Azzi Fudd and Syla Swords’ epic shooting display ends with UConn coming away with 72-69 victory

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Azzi Fudd and Syla Swords went shot-for-shot in an early season showdown between two of the top teams in the country.

The top-ranked UConn Huskies came away with one more play for the hard-fought win.

Fudd scored 31 points for UConn and Swords had 29 for Michigan in the Huskies’ 72-69 victory over the sixth-ranked Wolverines on Friday night in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase.

“Those are two of hte best shooters in the country playing tonight against each other,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “They both put on quite a show. It’s not easy for them to get those shots and they seemed to be able to make shots other people had a hard time making.”

With former UConn men’s great Ray Allen sitting courtside, Fudd scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three straight 3-pointers in her own personal 9-0 run with her team on the brink of collapse, nearly blowing a 17-point lead.

“I think the only thing going through my mind was to be aggressive, knew we needed to get a bucket,” Fudd said. “I was proud how we stuck together and we figured it out in the end.”

Swords, a sophomore guard for the Wolverines, wouldn’t let her team go away quietly, hitting three 3-pointers of her own in the last minute — the final one getting Michigan to 70-69 with just over 12 seconds left. She finished the night making eight 3s.

“I think once you get a good player going they can feel it and a team has a certain momentum,” Auriemma said. “They just needed an opportunity to shoot it and it’s a good chance it will go in.”

Fudd, who made seven 3s, hit four free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

“Great back and forth and I’m glad the country got to see her game on full display,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said of her star sophomore. “It was incredible. We’ve seen Syla do that through her time with us. She took over the game. Her playing in the Olympics, her being on that international stage, her playing with her national team. She was leading in every single thing down the stretch.”

Barnes Arico is no stranger to UConn’s greatest, having coached against the Huskies for many years when she was at St. John’s. She pulled off a stunning victory in her last year with the Red Storm, ending UConn’s 99-game home winning streak in 2012.

“I thought we might do it again tonight,” she said when her team rallied in the second-half .

Auriemma was left impressed by the Wolverines.

“I told Kim before the game, I thought this was the best team she ever had, they are really, really good,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “I told her after the game, I told you. She didn’t believe me before the game.”

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