UConn beat Louisville 79-66 in the first-ever Armed Forces Classic to feature women's basketball teams on Tuesday night. Azzi Fudd scored 20 points for the defending champions as the Huskies won their 30th consecutive season-opener.
Former UConn star Paige Bueckers, who was on that championship team earlier this year, was in attendance to see her former teammates win their 17th straight game dating back to February. After the game coach Geno Auriemma was asked about Beuckers and he had high praise for his former player until he saw her taking a picture with the team and called her out for wanting to be the center of attention.
"Not having Paige is like losing three players," said Auriemma. "I mean she would have got every rebound that we had to get. Defensive stops. Make threes. Dish the ball. So that's a lot to replace Game 1. So overall I thought it was good. Look at her. She's gotta be the center of attention anywhere she goes."
Bueckers, the reigning WNBA rookie of the year, joked after the game that she wanted to return for a sixth season. It sounds like Auriemma wouldn't mind.
Bueckers averaged 19.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds during UConn's run to the title last season, but it was Fudd, who scored 24 in the championship game, who won Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA tournament.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Geno Auriemma Compliments and Roasts Paige Bueckers in Same Breath.