By now, everyone knows the stats, the records, the history. Geno Auriemma’s career at UConn is historic, and his accomplishments will more than likely never be duplicated. 1217 wins against only 162 losses, 11 national titles, 23 trips to the Final Four, six undefeated seasons, 126 regular season game win streak, and 111 all-games winning streaks. All this, and with associate head coach Chris Dailey every step of the way.
There were over 60 former players at Gampel to join in the celebration, including Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Rebecca Lobo, Napheesa Collier, and a host of others. Seeing decades of players represented was a testament to Auriemma’s impact on UConn and women’s basketball.
It is also impressive that Auriemma, unlike Tara VanDerveer, whose record he just broke, and former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, the third-winningest coach, Auriemma did it all at UConn. It is also impressive to see the connections that both Auriemma and Dailey have made with players over the years, so many of whom have represented UConn in the WNBA and overseas.
According to Auriemma:
“No amount of championships and no amount of numbers or awards can take the place of the lives that we’ve impacted, that they’ve allowed us to impact…That, to me, is the strongest part.”
But before the celebration, there was a game to be played to get to this point.
UConn Took Care Of Fairleigh Dickinson For Geno’s Historic Win
UConn easily dispatched Fairleigh Dickinson in an 85-41 rout. While the Huskies did not have the best night shooting, going 32-71 at 45.1%, it was more than enough to take down the FD Knights, who shot 18-52 at 34.6%. Freshman Ava Renninger led FDU with 19 points, playing 35 minutes. Teneisia Brown was the only other player for the Knights to reach double digits, with 10 points and 8 rebounds.
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— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) November 21, 2024
Freshman Sarah Strong led the Huskies with 20 points and 8 boards, followed by Paige Bueckers with 16 points, nine boards, and five assists, transfer grad student Kaitlyn Chen with 11 points, and Ice Brady with 10 points. Brady has shown a lot of growth so far this season, playing a more aggressive and confident game. Every bench player scored for UConn, including Azzi Fudd, who finally made her return to the floor.
There was a fair amount of rust to be shaken off, but given Fudd’s desire, it more than likely will not last long. It is apparent that the freshmen are still working through some expected freshman issues. Jana El Alfy, the redshirt freshman, started the season well but has had a bit of a dip. No doubt El Alfy will improve, as her presence inside is so valuable and needed by UConn.
FDU Coach Stephanie Gaitley said:
“Regardless of the outcome our team will grow so much with this opportunity.”
She also talked about the need to play teams of this caliber, saying that if they get to the tournament, they’re going to face teams like this. FDU is a well-coached team and showed some sparks of what they can do. But the UConn defense was all over them, causing 18 turnovers from which UConn scored 23 points.
It was also impressive that UConn only committed a total of 4 fouls compared to FDU’s 14. UConn dominated the paint, scoring 38 points to FDU’s 10. This game was a fitting preamble to the post-game celebration, but today, it is back to business.
What Is Next For Both Schools?
Up next for Fairleigh Dickinson will be a home game versus Saint Peter’s on Saturday. UConn will travel to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Women’s Championship, where they will face Oregon State on Monday, November 25.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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