WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY

No. 10 NC STATE at No. 5 UCONN

When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

Where: XL Center

Records: UConn (2-0, Big East), NC State (4-0, ACC)

TV: FS1

Radio: UConn Sports Network, 97.9 FM-ESPN Hartford, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WICC-Brideport (600 AM), WINE-Danbury (940 AM), WGCH- Greenwich (1490 AM), WATRWaterbury (1320 AM)

KEEP AN EYE ON

Azzi doing Azzi things: Azzi Fudd is off to one of, if not the, best starts in UConn history. The sophomore guard tied Diana Taurasi’s record for most points against a top-5 opponent by a UConn player on Monday when Fudd scored 32 against No. 3 Texas. Her 58 points across UConn’s first two games this year is the most by any Husky to start a season.

Fudd was nearly unstoppable in the second half against the Longhorns, scoring 17 of UConn’s 20 fourthquarter points. UConn coach Geno Auriemma called it an “All-American” and “Player of the Year Performance.”

Front court production:

The Huskies’ frontcourt struggled to get going on Monday. Junior Aaliyah Edwards couldn’t get her shot to fall until midway through the second quarter after she’d already been called for two personal fouls, while Dorka Juhász (who finished 2 of 8 from the floor) had two turnovers in the first quarter.

With NC State averaging 50.5 rebounds per game (10 more than UConn), the Huskies’ bigs will need to be more aggressive and find quicker ways to impact the game if their shots aren’t falling.

Limited Bench:

Three other players finished in double figures outside of Fudd on Monday. Aubrey Griffin came off the bench and scored 14 points in 26 minutes followed by 12 points from Lou Lopez Senechal in 14 minutes. However, due to foul trouble (five of the eight Huskies who played Monday ended with three fouls or more) Fudd, Juhász and Nika Mühl had to play 38 minutes each.

With such a limited bench, especially in the backcourt, the Huskies can’t afford a player to foul out early. Plus, with Caroline Ducharme still not up to her normal minutes just yet, the team needs to control their physicality and avoid fouls to allow players some breathing room.

The

Wolfpack are undefeated to start the season after most recently defeating Charlotte, 96-48, Thursday behind 15 points from both Madison Hayes and Jada Boyd. NC State started the year defeating Quinnipiac 82-45 before earning wins over both Elon and Mount St. Mary’s.

UConn is 7-2 all-time against NC State. This year’s game in Hartford marks the first game of the program’s most recent home-and-home series. Next season, the Huskies will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina.