UConn’s Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, whose Huskies enter the Women’s NCAA Tournament with an undefeated record, were named Associated Press All-Americans on Wednesday.
Strong, a sophomore forward, was a unanimous selection. It’s the latest honor for Strong, who on Tuesday — along with Fudd — was named a U.S. Basketball Writers Association First Team All-American and previously was chosen as National Player of the Year by The Athletic and ESPN.
Joining them on the first team are Mikayla Blakes of Vanderbilt, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Madison Booker of Texas. Blakes and Betts were named to the first team by 29 of the 31 voters.
UConn, UCLA and Texas are No. 1 seeds in the upcoming tournament. Vanderbilt is a second seed.
Strong and Fudd are the seventh set of teammates from head coach Geno Auriemma’s program to be named to the first team. They are the 10th overall pair and the first since 2020, when Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard were chosen.
Strong is averaging 18.5 points, remarkable because she only plays 26.3 of 40 minutes per game. Given UConn’s average margin of victory of 38.4 points, she rarely plays in the fourth quarter.
She is shooting 60.1% from the field, 42.7% from 3-point territory. She leads the Huskies in points, rebounds, steals and blocks and is second in assists. She has reached double digits in scoring in 47 consecutive games.
Fudd, a grad student, is averaging a career-high 17.7 points over 28.2 minutes per game. Fourth-quarter minutes are rare for the guard, too. She is shooting a team-best 44.6% from long range, good for seventh in the nation, and 95.1% from the foul line.
Blakes, a sophomore guard, is the first Commodores player in 23 seasons to earn AP All-America first-team honors. This is her fifth first-team All-American selection this season, including selections by The Athletic and ESPN.
Her average of 27.0 points per game leads Division I. Her 12 games of 30 points or more also are the most in the nation, and she is the only NCAA player to average more than 4.0 assists, 2.9 steals, and 2.8 3-pointers made per game this season. She is shooting 45.8% from the field.
It’s a repeat honor for Betts, a senior center who last season became the first UCLA player named to the women’s first team. She is averaging 18.5 points and 7.6 rebounds and shooting 56.2% from the field for UCLA.
Given the Bruins’ average 28.1-point margin of victory, Betts also wasn’t needed for full games, averaging 26.9 minutes.
For Booker, it’s also the second consecutive first-team selection. She has averages of 18.9 points and 6.5 rebounds and is shooting 51.6% from the field. A junior forward, she was named a preseason AP All-American along with Strong and Betts.
Second team
Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Olivia Miles, TCU
Third team
Toby Fournier, Duke
Flau’jae Johnson, LSU
Raven Johnson, South Carolina
Olivia Olson, Michigan
Kiki Rice, UCLA
Honorable mention
Raegan Beers, Oklahoma; Zanai Barnett-Gay, Navy; Jazzy Davidson, USC; Maggie Doogan, Richmond; MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU; Rori Harmon, Texas; Ava Heiden, Iowa; Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA; Avery Koenen, North Dakota State; Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina; Liv McGill, Florida; Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss; Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State; Oluchi Okanawa, Maryland; Khamil Pierre, North Carolina State; Marta Suarez, TCU; Clara Strack, Kentucky; Riley Weiss, Columbia; Mikaylah Williams, LSU.
–Field Level Media
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