bueckers described Fudd as “the princess” because she so rarely finds herself on the receiving end Auriemma’s infamous shouting in practice. It’s a nickname Fudd has leaned into, releasing NIL merch bearing the slogan, ‘People’s Princess,’ but the redshirt junior reached a point on the court this season where she felt the royal treatment was holding her back.

Heading into the Big East Tournament, Fudd sat down with Auriemma and asked him explicitly to turn up the heat as the Huskies began their postseason run.

“I told him he can yell at me and he can be tough on me and I want him to be. He was like, okay we’ll see about that, and the next day he did get on me, so I was like, oh okay! It was a little surprising,” Fudd said with a laugh. “The reason I came here was to be coached by him and to learn from him, so I want that … I felt like I kind of needed that tough love. I haven’t really had it much, and sometimes you need that kick in the butt to get you going.”

Whether the head coach truly obliged Fudd’s request remains a point of contention. Bueckers, asked if Auriemma has gotten tougher on Fudd, answered with a definitive, “Nope.” But even if his behavior hasn’t changed drastically, it’s apparent that Fudd’s mindset has since her last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023. Fudd shot below 25% from 3-point range in every game during that run before UConn was eliminated in the Sweet 16, and she had as many steals, assists and blocks across those three matchups combined as she logged against Arkansas State on Saturday.

UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) smiles after making a basket during the first half against Arkansas State in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

“The challenge for me is that I want every shot to go in, so when it doesn’t sometimes I get frustrated, but it’s very unrealistic to think like that,” Fudd said. “It’s tough when you’re like yeah I know I messed up and I’ve got to get this right, but Coach says it all the time that when he’s yelling at us or getting on us, it’s like when we’re at an away game and that’s the crowd, that’s the other team going on a run. We need to show we can answer and fight back, so that’s also why I think it’s important to get that kind of treatment in practice and get used to being able to respond immediately.”

Auriemma still can’t find much to criticize in Fudd’s signature sharp-shooting, but he said he has been on the redshirt junior constantly about her rebounding in particular during preparation for March Madness. She is averaging 2.1 boards per game, but she set her actual career high with five in the team’s statement win of the season over No. 2 South Carolina on Feb. 16.

“These last three or four practices my emphasis with Azzi has been, you’re the worst rebounder in America … I try to remind these guys that everybody has to be a rebounder in the NCAA Tournament,” Auriemma said. “One rebound isn’t going to win you a game, but not getting that one rebound can lose you a game, so that’s a big deal. Oh, she had 27 points, I know … but me and my crazy mind I’m thinking ahead that it’s going to come down to one rebound, and we better get it. She’s big, she’s strong, she’s athletic, so that’s been my harp on her. Just rebound more.”

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Originally Published: March 23, 2025 at 12:10 PM EDT