Nov. 20—STORRS — UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma was on the somber side for most of Wednesday night as his 40 years as head coach of the Huskies played out before him.
He wasn’t quite sure how to feel or what it all meant.
That was until a few minutes following the victory which gave him the most all-time wins in Division I college basketball history with 1,217, unprecedented as are many of the things he’s accomplished in his Hall of Fame career.
Just as Auriemma had become the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), an actual goat was led down the red carpet into the Gampel Pavilion celebration in his honor.
Auriemma couldn’t stop smiling, so broadly that all his teeth were visible.
“The goat. Can you imagine that? A real goat,” Auriemma said a while later, entering the interview room after a prolonged and heartfelt celebration. “I scratched myself petting it.”
Freshman Sarah Strong finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots and Azzi Fudd marked her return to the court after more than a year away due to injury, as second-ranked UConn defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 85-41 before a sold-out crowd of 10,299.
That gave Auriemma his record-setting win, making him 1,217-162 since being hired as head coach prior to the 1985-86 season.
He eclipsed the mark previously held by recently retired Stanford women’s coach Tara VanDerveer, who left the game earlier this year with 1,216 victories.
“You know, when something happens that you’re not exactly planning for or expecting, you’re more just surprised and you’re kind of lost for words a lot of times,” Auriemma said. “I know it means a lot to a lot of people, to a lot of people here at UConn that have worked really, really hard to make it possible.
“You saw all the players here. It means a lot to them. Every single person that had a hand in all this, it means a lot to them to be a part of it. … I’m sure when this season’s over, I’ll be able to look back on it and think about it and see where it all fits.”
It was a night that was put together as a celebration of Auriemma and associate head coach Chris Dailey, both of whom have been with the program for 40 seasons and a record-setting 11 national championships.
More than 60 former UConn players were in attendance to witness Auriemma’s historic milestone.
The pregame ceremony included a video tribute to Auriemma and Dailey, as well as a presentation to the two coaches of a blown-glass basketball. The postgame celebration went on into the night, with all-time UConn greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Rebecca Lobo and Maya Moore speaking in honor of Auriemma and Dailey.
“This is a family,” Moore said, looking around at the UConn alumnae lining the Gampel Pavilion floor. “You can’t make up family. Family is fought for. Family is forged.”
“Whenever this is all over, what we’ll remember is tonight,” an emotional Auriemma said, addressing the crowd. “We’ll remember this and I’ll remember each and every player I’ve ever coached.”
Both Auriemma and Dailey have been enshrined in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee, with Dailey becoming one of the first assistant coaches to earn that distinction. Additionally, Auriemma is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Against Fairleigh Dickinson, UConn led 45-22 at halftime, paced by 11 points from graduate transfer Kaitlyn Chen, eight points from Ice Brady and seven points, seven rebounds and four assists from All-American Paige Bueckers.
The Huskies managed a 20-0 run in the third quarter to bump their lead to 67-28, including a three-point play by Bueckers and three 3-pointers by Strong, who scored 11 points in the frame.
Bueckers finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals in 25 minutes, while Chen had 11 points and and Brady 10.
Then there was Fudd, who received one of the loudest, most deafening ovations when she checked in at the 3-minute, 39-second mark of the first quarter. Fudd missed all but two games last season after suffering a torn ACL/meniscus in her right knee during practice on Nov. 14, 2023.
Fudd played 12 minutes, scoring her first points since Nov. 12, 2023 on a pair of first-half free throws.
Fudd, who is a graduate student academically but retains two years of eligibility, was named to the preseason All-Big East team and to the Wooden Award, Naismith Award and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch lists this season.
She has played in just 43 career games due to her injuries, with the most, 25, coming during her freshman season.
The Huskies (4-0) will next play Oregon State on Monday in the Baha Mar Women’s Championship in the Bahamas.
Ava Renninger had 19 points for Fairleigh Dickinson (4-2).
