STORRS, Conn. (AP) – Norristown’s Geno Auriemma became the winningest coach in NCAA college basketball history, earning his 1,217th victory when No. 2 UConn defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 85-41 on Wednesday night.
Auriemma broke a tie with retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer for most wins all-time. Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski holds the men’s record with 1,202. Auriemma began his journey at UConn in 1985 and is 1,217-162 in his career. He has had just one losing season, his first with the Huskies.
Auriemma, who immigrated from southern Italy to Norristown, Montgomery County, at age 7, graduated from West Chester University in 1977. He had coaching stints at Bishop McDevitt High School in Cheltenham Township, Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Bishop Kernick High. School in Norristown and the University of Virginia before landing at UConn in 1985.
The Huskies (4-0) celebrated Auriemma and associate head coach Chris Dailey’s 40 years at the school with more than 60 alumni, including former UConn greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Rebecca Lobo.
Jessica Hill/AP
UConn’s newest star led the way, as Paige Bueckers had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Freshman Sarah Strong had 20 points.
FDU (4-2) hung around for the first few minutes and trailed just 14-12 before UConn scored nine of the final 11 points of the quarter. The Knights couldn’t get within single digits the rest of the way.
Takeaways
FDU: The Knights won their first four games this season – the first time in 33 years.
UConn: The Huskies are finally starting to get healthy, which will give Auriemma a deeper bench as the season progresses.
Key moment
Azzi Fudd returned to the UConn lineup after missing last year with a right knee injury. She checked in with 3:39 left in the first quarter. She received a loud ovation from the crowd when she entered the match.
Key stat
FDU coach Stephanie Gaitley is 24th on the NCAA wins list, two wins shy of 700.
Next
FDU hosts Saint Peter’s on Saturday, while UConn heads to the Bahamas to play in a tournament. The Huskies’ first game is Monday against Oregon State.
