WATCH: UConn fans roar and cheer to welcome star Azzi Fudd after missing one year
UConn fans welcomed back their star guard Azzi Fudd on Wednesday night for the first time in over a year with rip-roaring cheers. Fudd made her return from a serious knee injury against Fairleigh Dickinson on a record-breaking night for Geno Auriemma, which was a bonus for her.
Azzi Fudd checked in with 3:39 left in the first quarter and got a loud ovation from the UConn faithful.
Watch the fans' reaction below.
Speaking about her return after the game, Fudd couldn't hold back her excitement.
"I just had so much nervous excitement,” she said per the AP. "I was talking to Paige (Bueckers) before the game about how I just wanted to play."
Fudd suffered a right knee injury in practice on Nov. 14, 2023, after playing two games that season. It wasn’t her first season-ending injury at UConn, however. She missed 22 games in her sophomore year in the 2022-23 season because of a separate knee injury and 11 games as a freshman in the 2021-22 season because of a foot injury.
Fudd and the No. 2 Huskies won 85-41 to give coach Geno Auriemma the NCAA Division I all-time wins record. Auriemma now stands alone with 1,217 wins in his 40-year career at the school.
Geno Auriemma reacts to Azzi Fudd's return
After his record-setting game, Geno Auriemma acknowledged Azzi Fudd's return to the Huskies lineup following her long injury layoff.
"Azzi has waited a long time obviously," head coach Geno Auriemma said per the AP. "Since her junior year in high school, she’s missed more basketball than she's played. I know how hard she's worked and what it's meant to her to come back. It's going to be slow going at the beginning. She changes our team, makes us better."
Fudd had been practicing with the team prior to her return on Wednesday, warming up with the squad before their game against North Carolina last week. In her return on the historic night, Fudd finished with four points, playing 12 minutes in total.
Before her injury a year ago, Azzi Fudd had averaged 13.1 ppg and 2.4 rpg in 42 career games as a Husky.
Their next outing sees them head to the Bahamas to take part in the Baha Mar Championship against Oregon State on Nov. 25.