No. 1 UConn handles No. 20 Louisville 79-66 in opening game moved due to government shutdown

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Sarah Strong had 21 points and nine rebounds, and top-ranked UConn opened its title defense with a 79-66 win over No. 20 Louisville on Tuesday night.

This was the first time the Armed Forces Classic featured women's basketball teams. The game was supposed to be played at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, but it was moved to the Naval Academy because of the government shutdown.

Azzi Fudd scored 20 points for UConn, which has not lost a season opener since 1995.

The Huskies (1-0) started fast in their first game after losing No. 1 WNBA draft pick Paige Bueckers. Fudd and KK Arnold made 3-pointers to give the Huskies an early 8-0 lead, and it was 14-1 after a fast-break basket by Arnold.

Laura Ziegler had 16 points and 18 rebounds for Louisville (0-1), which steadied itself a bit after entering the second quarter down 25-9. It was 44-23 at halftime, and the Cardinals went on a late 10-0 run to cut a 20-point deficit in half in the fourth. There wasn't enough time to make UConn sweat it out too much, though.

UConn also lost Kaitlyn Chen and Aubrey Griffin from last season's national championship team, but Strong and Fudd both averaged in double figures scoring in 2024-25, and the Huskies added transfers Serah Williams (Wisconsin) and Kayleigh Heckel (Southern California).

Heckel scored 14 points in the opener. Williams had four points and eight rebounds.

Louisville: Hosts Northern Kentucky on Sunday.

UConn: Hosts Florida State on Sunday.

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