Geno Auriemma becomes all-time wins leader with 85-41 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson

Sarah Strong and Paige Bueckers ran the show for UConn once again.

With an 85-41 victory over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday, Geno Auriemma became the all-time wins leader in college basketball history with 1,217, passing longtime Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer.

Afterwards, the school held a celebration. Among the alumni, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Rebecca Lobo and Diana Taurasi gave speeches, Connecticut governor Ned Lamont present Auriemma with a mini highway sign that declared the state as “the home of the winningest coach in college basketball history, Nike gave him a commemorative ladder while the current players presented him with a jersey that marked his 1,217 career victories.

They also rolled the red carpet out of a goat — the animal — to honor Auriemma — the greatest of all-time.

In the game itself, Azzi Fudd made her return after missing nearly all of last season with a torn ACL. She finished with two points in 12 minutes of action.

Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong ran the show once again. Bueckers had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists in just 25 minutes while Strong led the team with 20 points — hitting four 3-pointers, twice her career total coming in — along with eight rebounds and six assists.

Kaitlyn Chen and Ice Brady also reached double-figures for the first time this season with 11 and 10 points, respectively. All 11 Huskies scored in the win.

UConn got off to a stagnant start on offense and settled for 3-pointers on its first six attempts. The teams traded baskets and remained tied at 10-10 before the Huskies finally started to pull away. They ripped off an 8-0 run at the end of the first quarter then out-scored the visitors 22-9 in the second quarter to take a 23-point into the locker room.

Out of the break, Bueckers took over. After putting up just seven points in the opening 20 minutes, she scored UConn’s first seven points of the second half. Strong picked it up from there, scoring five straight points herself. Over a span of 7:25, the Huskies went on a 20-0 run, getting all but two points from Bueckers and Strong.

In the waning moments of the third quarter, Fudd tole the ball at mid-court and took it all the way to the basket for her points of the season.

UConn let its reserves and youngster play the entire fourth quarter en-route to a historic 44-point victory.

Next, the Huskies will head to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Women’s Championship. They’ll play Oregon State in the first round on Monday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET.