STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Azzi Fudd overcame a poor shooting start to score 26 points and led No. 6 UConn to a season-opening 98-39 victory over Northeastern on Thursday night.
Fudd, a sophomore, missed her first seven 3-point tries but shot 9 for 17 overall, including 1 for 8 from long range, and 7 for 7 from the line. She added four assists and had six of UConn’s 18 steals.
Aaliyah Edwards had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Lou Lopez Senechal added 17 points, including a four-point play. Dorka Juhasz finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds as UConn won its 27th straight season opener. UConn last opened a season with a loss on Nov. 19, 1995, falling to Louisiana State.
Gemima Motema had 11 points to lead Northeastern (1-1).
UConn’s first basket came on Nika Muhl’s 3-pointer 14 seconds into the game and never trailed.
Fudd had five points as part of a 15-0 run after Northeastern’s first basket, as UConn raced to a 22-3 lead and built a 51-19 advantage at halftime.
Northeastern didn’t have its first basket in the second half until Camille Clement hit a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the third quarter.
UConn played without Paige Bueckers, Caroline Ducharme and freshman Ice Brady. Bueckers and Brady suffered season-ending knee injuries. UConn coach Geno Auriemma said that Ducharme is making progress with her neck injury, but was not cleared to return for the season opener.
UP NEXT
Northeastern: Hosts Boston College on Wednesday.
UConn: Hosts No. 3 Texas on Monday.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
