Latest news with #AzziFudd
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
UConn Star Makes Special Appearance for Paige Bueckers' Wings Game
After losing their first two games of this season, the Dallas Wings headed north to take on the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday. Rookie guard Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in last month's WNBA draft, struggled in her season debut, but on Monday, she had 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and eight assists versus the Seattle Storm. Advertisement She struggled early in Wednesday's game, but she did have some support, as Azzi Fudd, her former teammate at UConn, was in the stands. The two teamed up this past season to lead the UConn Huskies to the women's NCAA championship. Fudd averaged 13.6 points a game while shooting 47.4% from the field, 43.6% from 3-point range and 91.7% from the free throw line during the 2024-25 campaign for the Huskies. She was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player and scored 24 points on 9-of-17 overall shooting in the championship game versus South Carolina. Instead of making herself eligible for the WNBA draft after her fourth season at UConn, she decided to remain put for one more season. Connecticut Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) and Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) celebrate after the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Barclays Boland-Imagn Images Bueckers put up 19.9 points on 53.4% overall shooting and 41.9% from 3-point land, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game last season for UConn. She is a very adept and efficient three-level scorer, and her offensive game has been compared to that of Diana Taurasi, who won three WNBA titles and three NCAA titles at UConn. Advertisement After full-time halftime of Wednesday's game, the Lynx defeated the Wings 85-81. With 12 points, Bueckers had 10 assists and three steals. Related: WNBA Rookie Paige Bueckers Reveals Truth on Goal With Dallas Wings
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UConn's Azzi Fudd Makes Major Personal Announcement on Friday
The UConn Huskies women's basketball team just climbed atop the women's college basketball world, winning the national championship. While the spotlight shined bright on Paige Bueckers throughout her last season at UConn, teammate Azzi Fudd has also established herself as one of the best players in women's college basketball. Advertisement Fudd helped lead the Huskies to an 82-59 victory over Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks in the national title game. The UConn guard posted 24 points, five rebounds and one assist in the title clincher. Now, in the offseason, Fudd has a chance to showcase those skills in youth camp. On Friday, Fudd announced that she will be hosting her "Hooping for a Cure" camp in July. "Hi everyone!" Fudd posted on X. "Many of you know I host my Hooping for a Cure camp each summer, and I'm so excited to share it's back July 26–27 in DC!" This past season with the UConn Huskies, Fudd posted 13.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Advertisement After committing to UConn as one of the most highly touted prospects, Fudd has averaged 13.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game during her four-year career with the Huskies. UConn basketball players Paige Bueckers (left) and Azzi Fudd, who helped lead the Huskies to the 2025 national Rausenberger-Imagn Images Fudd played alongside Bueckers for the past several seasons. Bueckers was recently selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and will now look to lead the Dallas Wings at the professional level. Fudd decided not to enter the 2025 draft and is returning to UConn for a fifth season. Related: Dawn Staley Announces Exciting Personal News on Thursday Related: Paige Bueckers' Gesture Toward UConn Teammate After Alarming Incident
Forbes
10-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Intuit Executed NIL Deals In Real-Time During March Madness
UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) was one of the athletes Intuit worked with during March Madness ... More (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Intuit TurboTax knew it wanted to activate with college athletes during March Madness, but this year the brand challenged itself to execute new name, image and likeness partnerships in real-time as up-and-coming stars emerged. 'Throughout the March Madness Tournament, our team is watching every game, looking for record breakers and identifying athletes that have a standout performance – whether on or off the court – and those are the students we look to engage and partner with," said Caitlin Campbell, Intuit TurboTax Gen Z and NIL strategic communications lead. 'Because the tournament happens so quickly, ultimately it comes down to who we can quickly connect with and get onboard. Immediately following games, we are sliding into DMs, connecting with agents, garnering interest, and finalizing offers.' The challenge? Get content live four times faster than the brand's typical influencer campaigns with the goal of contracting, reviewing and approving posts within 24-48 hours. 'Our expectations for our NIL partnerships are different from what they are for traditional influencers,' said Campbell. 'We know these students are not necessarily creators - they are students and athletes – so having that lens is important. Beyond that, they often have a very short window of time to shoot content with their practice and travel schedules, so we make it super easy for them by pre-drafting concepts that relate to their standout moment. We want these athletes to feel natural and authentic when creating content for us, so we encourage them to lean into their personality or big game moment.' Intuit says the strategy worked. Content produced as part of the campaign received 30% higher positive sentiment than the brand's standard influencer campaigns. Intuit shared its success experienced with some of its athlete partners: 'What's incredible is how far and wide the reach of these athletes' spans. From college students and alumni to all basketball fans, March Madness is an event that everyone watches, and we strategically partner with athletes that we believe people will be talking about the next day,' said Campbell. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder 'We want our content to go live while sports fans are still talking about the incredible buzzer beater and seeing how TurboTax can also help you get your taxes done just in the nick of time. While we think our partnerships really do help us resonate with Gen Z audiences – the content actually goes far beyond that and speaks to sports fans of all ages.' Mark Notarainni, general manager of Intuit's Consumer Group, says partnering with college athletes achieves a few different goals. 'Our strategy with NIL athletes and March Madness is a natural fit. We've always recognized the power of live sporting events to connect with highly engaged audiences. Now, with NIL, we can extend that connection beyond the game. By partnering with these student athletes, many experiencing significant earnings for the first time, we're not just advertising, we're providing them genuine tax support and education; all while reaching a broader audience of sports fans with valuable tax and financial literacy resources on their favorite athletes' social feed. The timing of March Madness and the Final Four is critical, coinciding with tax season and the approaching tax deadline.' Intuit also looked for others around the game going viral, including McNeese State equipment manager Amir Khan. While managers like Khan were never prohibited from engaging in NIL activities like the athletes were previously, he says he appreciates being recognized for his role. 'I believe managers are getting noticed more just because people are seeing how much we care and help out behind the scenes. I happened to get lucky being in the right place at the right time. TurboTax reached out and gave me an opportunity I'm really thankful for. They also helped me feel more confident about managing money, which I didn't really know much about before.' His advice for other managers who might want to attract NIL deals? Focus on being yourself and working hard every day. 'The staff will notice you if you care about your team, take pride in what you do, and are always ready to work. I never planned for any of this, it just happened from doing what I love. Also, when opportunities come, work with companies that actually help you grow. TurboTax files your taxes for you and makes filing taxes stress free, so that was a no brainer partnership for me.' In addition to the content partnerships, Intuit also provides their NIL athletes – and managers – with tax assistance and financial education programs to focus on long-term success.
New York Times
10-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Questions for 2025-26 women's college basketball season: Is Sarah Strong the top player?
The 2024-25 season is officially in the rearview, and the WNBA season is fast approaching. At The Athletic, we'll continue to cover women's college hoops through the offseason as so many storylines continue to emerge and change the landscape of the sport. How will the portal impact teams and conferences? How will financial changes develop in the sport? What hiring trends might we see? Advertisement Here are seven big questions we'll be tracking over the next few months while we eagerly await the 2025-26 tip-off: As revenue sharing and the 2025 NCAA Tournament units (financial payouts awarded to conferences based on their teams' performances in the tournament) hit women's college basketball, there will be an influx of money to programs and players, which we haven't seen before. In theory, this could go one of two ways: It will either produce a more equal playing field as programs that haven't historically had success invest $1 million-plus into their women's basketball players (attracting talent), or it will widen the gap between the sport's haves and have-nots. Many coaches I've spoken to fear it's the latter, but we won't truly know how this plays out for a few years. But Year 1 should lay the groundwork for what's to come, so it's important to keep a close eye on what early shifts we see. It certainly feels like a possibility! Let's take a quick look at those four teams: • UConn: Replacing Paige Bueckers is no simple task, but Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong make a strong core around which Geno Auriemma can build. Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold bring starting and playing experience. I expect the interior to be even stronger with growth from Ice Brady and Jana El Alfy, after having a full offseason post-Achilles injury to dive in. Add to the list Ecuadorian native Blanca Quiñonez, who has been playing professionally in Italy for a few years, and, yikes, UConn is going to be good. • South Carolina: Raven Johnson is returning for her final season to play in the backcourt alongside good friend and Florida State transfer Ta'Niya Latson. If the Gamecocks lacked a go-to scoring option last season, they certainly solved it with that transfer portal pickup. Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards' growth this season was incredible, and having MiLaysia Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson in the starting group or rotation means Dawn Staley — again — will have a ton of depth. On each of her three national title teams, Staley has employed a star who was consistently the team's trump card … could that be Latson? Advertisement • UCLA: The Bruins lost no key contributors from this year's Final Four group, and instead, picked up a few potential roster spots with Kendall Dudley and Elina Aarnisalo entering the portal. Could they pick up even more reinforcements in the portal? Plus, dynamic guard Charlisse Leger-Walker will be ready to go, adding to a backcourt that's already deep and talented. Lauren Betts' sister, Sienna — a 6-foot-4 forward who's No. 2 in the 2025 class — will be a freshman. • Texas: Replacing Taylor Jones is no easy task, but with Rori Harmon coming back, we get one more year of the Harmon-Madison Booker connection. With another year of development from players like Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, Kyla Oldacre, Bryanna Preston, Jordan Lee and Justice Carlton, the Longhorns will have options. Adding a healthy Aaliyah Moore and Laila Phelia to the mix gives coach Vic Schaefer a deeper base than he had this season. This season, Oklahoma advanced to its first Sweet 16 since 2013. With Raegan Beers, Payton Verhulst, Zya Vann and Shara Williams returning as well as Aaliyah Chavez, the nation's top player, I've got my eyes on the Sooners. LSU reloaded its interior with a commitment from Notre Dame transfer Kate Koval, and she'll be a fantastic new member of the Tigers' big three with Flau'jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams. The Tigers also have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country — headlined by three top-15 recruits — and you've got to figure they're not quite done portalling yet. I wouldn't be shocked to see another player head to Baton Rouge out of the portal. Stacking All-America honors 🏆🇺🇸 Raegan is the first Sooner since Courtney Paris to collect All-America honors from the AP, WBCA and USBWA in a season!@RaeganBeers // — Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_WBBall) April 3, 2025 In my opinion, Strong was the best player on the floor at the Final Four this season. There's an ease and fearlessness to her game that's beyond her years. Her calm in the storm is really what makes me consistently scratch my head and say, 'HOW IS SHE A FRESHMAN?!?' Usually, we see a pretty significant step between freshman and sophomore seasons, and given how much further ahead Strong seems, I'm wondering how she fine-tunes her game in important ways while also taking on a larger role — in every way. Advertisement There is no team that has done more of a 180 in terms of how I'm thinking about it from three weeks ago to now than USC. Even when I thought about the 2025-26 season throughout this year, I imagined that — while replacing Kiki Iriafen, Rayah Marshall and Clarice Akunwafo would be a challenge — that between JuJu Watkins and the freshman core, this team would still be a preseason top-five team. Not so fast, my friend. Watkins' injury changed everything, and then the decisions from Kayleigh Heckel and Avery Howell to enter the portal have left a ton of question marks for the Trojans. Building from a base of Kennedy Smith, Malia Samuels and incoming freshman Jazzy Davidson is a starting point, but you must wonder where else coach Lindsay Gottlieb can find the production (and players to fill out a starting five for the defending Big Ten regular-season champs). With the expanded SEC, teams face only one conference opponent twice during the regular season. I had been fascinated with the idea of Caldwell's up-tempo, high-subbing system and how teams would adjust once they had seen it already. With the Lady Vols playing two rounds in the SEC tournament and facing Texas in the NCAA Tournament, we have a pretty small sample of four teams. But these are the early returns: Against opponents Tennessee played a second time, the result didn't change. The Lady Vols beat Texas A&M twice and lost to Texas, Vanderbilt and LSU twice. In all three of the second-time SEC matchups that had beaten the Lady Vols, the margin of loss grew larger. Is that because Texas, Vanderbilt and LSU were more ready to face the Lady Vols' system in the rematch? That they had better counterattacks in the rematch? Impossible to say. On the other side of those questions is Tennessee's perspective. Very few Lady Vols players this season signed with the program knowing they'd be playing in this system. The same is not true this year. Tennessee inked a top-10 signing class with four top-50 players who come to Knoxville with open eyes. With a good portion of the roster returning and a talented crop of freshmen, will Caldwell's system work even better? Year 2 should provide some answers. There aren't many teams like TCU, which had never made much of a run. Even my hometown Gophers — who I expect to take a step forward in 2025-26 as reigning WBIT champs — made a Final Four run in 2004. That said, could Minnesota have its best season in 20 years? Yes. In 2005, the Gophers made the Sweet 16, and next season's team, led by a healthy Mara Braun, could match that. Could the Gophers go much further? TBD. Advertisement Like Minnesota, Vanderbilt is another team that could have its best season in a long time. The Commodores made the Final Four in 1993 and the Elite Eight in 2002, but none of the players on next season's roster was even born for either of those runs. Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre are a one-two punch who will make Vanderbilt go. Madison Greene is a solid third option for the Commodores, but I'm curious how — beyond that trio — coach Shea Ralph builds Vanderbilt to have the depth it'll need to compete again in the SEC. In terms of the truest spirit of the question, I'll go out on a limb and say Michigan here. The highest the Wolverines have ever finished in conference play under Kim Barnes Arico is third, and the deepest run Michigan has ever made in the postseason was the Elite Eight (2022 with Naz Hillmon). UCLA seems like an obvious front-runner out of the Big Ten, but the battle for second should be hotly contested. I expect the Wolverines to be in the middle of it. A Final Four run seems like a reach (give this group one more year together), but it's not out of the question depending on how the portalling goes. Though Michigan lost its two main interior presences — Jordan Hobbs to graduation and Yulia Grabovskaia to the portal — it's hard not to be optimistic about the Wolverines considering its core of Olivia Olson, Syla Swords and Mila Holloway return. Michigan also brings in three top-100 recruits, and if the Wolverines can snag a big out of the portal, then they're in business. (Top photo of Sarah Strong: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
Japan Times
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
UConn crushes South Carolina for record-extending 12th NCAA women's title
UConn dominated South Carolina 82-59 to claim a record-extending 12th national championship in NCAA women's basketball on Sunday, the first title for the team since 2016. A dream showdown between two of the sport's marquee programs quickly turned sour for defending champion South Carolina against a suffocating UConn defense, as the Huskies ended their longest title drought since their first triumph in 1995. The Gamecocks were unable to slow down freshman Sarah Strong, who put up a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds, and guard Azzi Fudd, who added another 24 points and was later named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. "You just never know if you'll be back in this situation again," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, the winningest coach in college basketball who became emotional in his postgame remarks. "We kept hanging in there and hanging in there." The Huskies had a 10-point lead through two quarters after a clutch three-pointer from guard Ashlynn Shade to close out the first half, in which UConn sharpshooter Fudd led the way with 13 points. They heaped on more pressure in the second half, and South Carolina's hopes of a third title in four years evaporated as the Huskies were up by 32 points with four minutes left in the game. The win gave guard Paige Bueckers, the presumed first pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, the accolade she craved most in her final collegiate game, and she wept as she stepped off the court and embraced Auriemma. "Unreal," said Bueckers, who put up 17 points on Sunday after overcoming injuries to become one of the collegiate game's biggest names. "Just so much gratitude for everything this program has meant to me. "I can't even put into words what's happening right now."
