Azzi Fudd is learning not to overthink her game with UConn basketball.

During an exhibition game in Italy this offseason, she put up 31 shots in a single game. Only nine of those went in. But that was OK.

“Her demeanor, her focus never wavered,” her father Tim Fudd said. “She shot every shot like she was supposed to shoot it and like it was meant to go in.”

Even though Fudd has been in and out of the Huskies’ lineup with injuries over her first two seasons, her growth has been evident. And as she heads into her junior year, she’s aiming to continue that trajectory.

“That was one of the hardest adjustments, and I think I struggled with that my whole freshman year,” Fudd said. “Like looking back at my game l’m and watching myself I can see like that’s not the player I am. So ever since that year ended, that was my goal (to) never play like that again. Like, just focusing on trying to get my mental side stronger and healthier, which is something that, you know, you can’t fix in the weight room or with (UConn’s athletic trainer) Janelle (Francisco) in the training room.”

Her body language, according to her parents, is the biggest tell for when Fudd is beginning to lose confidence in her game. But as she’s matured, she’s getting out of her own head.

“That’s something I still am working towards, kind of playing without thinking if that makes sense,” she said.

The new mentality has impressed head coach Geno Auriemma. And if she stays healthy, she could become one of the team’s two biggest offensive threats this season alongside Paige Bueckers.

“We’re trying to get her to just play free and clear. Don’t worry about, you know, trying to be perfect,” Auriemma said. “She wants everything to be 100 percent every time. But that’s starting to go away little by little. She’s not a natural risk taker, you know? Which maybe good because Paige and Nika (Mühl) take so many risks that we probably need a steady person out there.

“But she’s adding more to her game than just catch and shoot, catch and shoot, catch and shoot. I bet she’s gotten to the basket and finished in the lane more in, you know, these few practices than maybe she did all last season.”

UConn’s Paige Bueckers has not played a lot of basketball in the last 17 months. Yet despite her injuries, she is still making moves on the NIL market.

In September, Bueckers signed an NIL deal with Nike. And on Tuesday, she announced a $50,000 donation to a local Connecticut food pantry in partnership with one of her other NIL sponsors.

“I didn’t know I could have this impact,” she told CT Insider. “NIL was new for me and for everybody when it came in super-fast. So, to see all the things that I can do to help give back is crazy. I just didn’t really know I could do all this stuff, especially as a freshman in college when NIL became possible. To be able to partner with these organizations and brands and for us to collaborate ideas, it’s pretty cool to see.”

Her teammate Azzi Fudd also has used her NIL dollars to give back, as she hosted a youth basketball camp Sunday. The two also have used their deals to support their teammates, gifting them Bose headphones to sneakers.

“The willingness of athletes to kind of give back has been eye-opening,” said Sam Weber, head of marketing for NIL marketplace Opendorse. “… I think the stigma is that you know, these 18, 19, 20-year-old kids are going to get a big check in the mail. They’re going to buy shoes and lease cars and live large. And there’s a tiny, tiny percentage of that that’s happening. … A lot of these athletes are figuring out better ways to invest, to give back to their communities, all of that.”

Bueckers’ continued success with NIL deals also proves her enduring star power, even through injuries. While she missed the entire 2022-23 season with an ACL injury, she has an NIL valuation of $641,000, according to On3, which ranks in the top 75 across all of college sports.

“If you’re a women’s basketball player who has been in the public spotlight since they were in high school, you’ve been building fans who follow you across various channels for three, four or fifive years,” Weber said. “They’re invested in your journey because you’ve shared that journey with them over the years. And so, when you’re out for a season, or in some cases, even more than a season, then that doesn’t mean they forget about you. They’re still following along.

“They still care about what’s next. … That connection doesn’t die or go away when they’re injured, and that’s why Paige’s audience is every bit as valuable today as before she hurt her knee.”

Diana Taurasi is excited to see what UConn basketball can do with a healthy Paige Bueckers.

The 21-year-old guard missed last season with an ACL tear, but she officially has been cleared to return for the 2023-24 season. And Taurasi believes the Huskies and the sport will be better with Bueckers on the court.

“I think the game has missed Paige,” Taurasi said Thursday. The Phoenix Mercury guard is in Connecticut to face the Sun at 7 p.m. ET Thursday, though she is questionable to play with a left toe injury.

And while the 41-year-old Taurasi is nearing the end of her WNBA career, she is keeping her eye on Bueckers and the next generation of stars.

“With who’s going 1 or 2 (in the draft), it’ll be exciting. I’ll be watching very closely,” she said. Bueckers, who will enter the season as a redshirt junior, could declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft, but she also will have two years of eligibility remaining.

UConn will look to capitalize on the return of Bueckers coupled with a healthy Azzi Fudd, who missed much of last season with her own knee injuries. Taurasi, who won three NCAA titles with the Huskies from 2000-04, has high expectations for this year’s squad.

“This team, that hopefully will be healthy going into the season, has a chance to be one of the most exciting teams that we’ve ever seen,” Taurasi said. “As a fan and obviously alumni now, I’m excited to see it.”

Paige Bueckers is back.

After missing the 2022-23 season with an ACL injury, the UConn guard and 2021 Player of the Year has been cleared to play again, she announced Wednesday on her Instagram.

“All clear and ready for takeoff,” Bueckers wrote.

UConn’s roster was riddled with injuries throughout last season. In addition to season-ending injuries to Bueckers and freshman Ice Brady, Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and Dorka Juhász all missed significant time.

UConn still finished with a 31-6 record before losing to Ohio State in the Sweet 16, ending the program’s run of 16 straight Elite Eight appearances and 14 straight Final Fours. The feat was impressive, as UConn played parts of the season with just seven available players. But considering the squad’s historic postseason dominance, a Sweet 16 loss could still be categorized as disappointing.

Now, with Bueckers healthy, the Huskies are poised to reassert their dominance.

The redshirt junior was also injured for a large portion of the 2021-22 season, so Huskies fans haven’t seen Bueckers at full strength since her Player of the Year campaign as a freshman. That season, Bueckers averaged 20 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds while playing 36 minutes per game. In 2021-22, while not fully healthy, Bueckers put up 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game and led the Huskies to the NCAA championship game, where they lost to South Carolina.

Bueckers’ return has been highly anticipated, but she’s not the only weapon UConn boasts heading into the new season.

Aaliyah Edwards also returns for her senior season, after a junior campaign in which she played all 37 games for the Huskies and held the team together during difficult stretches. Edwards was named the Big East’s Most Improved Player and to the All-Big East First Team for her efforts. The forward, who spent the offseason representing Canada in the FIBA AmeriCup, averaged 16.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocks per game last season.

Fudd should also be healthy after a knee injury limited her playing time during her sophomore season. The 2021 No. 1 recruit played 15 games last season, averaging 15.1 points per contest and showing glimpses of her superstar potential.

Point guard Nika Mühl returns for her senior season after leading the team with 7.9 assists per game, and Aubrey Griffin will play as a graduate student after recording 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest in 2022-23.

Brady, the No. 5 recruit in 2022, is ready to make her UConn debut after being sidelined with a dislocated patella tendon. Ducharme, Ayanna Patterson, Amari DeBerry and Inez Bettencourt are also back, and the Huskies added two five-star freshmen to the roster (guards KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade) and one four-star (forward Qadence Samuels).

Currently, the Huskies have one injury to contend with. Jana El Alfy, a 6-5 center who joined the team last January and did not play, will miss the 2023-24 season with a ruptured Achilles.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

For the first time since 2007, the UConn Huskies are not in the Final Four. And while that simple fact may have some pressing the panic button, coach Geno Auriemma is not. 

The loss ended a 14-year streak of Final Four berths, and snapped a 16-year streak of advancing to the Elite Eight.

“The problem with streaks is, the longer they go, you’re closer to ending it than you are to the beginning of it,” Auriemma said following his team’s loss to Ohio State, noting that it was “just a matter of time” before the streak ended.

While that does signal a shifting college basketball landscape, it does not mean that UConn is going away any time soon. And if you ask South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, it won’t take long for them to return to dominance. 

“UConn is going to continue to be UConn,” Staley said. “They’re going to reload. If you see their roster that’s coming in and who they’re bringing back next year, they’ll reload. They’ll start a new streak.

“I don’t think any of us that’s outside of UConn, we’re not panicking. They’re going to be who they are. They’re going to always — you get a chance to beat UConn, it’s always going to be a big win for you and your program.”

This year was a tough one for UConn, as the team was plagued by injuries that kept Paige Bueckers out for the season and players like Azzi Fudd sidelined for significant portions of it. 

But Bueckers and Fudd — and most of UConn’s roster — will return for the Huskies next season.

“It’s not over,” Staley said. “It’s a scary thing because they lost a lot more games than they normally lose. But they were hampered by injuries, and once they get healthy, once they get Paige back, once this year’s recruiting class is able to play and who they’ll bring in, it’s back to the drawing board.”

For Auriemma, who noted that “a lot of streaks” ended this year for UConn, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to have those monkeys off the team’s back.

“It might be time to get them all out of the way and start fresh next year,” he said. “Just a matter of time. It’s not like when will it happen. It’s just a matter of time. I mean, it’s not if it’s not going to happen. It’s just a matter of time when it’s going to happen. And it was going to happen sooner rather than later.

“I think that the other thing that it —  that you take from it is how incredibly difficult it is to win in March in the NCAA tournament and because we made it look so routine and so easy, we gave the impression that it’s very easy to do. It’s a reminder that, no, it’s not. It’s very difficult to do. So you appreciate what we had, what we did, and, you know, you have to start another one next year.”

And while some may have thought a Final Four without UConn meant a loss for the NCAA Tournament as a whole, increased viewership and attendance records have shown that the game has grown beyond just the Huskies – something that is good not just for the game but for women’s sports as a whole.

“When you lose UConn, you lose part of a section of the country that enjoys watching UConn, their dominance,” Staley said. “But the game has grown. Not just this year and not just because UConn is no longer in the tournament. We are in demand.

“There are so many great narratives, so many great players, so many great coaches, so many great storylines that we’re able to hold our own even if UConn is not a part of [it]… And we need to do a better job not just with UConn. All the teams that have been dominant, we need to talk about them as part of our women’s basketball history. This is a new history that we’re venturing into because there are so many great players and parity that we need to start documenting.”

Any questions of just how much UConn women’s basketball missed Azzi Fudd were answered Monday, as the star sophomore played her best game since her return from injury in the No. 2 seed Huskies’ 77-58 second-round win against No. 7 seed Baylor.

Fudd played 37 minutes and scored 22 points in the victory, both the highest marks for the guard since Nov. 27, just before she sustained the first of two knee injuries that kept her out for most of the season.

While coach Geno Auriemma did not plan to lean quite so heavily on Fudd in just her fifth game back from injury, her ability to play — and to play at a high level — is a credit to her recovery process. And she’s still “getting stronger,” he said after the game.

“That’s way more than I wanted to play her,” he said. “But at the same time, that just goes to show you how far she’s come back and how she feels…

“I’m just glad she’s healthy and can play because I know how much she’s missed it. But the impact that she has on a game is just immeasurable.”

Fudd scored 16 points in the third quarter, more than the whole Baylor team, though she demurred when asked about her impact on the game.

“I think everyone played an incredible role tonight, but just keeping that mindset of being aggressive and having my teammates and the coaches continuing to remind me to don’t stop shooting, keep shooting, keep looking for your shot, I think that’s what it was,” she said.

Indeed, the 5-11 sophomore is still finding her shot after her injury-riddled season. She shot 40.9% (9-for-22) from the field Monday, better than in any game since her return from her second knee injury on March 4, but below the 53.3% shooting efficiency she managed before her first injury on Dec. 4.

Her teammate Nika Mühl, though, said the Huskies still feel Fudd’s impact, even as she continues to work her way back to full strength.

“Azzi’s trying to be humble here, but if she misses 100 shots that game, I would still get her the last shot for the win,” Mühl said. “That’s how good of a shooter she is. She is definitely the best shooter that I’ve ever played with. Her shot is perfect…

“Azzi got hot today, and I can’t wait to see what she’s going to go for the rest of the tournament because it’s only the beginning from here.”

Every day, Azzi Fudd is getting back to being the player UConn needs in the NCAA Tournament. 

Fudd, who missed most of the regular season with a knee injury, but made her return in the Big East tournament and helped UConn to the title.

Speaking with the Hartford Courant, Fudd called the conference tournament “the first little intro” before adding that she’s “ready now” for the NCAA Tournament.

“I know she hasn’t played a lot of basketball recently, so a little bit at a time. And she’s looked really, really good in practice,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “You can still see there’s a little bit of rustiness there, which is natural. But like I said last year when we added Paige (Bueckers), I said, ‘I don’t know that anybody in the country all of a sudden is adding somebody of that caliber.’ Now we just have to obviously take advantage of it.”

The other Huskies, including Dorka Juhász, know what Fudd brings to the table, which is more than just a bit of breathing room on the bench.

“When we played the past three games, you could just tell how much we missed her,” Juhász said. “Having her back, we’re a whole different team.”

Fudd, meanwhile, is approaching this year’s March Madness with a “brand new perspective.”

“I think injuries definitely give you a brand new perspective on the game,” Fudd said. “On how much you love it, how much it means to you. It makes you work harder. That was my motivation all through my rehab processes both times, just remembering how much I want to play, having to sit there and see the whole team struggle at times knowing that I wanted to be able to contribute and not just have to suffer in silence on the side. 

“That was my motivation and I’m back, so now I’m doing everything I can to stay back and help the team win.”

UConn women’s basketball limped to the end of the regular season, beset by injuries and inconsistent play. Even coach Geno Auriemma doubted his team’s postseason chances.

Then the calendar flipped to March.

The No. 7 Huskies (29-5) found their footing in the Big East Tournament, building to a 67-56 win against Villanova in Monday’s championship game. With the victory, they claimed their 10th straight conference tournament title (third in the Big East) and 28th overall.

“We definitely have a different edge to us when March comes, when the games really, really, really matter,” junior guard Nika Mühl said. “… We’re just going to continue to keep that up because now every game matters.”

UConn ended the regular season with three losses in its last eight games. And the five wins it eked out were all decided by 10 points or fewer. The team had dealt with a number injuries, and particularly the absence of star sophomore Azzi Fudd, but Auriemma also called out the “selfishness” he had seen down the stretch.

Rather than become mired in their struggles, though, the Huskies saw in March and in the Big East Tournament a chance to turn the page.

“It almost felt like a chapter had been closed,” Auriemma said after the title win. “I can sit back now and really let everything, like, wash over you that you’ve been holding in. So many things have happened on and off the court this past season — personally, team-wise, everything — that to get to this point, you want to just close that book and now start a brand-new one starting next Sunday.

“That book ended the right way. It had a lot of acts and a lot of tragedies and a lot of ups and downs, a lot of stuff, but the book ended the right way. And now it’s time for a new one.”

The return of Azzi Fudd right in time for the postseason helped. She scored 11 points off the bench against Villanova. So did the dominance of junior forward Aaliyah Edwards, who was named the Most Outstanding Player in the tournament after posting her third-straight double-double (19 points, 15 rebounds).

“I think the whole season she’s been carrying us,” senior forward Dorka Juhász said of Edwards. “And I just remember, even last year, when the tournament came, a different Aaliyah came out to play.”

With the Big East title, the Huskies gathered momentum ahead of the NCAA Tournament, which tips off next week.

The health of sophomore Azzi Fudd has been the main topic of conversation surrounding UConn this season. The star guard injured her knee, returned, and then was sidelined once more.

The guard’s status becomes even more important as the Huskies begin the Big East tournament at noon Saturday and then move on to the NCAA tournament, where they have a streak of 14 consecutive Final Fours on the line.

Fudd played in seven games to start the season before injuring her knee in a 74-60 loss to Notre Dame on Dec. 4. The guard returned for two contests – wins against St. John’s and Georgetown – but only played 12 minutes against the Hoyas before reinjuring her knee. She has been out since then.

Before her injuries, Fudd was her team’s leading scorer, scoring 17.9 points per game. She shot 53.4% from the field, 43.4% from beyond the arc and 92.3% from the free throw line in her limited time.

Before Fudd returned to play on Jan. 11 and 15, UConn had a clear timeline for her recovery. But after her latest injury, the program has not offered information on her potential return.

The sophomore did participate in warmups before Monday’s senior night win over Xavier. Though she did not play, her presence on the court seems to indicate an imminent return. UConn coach Geno Auriemma, though, did not offer any assurances after the win.

“It’s not going to be an easy transition if it does happen at all,” Auriemma said of the possibility of Fudd returning to the lineup. “But at the same time, if it does happen, it’s better than if it doesn’t happen.”

The star guard has been working out with assistant coach Morgan Valley, and Auriemma said Fudd has told him, “I’ll be ready when I’m ready.”

UConn opens the Big East Tournament on March 4 at Mohegan Sun Arena, with the team’s opponent still to be determined.

Azzi Fudd is still working her way back from injury for UConn women’s basketball. But with just two games remaining in the regular season for the No. 4 Huskies (24-5), her time is running short.

The team still does not have a timeline for her return, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Friday, though she has been working out with assistant coach Morgan Valley.

“I’ll be ready when I’m ready,” Auriemma said Fudd told him.

The star sophomore guard first injured her right knee in a Dec. 4 loss to Notre Dame. While Fudd missed the next eight games, she returned on Jan. 11, scoring 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench in a dominant win over St. John’s.

In the very next game, though, she injured her knee again. That injury, which came in a Jan. 15 win against Georgetown, was new, not an aggravation of the previous injury, Auriemma revealed Friday.

The 20-year-old’s latest stint on the sidelines adds to her already troubling injury history. She tore the ACL and MCL in her right knee following her sophomore season at St. John’s College High School (D.C.), and she missed 11 games with a foot injury during her freshman season at UConn. She has played in just nine games this season.

Her injury also has spelled trouble for the depleted Huskies. They are playing the season without star Paige Bueckers, and they have dealt with a number of other injuries and absences. The toll could be catching up with them, as they have lost three of their last six games.

“At this time of the year, nothing’s fixable,” Auriemma said after the Huskies’ loss Tuesday against St. John’s.

UConn has two games remaining on its regular-season slate, a road game against DePaul at 2 p.m. Saturday and a home game against Xavier at 7 p.m. ET Monday.