Geno Auriemma taking an undefeated UConn team to Final Four for 9th time

Geno Auriemma is taking an undefeated UConn team into the women’s Final Four for the ninth time.

This group, while extremely talented like the rest, is a bit different than the previous ones for the coach.

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Auriemma recalls those earlier teams with AP Player of the Year winners Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart as having “that kind of swagger, trash-talking kind of mentality” when wondering why people were surprised that they hadn’t lost any games.

“We don’t walk around with that attitude,” Auriemma said. “That’s why I think, for me, I just keep my fingers crossed because it’s not the kind of team that I’ve had in the past that has gone this far undefeated. It’s not. They don’t have that kind of mentality off the court, on the court.”

The NCAA’s winningest men’s or women’s coach with 1,288 victories and 12 national championships instead calls them “just a bunch of really nice kids that play hard for each other.”

They are an unbeaten bunch with their own AP All-America teammates Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong going for their second national title, along with Big East Conference top freshman Blanca Quiñonez. They have a 54-game winning streak that began with three-time All-America guard and WNBA top overall pick Paige Bueckers during the Huskies’ championship run last year, and could give Auriemma only his second 40-0 record in 41 seasons.

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“What we’ve done the last (38) games was all in preparation for moments like this,” said Fudd, the fifth-year star guard seen all over TV commercials and social media during March Madness. ”So when it comes down to it, we have full confidence in ourselves, in each other. We know the coaches feel the same.”

UConn (38-0) is in its record 25th Final Four since the women’s NCAA Tournament debuted 44 years ago. Part of a quartet of all No. 1 seeds in Phoenix, and the same four teams as last year, its semifinal Friday will be against South Carolina (35-3) in a rematch of last year’s national championship game.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/geno-auriemma-taking-undefeated-uconn-182216482.html

Author : STEPHEN HAWKINS

Publish date : 2026-04-01 18:22:00

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