UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Twenty-two seconds, 10 points. In the final 22 seconds of the No. 6 Michigan women’s basketball’s matchup against No. 1 Connecticut, the scoreboard jumped ten points — and it wasn’t the entirety of the teams themselves trading points. It was a two-woman shootout between guard Azzi Fudd and sophomore guard Syla Swords, a duel that decided the game’s final breath.
Sometimes, the scoresheet omits the full picture, but the intensity of Friday’s guard battle jumped right off the page. Fudd’s and Swords’ clutch and prolific play kept the game deadlocked until the final moments, elevating the already intense competition and raising the stakes with every possession.
“Those were two of the best shooters in the country playing tonight against each other,” Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said. “And they both put on quite a show. It’s not easy for them to get those shots, but they seem to be able to make shots other people have a hard time making.”
After an early lead by UConn, in which both guards took a defensive role, the Wolverines began to find some offensive footing in the second quarter. In response, Fudd turned on her full scoring arsenal, establishing a constant presence outside of the arc that allowed her to net easy threes when her team opponents found trouble in the paint. In a few possessions, she transformed from facilitator to the Huskies’ primary option, scoring 13 of UConn’s 23 points in the period.
But as Fudd was able to propel her team further, she did have a miscue, one that Swords was able to exploit. Moments after Fudd drilled a 3-pointer, Michigan answered by finding Swords in transition. When Swords rose for a matching three, Fudd collided into her shooting space, giving Swords two free throws, both of which she sank, in a moment that would foreshadow the duel’s decisive exchange in the fourth.
In the third quarter, the tide began to turn swiftly to the Wolverines with UConn’s offense coming to a roaring halt, putting up only four points. Fudd, riding the wave of her team’s slump, didn’t record a single bucket, her lone highlight coming from a late block.
While Fudd faltered, Sword soared. While the Michigan offense started sloppy and inaccurate, Swords honed it in, playing with surgical precision. She attempted just three shots all quarter — and made all three. Each one came from beyond the arc, capitalizing on UConn’s turnovers and hitting clutch shot after clutch shot to drag the Wolverines fully back into the fight.
“There was never any panic in her voice,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “It was like, ‘OK, what’s next? Losing out of the ball, what are we doing?’ So I just think she’s a really, really special player.”
With both Fudd and Swords pulling their team up to prolific quarters, as the fourth began, their final bout did too. After nine minutes of Swords maneuvering the Wolverines’ defense and three 3-pointers by Fudd, only six points separated both sides heading into the final minute.
It was Swords who fired the first shot, faking towards the midrange before darting to the 3-point line to receive a pass and a moment later send the ball for a basket. That quick precision was replicated again with those 22 seconds to spare, pushing the Wolverines just two points away from victory.
But in an attempt to resecure the ball for a winning shot, Michigan was forced to foul — and put the ball directly in Fudd’s hands.
She stepped to the line and sank both free throws, thereby not only protecting the slim lead, but denying the Wolverines, and especially Swords the ball in the one possession game. Miss even one and Swords — perfect from the field in that final minute — would’ve had a chance to tie or even win.
The sequence repeated once more. Another three from Swords. Another return for Fudd to the free throw line. And once more she was perfect, sealing the game in a duel defined by precision under pressure.
“We needed to focus,” Fudd said. “It felt like we weren’t focused on defense but really just settle, be calm. Stay calm. I think we always have trust in each other no matter what’s going on in the game.”
Throughout the night, the game seemed to flow directly through Fudd and Swords. When either guard found rhythm, their team surged. When they faltered, the momentum swung with them. They made quick use of their possessions, trading moments of composure, poise and shot-making that dictated the pace of the game.
In a game that hung in the balance until the buzzer, it was Fudd and Swords who embodied the ebb and flow — the pair whose performances didn’t just represent the game’s swings but created them.
