Dallas Wings rookie guard and No. 1 overall 2026 WNBA Draft pick Azzi Fudd has been doing her best to impress those watching her every move this season.
Fudd managed to put her name right next to Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. The Wings’ rookie just took over Sunday’s game against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center, as Dallas came away with a 91-76 win.
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Wings Rookie Azzi Fudd Dominates Against the New York Liberty
Fudd went out and had a dominant third quarter against the Liberty, who were playing with the returning Sabrina Ionescu.
Ionescu had missed the Liberty’s first five games this season with a foot injury.
Fudd was in a position to take over when the Wings needed a lift and ended up scoring 17 third-quarter points, tying Clark’s 17-point quarter from earlier this season.
Clark scored 17 fourth-quarter points as the Fever ended up losing to the Washington Mystics in overtime earlier this May.
Fudd finished the game with 24 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists. Her 17-point third-quarter outburst is tied for the second-most points in a WNBA quarter for a rookie.
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Fudd hit 6 3-pointers on Sunday, breaking the Wings’ rookie record for most 3-pointers in a contest, and had 5 of those 3-pointers in the third period alone.
Playing at Barclays Center, though, wasn’t new for Fudd. She played a number of games there while playing college basketball for UConn under Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma.
In the first half, Fudd only had 4 points. After missing her first 3-point attempt in the third quarter, Fudd found her range and went on a blistering run, hitting 5 straight 3-pointers en route to her 17-point effort in the third quarter.
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“My goal was to just play a little bit slower,” Fudd said after Sunday’s victory, according to The Associated Press. “I felt like I was rushing a little bit every time I caught the ball, not reading. … I’m just putting the ball down and going too fast. So my goal was just to slow down.”
Besides Fudd, Paige Bueckers led the way for the Wings with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists, with the Liberty’s Satou Sabally’s 20-point effort going in vain.
With Fudd finally getting into rhythm in her first pro season, Dallas will hope for more such performances from its rookie as the Wings next take on the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday.
