NCAAW: Azzi Fudd’s incredible shooting has UConn looking unbeatable

Five weeks into the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season, things are unfolding as expected in Storrs, CT.

UConn is off to a 7-0 start, with the defending champions comfortably maintaining their No. 1 ranking atop the AP Top 25 poll.

The Huskies just earned their first Big East win of the season, presumably kicking off another undefeated run through conference play with a 104-39 drubbing of Xavier on Sunday afternoon. Next, they face a former conference foe, traveling to Tampa on Tuesday evening to play the American Conference’s South Florida (5 p.m. ET, ESPN 2).

Here’s three reasons why the Huskies will cruise to another win on Tuesday, and keep cruising to more wins after that:

Azzi Fudd is a flame thrower

Of course, everyone already knew that super senior guard Azzi Fudd was a great shooter. In her final college campaign, she’s stamping herself as a generational one.

Last season, her first fully healthy one in a UConn uniform, Fudd was excellent behind the arc, draining 43.6 percent of her 5.3 triples per game. Well, now further removed from the injuries that interrupted the early years of her college career, she’s really showing how lethal her stroke is. How does 55.1 percent on seven 3-point attempts per game sound?

Her absolutely elite intersection of volume and efficiency should make Azzi’s mere presence behind the arc a five-alarm fire for any opponent, as well as making her one of the prizes of the 2026 WNBA Draft.

Fudd doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective. There’s no need for deep, difficult and dramatic stepback 3s. She’s an economical off-the-ball mover who gets to her spots without much fuss, fires away and leaves defenders finding out what happens if when they don’t go all out to stop Fudd.

More 3s are coming for the Huskies

Outside of Azzi, the Huskies hadn’t shot the ball great from deep this season. (Not that it’s really mattered.)

Blanca Quiñonez is off to a 7-for-12 start from 3, one of the many promising facets of the freshman wing’s game. But, 3-point shooting has been about the only weakness shown by Sarah Strong to start her sophomore season, as the fantastic forward is under 30 percent from downtown so far. Junior guard Ashlynn Shade’s 3-ball also has been off target in the early going, as she likewise is under 30 percent from behind the arc. Neither junior guard KK Arnold nor sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel have progressed as 3-point shooters.

Maybe Sunday a sea change? (And a potentially scary one for future opponents.) UConn broke out of their (non-Fudd) 3-point slump, with the Huskies hitting 18 triples, two shy of the program record.

Unsurprisingly, Fudd was responsible for four of them. Shade also saw four of her 3s find the bottom of the net. However, sophomore guard Allie Ziebell led the team’s 3-point assault, connecting on five of her six attempts. At one point, Ziebell drained four-straight from deep. The effort boosted Ziebell to 43.5 percent from 3 for the season, a mark that suggests she’s ready to join Fudd as a consistent 3-point threat.

Defense defends championships

The mantra is that defense, not 3-pointers, win championships. And on that front, there is no cause for concern in Connecticut.

Whether accounting for strength of schedule or the number of possessions, UConn owns the nation’s best defense. When factoring in schedule and point differential, their defense, per Basketball Reference, is almost two points better than second-place TCU. Calculated per 100 possessions, the Huskies defense likewise clears Michigan’s by almost two points.

UConn’s defense is elite for reasons that are simple to explain, albeit difficult to execute. The Huskies prevent teams from taking easy shots, as UConn opponents are averaging less than 30 2-point attempts and only 10.6 2-point makes per game, stats that rank fifth and first in the nation, respectively. Opponents struggle to get shots off because the Huskies also make it difficult for them to hold onto ball, as UConn averages 15 steals per game. They also swat more than five shots per game.

Strong is the anchor of UConn’s active and stingy defense. She leads the team with 3.4 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. Arnold, Fudd and Heckel are also averaging more than two steals per game, with all three registering career highs.