Even with her team at 34-0, Azzi Fudd said the time UConn has had to practice ahead of the Women’s NCAA Tournament – in which they will open their title defense on Saturday on their home court – has been valuable.

The Huskies have not played since they defeated Villanova 90-51 to win the Big East tournament on March 9.

“This last – has it been a week and a half since Big East? – has been really nice because we've gotten to focus on ourself, focus on fine tuning things, working on our offense, our defense, just the little things you don't necessarily get the time to work on midseason when you're constantly going from game to game and always focusing on scouts,” she told reporters Friday. “So, it gave us some time to really work on us and what we need to going into this postseason. I think was really important.”

If UConn, which earned the No. 1 overall seed and the top seed in the Fort Worth 1 region, gets any finer tuned, pity the opponent. The Huskies completed their regular season and tournament play with unbelievable numbers, including:

The opponent in this case is UTSA, the No. 16 seed, which finished 18-15 and won the American Conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

And two of the team leaders and head coach Karen Aston told reporters Friday that they aren’t intimidated by playing the Huskies – 12-time national champs – at their home, Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn.

Instead, they are honored.

“This is a really historical place, a place you dream of coming to play one day when you grow up and get to be in this position,” said junior forward Idara Udo, who is averaging 9.4 points and 7.5 rebounds. “It's really exciting seeing all the banners and it's really cool to get to be a part of the culture and the history here.”

Cheyenne Rowe, who leads the Roadrunners with 14.0 points and 8.8 rebounds, had her own word to sum up the experience.

“I would have to say it's thrilling. I wouldn't say it's intimidating at all,” the senior forward said. “As a basketball player, playing UConn is just amazing. You know, it's a chance to show us what we've got. Show the world what we've got.

“It's definitely an exciting opportunity, so thrilling I would say is the world instead of intimidating.”

UTSA is coached by Karen Aston, concluding her 18th season as a head coach and fifth with the Roadrunners. Before arriving in San Antonio, she was the coach at Texas and faced Geno Auriemma’s UConn team four times.

The Huskies won all four games.

“When you have an opportunity to go toe to toe, regardless of where you're at, with the best and the tradition that UConn carries with it, then there is a respect that goes with that and there is an excitement that goes with it,” Aston said.

“It's a challenge. I mean there is no question that this is a monumental challenge for our team, but as always, you're excited to measure. And for our players, I think it's a fantastic opportunity for them to have – and we played some really good teams this year. We've played Baylor. Went to (Texas) Tech. They had a great year this year.

“So we understand the level. Again, they're the defending national champions, clearly the No. 1 seed. For our players to be able to get a visual of what that looks like and just how they carry themselves, I think it's a fantastic opportunity for them.”

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