University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn-Texas Postgame Quotes
11/14/2022 10:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma
On what he learned about his team today:
 I think Nika said it best. She said, 'I think we learned that we can be really really good or we can be really really bad.' That's probably it in a nutshell. When we were good we were really really good or we were not good at all. For the second game of the year I didn't expect us to be in midseason form. But we found a way to win the game, in spite of whatever it is, whatever foul trouble we got in, mistakes we made. And I've said this a lot over the years, when two really good teams play each other, it usually comes down to one team that has one guy that just takes over the game and wins it for them. And that's what Azzi did for us. Obviously she didn't do it single handedly by herself, she had a lot of help. Going forward, that's the performance you need. That was an all American performance today, that was a player of the year performance tonight. I don't know if we can count on that every single night, so we're going to have to fix a couple things. But it was pretty impressive tonight.
On if he said anything to Azzi at the half, or if she naturally just took over:
Your guess is as good as mine. I'm just always after her to shoot more, to not pass up any shots, be more aggressive with the ball. I don't care if she takes 20, 30, 40 shots. I don't care,as long as they are good shots as long as she's being aggressive. She gets a little tentative sometimes and I think she was a little bit tentative in that first half. Then in the second half she was the Azzi that we all expected when we recruited her. There aren't many players like her.
On the different ways other players impacted the game"
I agree with Nika, when we were in some kind of flow, it looked like a lot of people were getting a chance offensively. And when we were not we were stagnant and it looked like we were all watching Azzi play one on one. You know Lou played in foul trouble for what seemed like the whole game. Still did a lot that we would think was going to get even better. Aubrey came in and I think she played the whole second half and gave us some great minutes. So those two in particular. You know Nika and Dorka, Nika played 35 and I think Dorka played all 40. And they had their hands full, both of them. Everyone contributed a little bit. I thought Aaliyah was not good at all the first half, I thought she was pretty good the second half. So everybody did a little bit to help the cause. That's what good teams are supposed to do, that's how we upset a team. The next step is how do we go from there to the next level? Which is going to take some time.
Sophomore Guard Azzi Fudd
On Aubrey Griffin being back:
That's what Aubrey does. Her energy and intensity on defense. Offensively, when she starts going to the rim or gets out on a fast break, it's over. The energy and second wind she brought from the bench was just what we needed to keep us going.
On the difference between her first and second half:
I think I shot 3's in the second half. I don't know why I didn't shoot much in the first half. I was open a few times and my teammates kept telling me to shoot. I let them go in the second half and they went in. We kind of settled more in the second half and we were able to run more stuff. My teammates got me open and set great screens and scored.
Graduate Guard Lou Lopez- Senechal
On Swin Cash's message before the game:
She has been here before us. She wished us good luck before the game. She said that she is always a resource for us. It was cool to see her before the game and have some words with her.
On how Azzi played:
I think she is being really humble about it. She knows how to create her shot, too. Obviously, she was open many times. Her confidence in her ability to shoot the ball. All of us know that most of the time it is going to go in. I look up to her even though she is younger than me. It is great to see a shooter like that.
Redshirt Junior Forward Aubrey Griffin
On what this games means moving forward:
I mean it was our second game. We played well for being our second game. Everyone played together. There is stuff we have to work on obviously. Overall, we came together and finished the game.
On being back this season:
It feels great being out for so long. I am just happy I can play with my teammates now, it has been a minute.
