March Madness 2022: Azzi Fudd helps UConn advance over UCF

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UConn coach Geno Auriemma noted Monday night that basketball is a contact sport — something that was evident after the Huskies outfought UCF in what could have been a UFC match.

Freshman Azzi Fudd scored 16 points and hit two key free throws late as No. 2 seed Connecticut outfought No. 7 seed UCF 52-47 in a defensive slugfest to an NCAA record 28th straight Sweet 16.

"This was a rather new experience for me," Auriemma said. "It was what we thought it would be. It was going to be really difficult and it was going to be ugly looking and it was."

"We could have easily let that game get away from us and we didn’t," he said.

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Mercer's Shannon Titus, left, shoots as Connecticut's Azzi Fudd, right, during the first half of a first-round women's college basketball game in the NCAA tournament, Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Christyn Williams added 12 points and Paige Bueckers had nine for the Huskies (27-5), who have not allowed an opponent to score more than 51 points in their last 10 games.

The game was extremely physical, with both teams pressing and playing lock-down defense. There were 45 fouls called, 24 on UCF.

"It was a battle the whole game," Williams said. "We just tried to throw the first punch and keep punching them."

Diamond Battles scored 12 points, Brittney Smith added 11 and Tay Sanders had 10 for UCF (26-4), which saw its season end along with a 14-game winning streak.

These two former American Athletic Conference foes knew each other well and the Knights weren't intimidated playing in front of a loud sold-out Connecticut crowd where the students