Last season, Lady Vols basketball hosted UConn and pulled off the upset. The win propelled Tennessee forward in year-one under Kim Caldwell, a season that finished in the Sweet 16.
On the other side, it was a wake-up call for the Huskies. They went on to not lose a game the remainder of the season en route to a national title. That has carried over to this year, as well, with UConn remaining undefeated.
Now, the Lady Vols and UConn are set for a rematch in Connecticut on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for noon ET and will air on FOX. This has created a moment of reflection for the members of the Huskies who are still on the roster. This includes Azzi Fudd, who was blunt with her assessment.
“Angry, frustrated, embarrassed, I think as individuals and as a team,” Fudd said. “We all felt like nobody really did their part, pulled their weight. We were mad about our own performances and then how we didn’t show up for eachother.”
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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma also weighed in with his thoughts. He was asked about how the team has responded since that loss.
However, to him, the most frustrating thing was how close the loss to Tennessee was. Instead of losing 80-76, he would rather it be lobsided.
“Obviously, pretty good,” Auriemma said. “… I think they responded really well. Watching that game, there were just so many things you wish you could take back. Moments in the game, plays in the game, that at the moment didn’t seem that big but ended up impacting the game pretty significantly. It was a game that we could’ve won and didn’t win. I think that probably is worse. If you go play like you never had a chance to win and you play lousy – well we played well enough to win that game and didn’t and I think that was probably the most disappointing part that was hard for the players to get over.”
For the Lady Vols, they desperately need this UConn game to be a pivotal match like it was for the Huskies last year. Tennessee is coming off what could potentially be a demoralizing loss to Mississippi State at home that could snowball into a brutal upcoming stretch.
