Sue Bird gets 'mushy' during UConn coach Geno Auriemma's record-setting night

11/20/2024 11:07 PM

UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma continues to establish himself as one of the legends of the sport on Wednesday night. The Huskies’ 85-41 win over Fairleigh Dickinson gave Auriemma his 1,217th win, passing Tara VanDerveer for the most wins in college basketball history.

Of course, there was a big ceremony after the game to honor the legendary coach. Many UConn legends of the past were in attendance, including Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird. After the game, Bird honored Auriemma and associate head coach Chris Dailey, who has been with the program since 1988.

Sue Bird honors Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey on the microphone pic.twitter.com/GvNbaXUw24

— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) November 21, 2024

“To me, what makes this place special is the fact that you two believed in each other,” Bird said of the UConn legends. “You two had a belief — I’m gonna get mushy, I’m just warning you — you two had a belief. You two had a vision of what could be. And the special sauce of it all is that it as never about any of this. It was so simple: get better every day. That’s what you taught all of us. Get better every day.”

Bird played for Auriemma and Dailey at UConn from 1998-2002, earning National Player of the Year honors as a senior. During her time there, Bird won two National Championships.

While Auriemma is certainly pleased with this record, he has his sights set on winning a 12th National Championship at UConn. He hasn’t taken home the sport’s biggest hardware since 2016, the last of a run of four consecutive titles. The Huskies were in the Final Four last season but fell in a very close game against Iowa in the national semifinal.

UConn came into this season ranked No. 2 in the nation, and it definitely has the talent to compete for a championship this season. The Huskies are led by arguably the best player in college basketball in Paige Bueckers, who is the favorite to be selected No. 1 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

UConn also has plenty of depth and talent, including the returning Azzi Fudd and freshman phenom Sarah Strong. If they can find the right blend and gel together over the course of the season, this UConn women’s basketball team will be a force to be reckoned with in March.

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