Azzi Fudd says she looks up to Sarah Strong for having "inspiring" traits: "She handles it so well"

Paige Bueckers and UConn freshman Sarah Strong were instrumental in the No. 2-seeded Huskies' 78-64 win over the No. 1-seeded USC Trojans on Tuesday. Strong tallied 22 points, 17 rebounds and four assists in the win that sent the Huskies to a Final Four clash with the No. 1-seeded Texas Longhorns.

During her postgame news conference, Strong's teammate, Azzi Fudd praised the freshman's performances at the Big Dance and paid her the ultimate compliment.

"Both of them (Strong & Bueckers) are incredible and seeing them do what they do it's no surprise that you kind of expect some type of amazing performance from them but still, seeing them do it, I'm still in awe every time I see it," Fudd said. "Especially knowing that Sarah is a freshman and this is her first time in these moments, first time being here, and she handles it just so well.

"She is so poised, so mature and I think it's all incredible, so inspiring. I definitely look up to her from the aspect that you can never tell she's a freshman, you can never tell even when she has 20.0 rebounds and 30.0 points, you don't even know. You can't see it on her face. So, I think she's always someone we can count on and is reliable and that's so important. Having a couple of guys on your team that you can rely on every single night."

---

Azzi Fudd highlighted Sarah Strong's partnership

According to ESPN, out of the 1,487 player partnerships to have played 400+ minutes this season, Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are the most efficient trio in the country.

During a March 20 segment of "SportsCenter," Fudd highlighted Sarah Strong's reliability as a key factor in how the trio has gelled for the Huskies this season leading to their Big East Tournament win and Big Dance dominance.

"I think one factor is just trusting and believing each other," Azzi Fudd said. "I think it's super easy to have great chemistry with people that you believe 100% in.

"Like, I trust Sarah Strong with it. She's gonna catch the pass, she's gonna score, make a great read. Whatever it is, same with Paige. I think we have complete trust in each other in whatever situation we're in that makes it easy to play with them."

Although Paige Bueckers will depart UConn for the WNBA Draft, Azzi Fudd revealed last week that she would remain in Storrs for an extra year and will continue to forge her partnership with Sarah Strong as coach Geno Auriemma attempts to reestablish his Huskies dynasty.