We are now just days away from seeing Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers don their UConn Huskies uniforms and step out on the court together. Geno Aureimma and his squad will begin to work out the kinks in early season action against Arkansas on Sunday, November 14 at 1pm ET. Nationwide, women’s hoops fans will have to wait for UConn’s first nationally televised game against Notre Dame on December 5 (Noon ET on FS1).

Bueckers, the number one recruit of the 2020 class, lived up to the hype and then some with an explosive freshman year at UConn. Her 20 points per game set a new freshman record for the dynastic program. She added 5.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game, all while maintaining an overall shooting percentage of 52.4. She swept all the national player of year awards for which she was eligible, including the Naismith Trophy, AP Player of the Year, and the Wooden Award, and was the first freshman to ever win each of those honors on the women’s side.

Even then, amidst the showers of praise heaped on Bueckers, you’d hear someone mutter, “But just wait ‘til to you see Azzi Fudd.” 

Just like Bueckers, Fudd was the top recruit in the country for her own class of 2021. She started out as a point guard like Bueckers but has developed into a shooting guard with lights out ability from both inside and outside the arc. In 2019, she became the first sophomore to ever be named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, which she earned by averaging 26 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game that season. After recovering from a nasty knee injury the following summer, her junior season was cut short and her senior season was cancelled completely due to Covid-19. But Fudd never pulled her foot off the gas and stayed focused by training at home, playing for her club team, and with Bueckers on USA Basketball. Before starting her freshman year in Storrs this fall, Fudd helped lead Team USA’s U19 squad to the gold medal at the FIBA World Cup over summer in Latvia.

 

Now, Fudd and Buecker’s basketball journeys have finally converged at UConn, stoking premature chatter about how this duo could outshine that of Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.

The two athletes have been close friends since first meeting at USA Basketball youth team trainings, and Bueckers had no shame in recruiting Fudd to follow her to UConn. 

Fudd recalled to the Associated Press a time when Bueckers came to her house and played an assist-reel of herself showing all the amazing passes Fudd could reap the benefits of on the court with her. Granted, after the ink had dried on Fudd’s Letter of Intent, Beuckers quipped, “That deal’s over. The recruiting tactic worked. But if she’s open and I’m open, I’ll probably take the shot.”

This is where the real magic of this pairing can be found, not on the stat sheets or highlight reels, but in the genuine connection and endearing banter they have off the court.

Whereas Bueckers is outgoing, witty, and showy, Fudd is more reserved and pensive with less outward bravado. 

“I was just nervous about how I would fit in,” Fudd confessed at a recent media event about arriving to UConn. “I don’t think she [Paige] gets nervous. She helps calm my nerves, but at the same time, I still don’t understand her. We’re very similar, but at the same time very different.” 

The deep friendship they’ve formed is cemented at its core by their shared work ethic and commitment to the pursuit of perfection. They put in the work together in the gym and then let loose off the court, charming viewers with TikToks and friendly ribbing.

@whitechocolate535

Never been dusty 😮‍💨💧 #mediaday #uconn

♬ Help me hit 10k - Shane

When Bueckers capped off last year’s award season by winning the ESPY for Best College Athlete in Women’s Sports, she used the spotlight to call out racial bias in media coverage that continues to give white players, like her, more attention than black players.

👏 @paigebueckers1 pic.twitter.com/vFoSoczHn6

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) July 11, 2021

“I want to shed a light on Black women. They don’t get the media coverage that they deserve,” Bueckers said. “I think it’s time for change. Sports media holds the key to storylines. Sports media and sponsors tell us who is valuable, and you have told the world that I mattered today, and everyone who voted, thank you. But I think we should use this power together to also celebrate Black women.”

Interestingly, Buecker’s challenge to the sports industry to do better now has a perfect test case. Fudd, who is Black, checks all the same boxes as Bueckers: number one recruit, same program, same market, and just one year younger. (The two even have a joint TikTok account facetiously named @WhiteChocolate535.) 

And if Fudd proves to be a comparable, or even more talented, player on the court — as many expect her to be — then we’ll be able to hold our own feet to the flame on differential media treatment.

While the spark between Fudd and Bueckers is the chief attraction, the UConn squad as a whole is focused on winning another national championship. Sitting at No. 2 on the AP preseason rankings (and No. 3 in the JWS rankings) heading into play, the Huskies are returning all five starters from last year’s Final Four roster, including seniors Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Evina Westbrook, and Christyn Williams. These returners will be joined by the number two recruiting class in the country, headlined by Fudd and the No. 5 overall recruit, Caroline Ducharme. Adding 6’5” Ohio State grad transfer Dorka Juáhsz to the front court was icing on the cake for Auriemma. 

“She could be the difference that puts us into that other level,” he said of Juhász after seeing her in practices.

Given the deep pool of talent and the no-BS program they’ve chosen to play for, if Bueckers and Fudd put on the show we’ve all been anticipating, fans could be in for a historic display of basketball skill, individual drive, and collective brilliance. UConn is always must-watch TV, and with two generational talents sharing the floor, this year has the chance to raise the bar again. 

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.