Azzi Fudd scored 27 points and Sarah Strong added 26 to help No. 1 UConn beat 15th-ranked Tennessee 96-66 on Sunday, handing the Lady Vols their worst loss in the storied rivalry.
The Huskies (23-0) held a slim 57-53 lead midway through the third quarter before scoring the last 14 points of the period to blow the game open. Strong got the run started with a three-point play, and the Huskies sliced through Tennessee’s pressure defense for layups.
Allie Ziebell, who tied a program record with 10 3-pointers in the Huskies’ 97-39 win over Xavier on Wednesday, capped the burst with a 3 that made it 71-53 heading into the final quarter.
The Lady Vols (14-5) never threatened to get back in the game in the fourth, and the margin of defeat topped the team’s 23-point loss to UConn in 2002. It’s the second-worst loss ever for Tennessee, only surpassed by a 31-point defeat to Texas in 1984.
Janiah Barker scored 16 points to lead the Lady Vols.
It looked as if the rout would come a lot earlier as UConn jumped out to a 21-5 lead in the first seven minutes behind Fudd, who had seven rebounds and seven assists. But Tennessee finally started getting going and outscored UConn 35-15 over the next 12 minutes to go in front by four late in the half. The Lady Vols played their frantic style of constantly subbing in fresh players while applying pressure defense.
It worked during that stretch to wear down the Huskies a bit. However, UConn recovered, and the two teams were tied at 42 at the half.
UConn was missing star freshman Blanca Quiñonez, who was sidelined with a shoulder issue that kept her out earlier in the season.
The two teams will continue their series for the next two years. It was the premier rivalry in women’s basketball for nearly two decades before they stopped playing after the 2007 season, until it was picked up again in 2020. Tennessee won the meeting last season in Knoxville, which was the Huskies’ last loss en route to winning their 12th national championship and current 39-game winning streak.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
