STORRS, Conn. — The UConn women's basketball team has advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 after beating seven-seeded Baylor 77-58.
This is now the Huskies' 29th appearance in this part of the tournament as they continue their reign of dominance in The Big Dance.
"This is probably one of the more gratifying wins I've ever had in this building," said Head Coach Geno Auriemma.
The biggest reason why they are now heading to Seattle is Azzi Fudd having a breakout game, scoring a game-high 22 points as well as playing the second-highest minutes at 37.
"Tonight was incredible," said Fudd. "The fans just made it amazing."
"There's not many players in the country like Azzi," said Auriemma. "The impact she has on the game is just immeasurable."
This is a huge step for her as she only recently came back from a knee injury that had her miss several weeks of the season.
Aubrey Griffin gave the Huskies an incredible effort, dealing with back spasms as she had a game-high 12 rebounds, with six alone in the third quarter.
"We need everything that Aubrey could give us," said Auriemma. "Aubrey scored four points and completely dominated the game."
Aaliyah Edwards again dominated the paint scoring 19 points, with her partner Dorka Juhasz scoring 11.
The Huskies' efficiency continued to be a strong suit for the offense having a team shooting percentage of 52%.
The first quarter was a wake-up call for the Huskies. The Bears came out on a mission to get an early lead going scorching hot from beyond the arc. They shot 6-11 from three and answered every punch the UConn players could throw.
An excellent early sign was that Fudd got her stroke going scoring a quick 5 points that helped the Huskies stay within reach.
Baylor was up six at the end of quarter one 24-18.
"There was a period of the game where I really thought we were in trouble," said Auriemma.
UConn came out firing in the second quarter and some of those shots the Bears hit in the first quarter stopped falling. The Huskies went on an 11-0 run to open with Edwards scoring three quick buckets to get in a rhythm.
A driving layup by Lou Lopez Senechal put them up by eight and the Gampel crowd was in a frenzy as it seemed they were on the brink of pulling away.
But the Bears had other ideas as they fought back going on a 6-0 run.
Nika Muhl closed the half out in style. After Baylor missed a three, Aubrey Griffin grabbed the board, passed to her outlet Muhl, and Muhl proceed to dribble up the halfcourt line with the time ticking down and sink a buzzer-beater three to put them up five.
UConn led at halftime 40-35.
The third started out going back and forth with both teams matching each other and Baylors Ja'Mee Asbery keeping them in it.
Then it became the Fudd show as she broke out of her shooting troubles and let it fly scoring 16 points with two made three-pointers much to the delight of the UConn crowd.
"She's definitely the best shooter I've ever played with," said Muhl. "I can't wait to see what she's gonna do the rest of the tournament.
"She played like an All-American for sure," said Baylor Head Coach Nicki Collen.
Griffin's effort in the third with her grabbing six rebounds in her seven minutes of action had the Gampel crowd giving her a standing ovation with chants of "Aubrey Aubrey!"
"I really think it was Aubrey Griffin's energy that just changed the game," said Collen.
Griffin ended the game with a game-high 12 rebounds.
"Aubrey was just incredible," said Muhl. "If I could say who was the MVP of the game that was definitely Aubrey."
The Huskies led by 12, 62-50 heading into the final quarter.
UConn kept steadily pulling away as Edwards who'd been quiet due to foul trouble since her big second quarter got right back into the action scoring seven huge points.
The Huskies would cruise to the win as they continue their journey for their 12th National Championship.
UConn will now face the three-seed Ohio State Buckeyes in Seattle on Saturday.
Daniel Dashefsky is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at ddashefsky@fox61.com.
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